I've been looking at different options to fix the rear end from dropping on the ground when I load up the trailer. I don't want airbags, what are some other options?

 

a lift would help if you like lifts but airbags is your best bet

 

add a leaf will do the trick. i'll sell ya mine if ya want lol. my truck barely sags when loaded down and towing...rides a little rougher when not loaded though.

 

I am a big fan of the Hellwig helpersprings. I had airbags on our 2000 Dakota QC 4x4. They were great for the first year,then with all the dirt and salt from the road they started leaking. I fixed them. 6 mo later-leaking again. Finally had enough and ordered the Hellwig bolt-on helper springs. Loved them. Nothing to leak of fail. Our 04' QC Ram 2500 did'nt need them. Our 08' PowerWagon has a soft suspension for good flex off-road, but was not up to pur camper and sqatted really hard. I put the Hellwig LoadPro 35's on and now I can pull it easy with little or no sqat at all. If I need the full flex for playing off-road, I just unbolt the outer 2 u-bolts on each side and then they do nothing to impede flex. Takes 10 min or less w/elec impact wrench.

 

Tractor, that is the exact reason I'm staying away from airbags. My dad has a set on his Denali and they've been nothing but POS's. So I want to stay towards helpersprings. Are add-a-leafs and helpersprings in an essence the same thing? I'm guessing not. Helper springs don't lift the truck and add-a-leafs do, right?

 

I'll bet your dad had Firestone Airbags. A lot of complaints about them.

The Air Lifts are a lot better quality.

I've had both, a few sets of helper springs on various trucks and air bags on this one. The ride quality with no load just sucks with helper springs. Personally, I'll never own another truck without Air Lift bags...

Just my observation...

 

Here is what I just used on my 08 QC. I had just over 3400# in the truck and she handled great,(on a trip of 260 mi) I didn't think these would work as good as they did, at $ 187.00 I am very impressed

http://www.actiontrucks.com/store/pr...rod=timbrenind

 

Airbags or not, that's just dangerous. You carried more than twice the rating of the truck, and could have done some serious damage. It's not just the suspension that's a problem, but the brakes are also not designed to stop that much weight.

 

I have had the add-a-leafs on my trucks before and I would say go with the air bags, a quality set. The air bags allow you to adjust to suit your load while the aal's don't. Plus, I was not a big fan of how much the aal's made the rear bounce over bumps when the truck was empty.

 

I had the firestone bags on my 98 durango and have them on my 06 ram and love them, no leaks they work great, I guess I have been lucky. I beet the **** out of my durango offroad and hauled a 19' enclosed trailer packed full and the air-bags leveled it right out. I liked them so much on my durango which is why I put them on the ram. So far so good and they dont affect the ride quality when un-loaded.....To each their own I guess