black bart
New member
Back in the sixties I used air shocks for pulling a very large boat that I had.
Since I only pulled it occasionally this was good because my vehicle did not have a harsh ride when not towing the boat.
The down side is the shock mounts on your vehicle were not designed to carry a load and may break.
The shock has a rubber grommet that will wear much faster if you carry a load with them aired up all the time.
I have also had to replace them because a small stone get trapped under the fold of the air bag and punches it.
Now they make a better choice it is a bag that sits on top of the axle and pushes up on the frame.
Since you will have a constant load change due to the water tank being full or empty I would get a 12 volt pump and then you can change pressure as needed.
Going to a station to get air every day would be a big PITA.
Don't get carried away with loading it after you get the air bags on it you just have a 1/2 ton truck and the wheel bearings will NOT hold up to constant overloading.
The bag over the axle would be the best option next would be the air shock. With either you will want a pump.
Since I only pulled it occasionally this was good because my vehicle did not have a harsh ride when not towing the boat.
The down side is the shock mounts on your vehicle were not designed to carry a load and may break.
The shock has a rubber grommet that will wear much faster if you carry a load with them aired up all the time.
I have also had to replace them because a small stone get trapped under the fold of the air bag and punches it.
Now they make a better choice it is a bag that sits on top of the axle and pushes up on the frame.
Since you will have a constant load change due to the water tank being full or empty I would get a 12 volt pump and then you can change pressure as needed.
Going to a station to get air every day would be a big PITA.
Don't get carried away with loading it after you get the air bags on it you just have a 1/2 ton truck and the wheel bearings will NOT hold up to constant overloading.
The bag over the axle would be the best option next would be the air shock. With either you will want a pump.