weight distribution or air bags

keiron · Senior Member

weight distribution or air bags

Dougwe · Chief one feather

KB, have you considered adding a leaf to each spring or even upgrading the rear suspension altogether.

I have the current model Colorado twin cab ute and will be adding an extra leaf to each rear side in the near future for my not too distant plans.

PJK · Senior Member

Whilst I have no experience with your model Nissan, IMHO I would stay away from the air bags in your case.
They tend to put the extra load at the top of the arc in the chassis rails, which is the weakest point of the chassis.
In extreme cases this can lead to chassis cracking.

Peter
PJK

hako · Guru

Try asking on the Patrol forum as they will know the correct answer:
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/forum.php

Allany · Veteran Member

I have a 2002 Patrol
I fitted airbags and never looked back
Towed 22 ft Roadstar
The problem with beefed up springs is you are not towing all the time
With airbags you can get a softer ride when not towing by reducing the pressure

Allan

mr glassies · Guru

i have a 2012 collie and i just had a sax suspension up grade best thing i ever did still will use the wdh dont like air bags and in another 4x4 forum a chassis specialist even puts them down

dibs

first timer · Senior Member

KB, I have a 100 series toyota which I have air bags in, I tow a van of around 1900kg and dont use a wdh. It works a treat but I don't think I would use them on leaf springs for the same reason that others have mentioned here. I have just today taken delivery of a 2012 model Prado 3lt diesel which I will tow without air bags for a couple of short trips to see how it handles it before deciding on air bags or not.

Ashley

Plendo · Guru

I do not believe the Patrol uses cart springs (they have pensioned off the horse as well), they are sitting on a coil spring rear end, and as such the chassis is designed to take the load directly above the axle, so they do respond well to air bags.

Before you make any upgrades to the rear suspension of a Patrol, check the top mount, they have a bit of a reputation for cracking the top mounts.

-- Edited by Plendo on Thursday 31st of July 2014 07:58:42 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Bumping on the bump stops is just as hard as having too much spring ..

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

A Weight Distribution Hitch distributes weight from the rear axle to the front axle.
Air bags simply hold up the rear.

These 2 devices are not the same and do quite different jobs. They are not alternatives for each other.

A WDH should be fitted if towing anything with significant ball weight.
If you need to add stiffness to the rear suspension, then it is likely that you are overloading it beyond the design limit.
Also, adding stiffness to the rear suspension without doing the same to the front will change the handling geometry of the vehicle, sometimes with dangerous effect.

Cheers,
Peter

PeterD · Guru

A few years ago Nissan tow bars were falling off Pathfinders when WDH was employed. Nissan's answer to this was to say they don't recommend their use, it's up to you if you do use them. If you have a Hayman Reese tow bar then HR will warrant its use with WDH so the chassis are strong enough to take WDH. The only problems that have occurred has been with the early Pathfinder and some early Navaras. The pathfinder bar has been upgraded since and the Navara bars now use more cap screws to hold them on. There should be no problems with the modern bars but to be safe I would only use HR bars.

Just remember, when towing with any vehicle without WDH you must reduce the maximum loading in the vehicle to prevent overloading the rear axle. Nissan do the calculations for you and include that in their specifications. With other vehicles you have to do the calculations yourself.

leevin · Senior Member

2012 D-Max.
Extra leaf in rear springs.
WDH (HR).
Air bags (helpers).
No worries in 60000 kms.

keiron · Senior Member

Many thanks to all for your comments.

I have now spoken to the Service Manager at a reputable (if that word can be associated with anyone in the motor trade), Nissan Dealer in Sydney, and he assures me that the vehicle, and the Nissan Tow-bar are OK, and will not give any problems.

And are OK to use with WDH. I am using the "Elite" brand bought in Melbourne.

Cheers to all. KB

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Some common sense here .. Adding weight to rear . You can increase spring rate without touching front suspension ..
If fitting air suspension ? DONT get greedy and pump them to max.. Just like anything .. In most cases chassis failures are caused by the NUT.. The nut behind the wheel.. Oh yes it worked ok at 30lb but man i pumped up LOOKING good at 100Lb+ !! Now let's go find some rough tracks ... Some mechanic sympathy and BRAINS!!!

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Not a Nissan but I have been told by a Holden dealer that my new genuine holden towbar fitted to the Colorado is suitable to use WDH. I went and discussed this situation with them prior to delivery.

When I get my new den I will try it on the back of the Collie before doing anything about WDH as I don't intend towing anything too heavy anyway. The Collie like most other similar tugs is designed to tow 3500kg with tow ball of 350kg. I would like to think it can live up to the specs.

mr glassies · Guru

hey doug what is the drawbar weight of the van mine was 240 kgs and it went down 65 mill i bit the bullet and spent $2500 on a sax 3 stage rear end and front struts seams ok now only dropped 20 odd mill and rides gr8 . also chuck on a set of free wheeling hubs makes heaps of difference .

dibs