Airbags In The Landcruiser

[boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

I have recently bought this 1998 100 Series Toyota Lancruiser GXL Petrol.

I bought the vehicle for the main purpose of towing, as I have some trips planned to northern Qld and other locations towing my 23ft 3.0 Tonne Boat.

My question is, towing the boat around town, I have noticed a big drop on the rear suspension of the cruiser when towing the boat. It hasn't bottomed out yet, and im not sure if it will, but I need some advice.

I've been considering the possability of putting air bags into the rear suspension, but know nothing about them. Do you guys recommend having them fitted, and if so, by who and what type? Roughly how much $$$ would I be looking at?

The truck tows fine at the moment, and i've got the you beaut brake set up on the trailer, so im more worried about too much strain on the car than I am about the safety aspects.

Money is a consideration, and if I don't need them I definately won't get them. In fact i'd prefer not too.

Can anyone convince me on why I should have them, or train me on the different types available, or who I should have fit them?

Regards

Darren

P.S. Heres a pic of the rig, note the weight on the rear.

[boatboy50]

pic

[boatboy50]

pic

[boatboy50]

sorry guys.

double post

[boatboy50]

Sorry for the double posts. Serious computer or traffic problems.

A close up!

[choppa]

cant help ya out with your question darren,,,, but that is one hella'v rig there mate,,, your pic in your avatar doesnt do it justice,,, (i'm guessing its the same boat with motor(s) upgraded)

i,m certain someone will come back to you with ideas,,, but if not call me,,, i'll try it out behind my 4b for a while for ya and let ya know,,,,,,,,,,,

choppa

[Mr__Bean]

Oooops double posting again

[Mr__Bean]

Boatboy,

Damn Landcruiser saggy bums, I had the same trouble with my 2003 100 series. They are just too soft in the bum for a heavy towball weight, darn headlights end up in the trees pissen everyone off all the time.

I am up near the same weight as yourself with an 8 metre platey, and have had the same problem.

I ended up reducing the towball weight to 100kg and it now sits much better, this was fairly easy for me as my trailer axles sit on a common angle iron base and it only meant undoing 4 U-bolts each side and sliding the whole assembly forward. Iknow some people say it should be around 10% of the total towed weight but I don't reckon this suits big boats, especially if on a good trailer.

Not sure if it might assist you but I found it worked a treat and still tows beautifully, had it to 125KPH without any issues at all, still recovered immediately from an induced sway to see who was behind).

What weight do you have on the ball?

It is easy to measure if you place a strong board under the tow coupling and see-saw it over a drum or similar with you sitting further out on your side. Multiply your weight by the see-saw ratio and you have it near enough.

- Darren

See rear wheel arch clearance in picture below.

[Any_Weather]

Boatboy, I have the current model Prado and it suffered from the same symptoms with only a 2 tonne boat and I had a set of Polyair air bags fitted to the rear and now it sits dead level without dropping a bit. We recently did a 2 week trip to fraser Island and I carried enough fuel for 10 trips out, a large esky full of ice and plenty of amber refreshments for 4 blokes plus had our 6.5m plate boat on the back and it only dropped about an inch. I had them fitted about 12 months ago and they cost $420 fitted and I believe the Landcruiser are a similar price. I had them done by ARB and I believe they were the best money I have ever spent on a vehicle. They can be deflated to only 5psi when not in use so the ride quality is not comprimised and inflated to a max of 30psi for heavy loads. I am sure you would not be dissappointed if you did go ahead and install them. Good luck

Lee

[Argle]

Have to agree with Lee, go the Polyairs

Cheers and Beers
Scott

[2rods]

Dad just had some polyairs fitted to his 03GU patrol wagon. Just for towing a caravan round Aust.

I was impressed with the diferance that they made and he got them installed for under $400.00 here in Darwin.

They seem very good for the price ;)

2rods

[Dex38]

Boat Boy, Mr_Bean is on the money. If your ball weight is too heavy then fitting air bags is not going to sort this out very well for you. You will end up with clearance under the rear but the weight over your rear axle will still be high, which may result in some light steering. It would be a shame to see that boat of yours steering your car down the highway. Sort out the ball weight first then look at the air bags.

I fitted poly air bags to my 100 series diesel cruiser. It took about half a day to fit them. You just disconnect your shockies and panard rod, jack up the body as high as she will go and leave the axle hangling. Watch out for the brake hose or you'll stretch it. The springs will vertually fall out. You then remove the bump stops and fit the air bags inside the springs. Be aware some air bags require you to drill a hole (about 38mm) into the sub frame (through the bump stop bolt hole) to permit the air hose clearance. Once you have them installed, lower her back down, align the panard rod, connect the shockies and away you go.

Have fun

Dex

[boatboy50]

Thanks Guys,

Thanks Choppa. It is actually a different boat to my avatar, just havn't updated yet. Im in love too!

Bean, Im not sure how much weight is on it at the moment, but i'd guess it would be somewhere around the 300kg mark. Moving the axles would be easy, but as i have plans on 1000k trips, id rather do the airbag thing. It's well set up now, and tows like a dream even at 110km/h, so I don't want to play with that.

Any advice on where I could find information on these airbags so I have an understanding of how they work, where they fit ect. An internet adress would be great.

Any ideas who fits this type of thing on the Gold Coast or Southern end of Brissy? I'd prefer not to use ARB.

Regards

Darren

[Blackened]

G'day
Just google up polyair.
Dave

[Grey_Ghost]

boatboy I have a 1999 100 series cruiser tow a 3.tn boat
fitted air bags myself .took about 1hr cost about $300. Rides 100% better
Regards Chris

[choppa]

Boatboy,

Damn Landcruiser saggy bums, I had the same trouble with my 2003 100 series. They are just too soft in the bum for a heavy towball weight, darn headlights end up in the trees pissen everyone off all the time.

I am up near the same weight as yourself with an 8 metre platey, and have had the same problem.

I ended up reducing the towball weight to 100kg and it now sits much better, this was fairly easy for me as my trailer axles sit on a common angle iron base and it only meant undoing 4 U-bolts each side and sliding the whole assembly forward. Iknow some people say it should be around 10% of the total towed weight but I don't reckon this suits big boats, especially if on a good trailer.

Not sure if it might assist you but I found it worked a treat and still tows beautifully, had it to 125KPH without any issues at all, still recovered immediately from an induced sway to see who was behind).

What weight do you have on the ball?

It is easy to measure if you place a strong board under the tow coupling and see-saw it over a drum or similar with you sitting further out on your side. Multiply your weight by the see-saw ratio and you have it near enough.

- Darren

See rear wheel arch clearance in picture below.


dont want to start a separate issue here,,,, but be VERY careful adjusting the axles as this can AND HAS left people in the mud when it comes to insurance,,,,,,,,,, if in the event of any accident ,,, your left out in the cold by comprehesive and liability,,, as YOU made the modifacation,,,,

again,,, please check,,, i'll deal in this area,,, and even though i have not had this claim pass over my desk,,, i'm in the industry,, and yes it has happened,,, and yes,,,NO CLAIM APPROVAL...

[luckyone]

tjm and pedders do polair bags just had my set put on my 100 series and they aregood ........keith

[Grey_Ghost]

Boatboy what trpe of brake system do you have ,as I have sens a brake and have had a lot of troulbe with them
chris

[boatboy50]

Hey Chris,

Its a Sensa Brake system too. I bought the trailer used, and insisted from the dealer I purchased from that the sensa brakes were fully checked out. Hence they didn't.

I took delivery, and upon fitting the in car kit, nothing worked. Sent it off to alko, and ended up having the whole brains of the system replaced, all paid for by the dealership I purchased from!! :D

It seems the trailer was abused in it's past life, as the system had been underwater. Then worked out that the brakes were also seized, so replaced them all as well for little cost!

Since then, I havn't had any problems, and i'm told they are working. To be honest, I can't even tell. They don't seem to have the same prescence as the mechanical systems im used to.

The Landcruiser handles it well, except for the droopy ass problem, which i'm still investigating.

Regards

Darren

[Gorilla_in_Manila]

Took delivery of my LC sept 2002 new from factory and first thing I noticed was it appeared to be jacked up slightly at the back, or maybe down slightly at the front. Looked around at other 100 series and they all seemed to sit more level than mine without load.

Anyway, the result is that when the car is loaded it sits level. The old man puts a 3T bushtracker caravan on the back which would go 300kg on the ball plus fridge etc in the back of the car and it sits perfect.

I've got no idea why it came like that but I'm glad it did. Not sure if something can be easily done to make others like it, but mine certainly never gets the saggy arsed look.

The old man has since installed air bags (not sure what brand or how much sorry) and says it tows markedly better - stops the back end pitching down past the horizontal when towing.

So in my setup, the load weight is taken by the rear suspension and the bags only come in to play as the caravan pitches over bumps in the road. I'm not sure how good the bags would perform if they are already heavily loaded when the car is at rest. In that case you would just be jacking up the back end with the bags to stop the saggy arse and if the bags have no more give in them, it could make for a rougher ride when towing.

Hope you get my drift!

Cheers
Jeff
PS Not sure if you can see it clearly in this pic, but its the only one I've got with me- beach slopes from front to back so relative to the beach, the car is higher at the rear.

[bungie]

Check the tow bar, it will have the max down weight on it. if made after 1992

[Mr__Bean]

Not sure I am with you on that one Choppa, the axle assembly is built to be adjustable to suit the type of boat being placed on it.

Some are built with outboards, some are built with inboards, all on the same trailer.

It is meant to be adjusted to suit the boat.

- Darren

P.S. For $400 I reckon I will get a set poly's also as the Landcruiser saggy bum also causes concern with a heavy load in the back when both tanks are full.

[Grey_Ghost]

hi darren
If your brake are working proprely they will pull your car up as well
some times you have to reset them on your contrlls
Buy the way brake pads are about $30.00 each approx $240 all up
Can grive you number for after market but you have to grind them .still alot cheaper
regards Chris

[GBC]

Try Bayside springs at Capalaba.
He sets up Trucks etc.
Sold me the kit for my hilux - excellent investment for those of us with varying loads.

C.J.

[jethro6641]

Hi Darren

I looked at Poly air bags on my last cruiser and strayed away from them as no one could expain to me what I would do if I was to get a puncture in one of the bags. If you were relying on them to carry the weight this could cause some real problems. In the end I went for Old man Emu Shocks and 400kg constant load Old man emu springs. The ride was still excellent and the reliability was excellent.

Just my two bobs worth.

Jamie

[OISTA]

mate, you could just put bigger outboards on the back to counter balance. wouldn't even have to worry about polyairs. ;D

[boatboy50]

Lol,

I've been told I need a load equalising tow bar with sway bar type things as a legal requirement. Can anyone back this up? My log book says nothing of the sort. The tow bar is rated to 3.5 Tonne.

I have been told (by a caravan joint) that the load equaliser will negate the need for airbags.

Any comments?

Regards

Darren

[Mr__Bean]

Have used them on a very heavy van and they work fantastic, they actually transfer the load back onto the front wheels.

How are they a legal requirement though if you're within the weight category of the towbar. Sounds like crap that bit.....

Trouble with load equalisers (sway bar thingy's) is that they inhibit the turn angle of your vehicle, sure you can turn at full lock but you should hear them groan with load, shocking noises come from them as you get near full turn angle.

With a long boat that you frequently have to reverse into tight situations I wouldn't put them on unless you really had too.

The other solutions seem more practical for a boat trailer.

- Darren