Rear Helper Springs for a 1991 Chevy K1500 and 18 Foot Car Hauler Trailer

Question:

I have a 1991 Silverado K1500 5.7 Z71. I have a dual axle 18foot car hauler with its own supension. The car hauler weights 1640 lbs. I need a kit like this to keep my trucks butt in the air when hauling a bigger vehicle like a jimmy or an envoy. It puts me over the 5,000lbs limit by 800 lbs. any suggestions on what kit to get? Thanks

asked by: Gary

Expert Reply:

I can help you select some helper springs for your 1991 Chevy K1500. But you should know that helper springs do not increase the capacity of the truck they only offer support.

The Firestone air bags # F2025 are one option for your truck. They will provide you will the most adjustability of the options and are great if you carry a lot of different size loads or trailers. You will need to add/remove air though which you can do if you have a compressor or you could add an onboard compressor system using # F2158.

The 5,000 pound capacity is vertical load and not a restriction of the gross weight of the trailer. Only the trailer's tongue weight will be applied to the air bag capacity which, if your trailer weighs around 5,800 pounds, the tongue weight would be 580 to 870 pounds (10 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight).

Another option, that doesn't offer adjustability like air bags but also does not require adding or removing air or any maintenance, are the Timbren springs, # TGMRCK25. These are a great option if you carry the same of similarly sized loads or trailers frequently.

expert reply by: Michael H