Sumosprings vs. Air bags for Towing

[Pedro367]

That’s great to hear! Thank you for your response!

I don’t plan on lifting much anytime soon, gotta keep the wife happy but did think about just a 1” spacer upfront to level a bit. I think I will add the sumos when I get some time. I have a Deaver aal lift on my tacoma and have the same issue where it has to drop a bit before it makes contact with the Sumos but I left some rake so even with a load it looks pretty level.

I'm running this settup on my 18 ORP w/KDSS. 1" front so it sits a bit more level, but since I tow I don't want to go any higher. Only difference is I'm running the AirLift 1000 bags. I put the bags on recently and it's an amazing difference. I tow a few things: 1) a 2k lb loaded BBQ smoker and all my stuff in the back 2) a 6x12 enclosed trailer with ATVs, etc...3k lb max or so.

Complete change in control, sway, pulling, etc. with the bags. It still feels it, but it's the lack of power from the V6. I drove last weekend with the 6x12 trailer loaded up on some good hills on Rt. 80 here in NJ and it pulled great. I'm extremely happy with these for the $100 entry point and relatively easy install. I keep a small bike pump in the back of my 4R to pump them up. Super easy. aired down to 5psi daily driving and you don't know they are there, but you still get some extra support when loaded down inside.

 

[4runner813]

They worked great. Only on rare occasions did I feel like they affected ride like going over bumps or something. Definitely helped support heavier loads and tongue weight. Great alternative to airbags but may not be as good in every situation.

My issue, I have since lifted my 4 Runner so now it must sag an extra 2” before it hit the axle so I am working up a fix. Temporarily I put a large stack of fender washers to lower it. It actually worked pretty well but isn’t what I want permanently… It allowed me to tow a camper with around 450lb tongue weight and helped a lot.

Are you still going with the fender washers or did you find a better soloution?

 

[Muskrat14]

I ran Firestone Ride-Rite airbags on a second gen Tacoma (TRD Sport double cab long bed 4x4) towing a 20 ft ~3500 lb travel trailer and 2012 F150 (FX4 SuperCrew 4x4) towing a 27 ft ~6000 lb travel trailer and had excellent experiences with the setup on both. The thing I liked most about them was being able to drop them down to 5 PSI for daily driving, at which point they were totally invisible from a ride perspective, then I'd pump them up to ~30 PSI or so for towing. Made a huge difference in sag and ride/control when towing even though I was using a load distributing hitch. I didn't even mess with using a compressor or any of that...it was super easy to pump them up with a bicycle pump or a portable compressor. I usually just used the bike pump and it took less than 30 seconds per bag to pump them up. After install I never had to mess with them and had no issues with either install.

Same experience I had w them on a Pathfinder.

Great product.

I used to tow a Uhaul trailer and my 74 Bronco. Haven’t towed that setup with the 4Runner, but if I will, I’ll put the bags in for sure.


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[racinjason]

Just another opinion, as I came across this thread when I was researching...

I've had Air Lift 1000 on my 4th gen, and did not find them to be "invisible" even with low air pressure. I also got tired of airing them up (for example parking overnight with my trailer attached).

I am much happier with the Sumo Springs on my 23 4Runner. This is towing the same trailer and weight. I tow infrequently, so I had planned on installing and removing the Sumos when needed. In the end, I did not find that necessary.

 

[BlueRidge77]

Are you still going with the fender washers or did you find a better soloution?

Missed this coming in. Still rocking the fender washers, lol! And I tow a couple of jet skis many times a season which, with cargo, is loaded down in the back. Still working well.