Air Bag Suspension for Towing a Horse Trailer with a 2016 Ram 1500

Question:

I was told to put an Air Suspension kit on my 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn 4x4 with a front leveling kit installed to help level my truck out while pulling my horse trailer. Will I need anything other than the kit itself since we have a leveling kit on my truck and which air suspension kit do you recommend for my truck? I see everyones questions regarding 4 inch and 6 inch lifts but nothing regarding a truck that has been leveled.

asked by: Tina

Expert Reply:

Air bag suspension systems like the Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 # AL57365 for your 2016 Ram 1500 are great options when you are using the bed of your truck to haul things. This kit has a 5,000 lb weight capacity. It won't increase the weight capacity of your Ram but it will support a suspension that is in good working order. A compressor kit like the Air Lift Load Controller II # AL25592 is also recommended so that you don't have to hunt down a compressor when you need to inflate your air bags.

If your 1500 is squatting in the back due to the trailer though it is better to get a weight distribution (WD) system instead. It distributes the tongue weight (TW) of your trailer to all of the axles in the towing setup and they often include integrated anti-sway for better control while towing.

You want to choose a WD system with a TW range that the Total Tongue Weight (TTW) of your towing setup falls in the middle of. To find the TTW of your towing setup you will need to add the TW of your fully loaded and ready-to-go trailer along with the weight of any cargo behind the rear axle of your tow vehicle. Keep in mind that a properly loaded trailer will have a TW that is 10-15% of the loaded weight of your trailer.

For example, the Equal-i-zer # EQ37100ET has a TW range of 600 lbs - 1,000 lbs. This is one of our more popular WD systems because it comes with everything you need. Please note that a 1-7/8" thin-walled socket like part # EQ70-00-4800 must be used to install the hitch ball.

Some videos and installation instructions have been linked for you to check out.