Best Setup for Towing

Paragon1

Paragon1

Member
I tried the search, and only got stuff on earlier models. If there's a link to something new then please lemme know and sorry for wasting your time.

Anyway, will be towing a 20ft boat in about a month and plan to upgrade the suspension as well as the wheels/tires (because the stock ones suck something awful). Will bilsteins suffice or would you suggest going something stronger? Dont wanna spend more than about 600.

Thanks
 
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Paragon1 said:
I tried the search, and only got stuff on earlier models. If there's a link to something new then please lemme know and sorry for wasting your time.

Anyway, will be towing a 20ft boat in about a month and plan to upgrade the suspension as well as the wheels/tires (because the stock ones suck something awful). Will bilsteins suffice or would you suggest going something stronger? Dont wanna spend more than about 600.

Thanks
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What is the tongue weight? You may not need anything, or just some airlifts.
 
The Bilsteins will be fine, you do not what the susp too tight. Get a set of air bags, they are inexpensive and really make a difference by keeping the TV and trailer level (plus added cargo). Get an external trans cooler and make sure all diffs and transfer case have synthetic fluid. Next time you need tires, get LTs.

Optional - Aftermarket sway bars.

Koz
 
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I have bilstein 5100's, new tires/wheels, and I've towed.

I would do tires first and foremost. Then I would do the airbags and leave it at that. Should be great. I'd say skip the bilsteins for now. Stock tires are total crap and are my #1 concern. Airbags are cheap and will keep the rear up. Then down the road get some nice coil overs if you have $$ to spend.
 
What air bags do you recommend? Im unfamiliar with them.

Forgot to mention, i have a non-KDSS TE.
 
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I tow a 19ft tunnel outboard w/ a '96 automatic...stock with 210k on it....nothing needs to be done. Keep tongue weight reasonable and you'll be fine. If your within reasonable weight limits, I don't understand why people think the need to upgrade to tow.
 
Tallicon said:
What can be done for the front when the air bars are installed? I'm looking to help the nose dive...
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Bilstein 5100 shocks in the front set to provide .85 inches of lift will take care of the nose dive. The combination of compressing the springs a tad and leveling the vehicle out will get rid of the braking dive.

Bilsteins are a great product, but my opinion is that proper coil over shocks are better and worth the extra money if you plan on keeping it awhile or if you off road. I have bilsteins all around and if I had to do it again I would've saved up a bit and done coil overs, probably from overland warehouse. I would run their special 2.0 kit without rear springs and purchase the Sway-Away 1.5" lift rear coil springs elsewhere. I would set the OW front coil overs to provide 2.5" of lift and the rear would be lifted 1.5" with the SA coil springs, dampened by the OW rear shocks.

My only debate would be whether or not to get the lightspeed upper control arms to achieve proper caster with the coils set at 2.5". I probably wouldn't need them, but not sure.
 
lbhsbz said:
I tow a 19ft tunnel outboard w/ a '96 automatic...stock with 210k on it....nothing needs to be done. Keep tongue weight reasonable and you'll be fine. If your within reasonable weight limits, I don't understand why people think the need to upgrade to tow.
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Boats are easier to tow then travel trailers because of less wind resistance (and lower center of mass).

Koz
 
Air bags are relatively inexpensive, but that only applies to manual inflation models. If you want the electric pump, the price and complication of installation goes way up. Otherwise you have to pump them up manually, plus the lines tend to leak. Consider a Timbren SES kit instead-it installs in a few minutes and keeps the rear from sagging under load. I've had good luck with them, for what its worth. True, you can't adjust the firmness, but its not really necessary in my experience. Timbren SES Kits - Suspension Enhancement for your Vehicle
 
I tow a ~ 4000lb travel trailer with a stock suspension (but Nitto Terragrappler tires) and a weight distributing hitch.

No issues. Side winds, dumb people, it did fine. Would a longer wheelbase be nicer? Sure.

Could it be possible you're overthinking this?
 
StRanger7032 said:
Air bags are relatively inexpensive, but that only applies to manual inflation models. If you want the electric pump, the price and complication of installation goes way up. Otherwise you have to pump them up manually, plus the lines tend to leak. Consider a Timbren SES kit instead-it installs in a few minutes and keeps the rear from sagging under load. I've had good luck with them, for what its worth. True, you can't adjust the firmness, but its not really necessary in my experience. Timbren SES Kits - Suspension Enhancement for your Vehicle
Click to expand...

I tried Timbrens on my 2011 SR5 and I wasn't very happy with them. They cost more than the airbags (but you're right, installed easier, no spring removal) and I felt them kick every time I went over a speed bump or dip in the road. I would not recommend timbrens for our runners. I believe they are better used on a truck with leaf springs.
 
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