Now keeping in mind I have a first gen D350, but they over-load springs arent in teh way of the air-bags at all...
I might want to talk to a second shop or contact one of teh air-bag dealers... you may have soemone trying to sell you some "extra" parts there, because having to remove springs just doesnt make sense...The air-rite bags ride "inside" teh spring pack, kinda between them and teh frame, so there would be no reason at all to remove springs..if you ever got enough compression on teh suspension to cause them to meet, you'd have bigger problems to worry about....

 

I have the standard 8800lb spring pack as well as the factory overload spring pack. I didn't remove the overloads to install the air bags, they are all in there and work just fine.

Jeff

 

I think Hart is notorius for a heavy trailer. I used to pull a large one that fit a carriage, draft horse, and had a changing room. That thing was a beast!
Anywho, my question would be; no matter what aftermarket parts you put on, the vehicle is still only rated to a certian GVW and GCVW. So if it sags real bad isn't there still a chance you are overweight or improperly balanced? Aftermarket parts won't make your truck a 3500 and legal if you are over the vehicles original 2500 tow rating will it?

 

A new truck isn't an option right now. I haul about once a month with one horse. So for now I will contact the Firestone and Timbren technical support people and verify that I get the right one to match the conditions on my truck. Obviously the shop I took it to doesn't do many of these.

Thank you all for steering me to a possible solution!

 

I put a set of Hellwig 3500# per side leaf spring kit on my dodge. Around 500$ for the kit w/mounting hardware. Install wasnt bad at all and mounts right ontop of the stock springs. Airbags dont offer a very long warrenty is why I went this route and that was big turn off for me as a set of big airbags isnt cheap either. I squat very little when loaded up heavy (20-22K)with my GN. Ride comfort isnt that bad, but my truck is old.

 

Just to let you know how this worked out, I finally decided to go with the Timbrens. There is no air pressure adjustment, and I actually installed them myself. All I had to do was remove the bump stops and install the Timbrens - two bolts. The trailer pulls great now - no bottoming out anymore. I also have never installed anything on my truck before - so I called technical support with Timbren and sent photos and measurements of my trucks bump stop and lift blocks. They told me exactly what to do. Plus, they were only $179 from truckspring.com.

 

Next will be Bilstein shocks then your truck with trailer will ride like a Cadillac.

 

Also be aware that some companies may not put accurate weight (curb) on their tags. The effort to keep the GVWR under 10K (so as not to potentially require a CDL) may be an issue. I would take the first opportunity to weigh your un-connected truck w/full fuel, gear, occupants. Note your axle weights and gross weight. Now hook up the trailer - re-weigh. Note the change in your axle weights and over all weight. Subtract the stand-alone truck weight from the combination weight = trailer weight. The difference in weight between trailer axles and trailer weight = transfer weight. It is good info to have, even though you already own your truck and trailer. Based upon your trailer axle placement, it would be interesting to know the pin weight and transfer percentage - further aft the trailer axles the greater the transfer, so you may have 30% or more, and if the trailer weighs in @ 8-9K, you'll now know what you have been trying to compensate for.....