200 towing - LX570 or LC? (2 Viewers)

[linuxgod]

I do have a 2" lift. I've played this game before with my 4Runner...the regular airlift bags were too short for my lift so I bought taller Firestone airbags and those were too fat to fit inside the OME aftermarket coils! Frustrating

The Project 200 guys have info for which bags you need with a 2" lift:

LandCruiser 200 - Airbag Man Heavy Duty Airbags - Project 200

If you've never cut your jounce stops then I think the regular kit works fine for a 2" lift, just cut one less ring off than the kit says.

FWIW I have Firestone air bags but if I had to buy another set I would look at the Airbag Man kits because:

• The Airbag Man kits have a 60psi option, whereas the Firestone max out at 30-35psi (depending on bag height).
• My first 2 installs were fine, but I think my current setup is leaking a tiny bit of air from somewhere as I've had to add air to keep the bags at 5psi this winter. I didn't have that issue before. I suspect it's a problem with the brass fitting in one of the bags since it didn't leak previously.
• If you have a non-factory suspension Firestone support is awful. In my experience they will refuse to help you. See my point #2 - when I reached out to Firestone they refused to honor the warranty on the 1" taller bags because of a "non-approved use", which is BS since they are the exact same bag as the 200-series Land Cruiser kit, except 1" taller.

 

[Mutant]

The Project 200 guys have info for which bags you need with a 2" lift:

LandCruiser 200 - Airbag Man Heavy Duty Airbags - Project 200

If you've never cut your jounce stops then I think the regular kit works fine for a 2" lift, just cut one less ring off than the kit says.

FWIW I have Firestone air bags but if I had to buy another set I would look at the Airbag Man kits because:

• The Airbag Man kits have a 60psi option, whereas the Firestone max out at 30-35psi (depending on bag height).
• My first 2 installs were fine, but I think my current setup is leaking a tiny bit of air from somewhere as I've had to add air to keep the bags at 5psi this winter. I didn't have that issue before. I suspect it's a problem with the brass fitting in one of the bags since it didn't leak previously.
• If you have a non-factory suspension Firestone support is awful. In my experience they will refuse to help you. See my point #2 - when I reached out to Firestone they refused to honor the warranty on the 1" taller bags because of a "non-approved use", which is BS since they are the exact same bag as the 200-series Land Cruiser kit, except 1" taller.

Great info! Thank you

 

[Fisher112]

Great info! Thank you

I'll give my view with a couple towing scenarios with the LC. I pull a 26' TT that's around 7000lb with a basic load distribution hitch and it does fine with power and braking, and the tongue weight was easily manageable with this type of hitch. I was also able to keep the tongue weight below the 850lb max without any problems. I also pull a 20' flatbed with a 6000lb Kubota tractor that combine for about 8000lb. Same situation with the hitch - level load and tongue weight without too much trouble. The trailer with tractor pulls much easier than the travel trailer for one reason - sway. The wind / side loads on the TT can make for an uncomfortable driving experience if it's windy and you haven't towed much. The short wheelbase of either the LX or LC will lend itself to this issue. I wouldn't call it dangerous but an F250 would have significantly better sway control. I have read that the Hensley sway control setup can basically eliminate this problem but I have no experience with it. In summary I'd say power, braking, and tongue weight/rear ride height are all manageable with either the LC or LX and a properly configured torsion bar hitch setup, but you need to understand the sway disadvantage of either vehicle in comparison to a long wheelbase 3/4 ton truck. A couple other factors to consider, that some have already mentioned include tires and gearing. I upgraded to LT BFG all terrains and the additional rigidity helped with the sway, and I typically run in manual 4th gear and it pulls very good from a power standpoint with only occasional downshifts to 3rd on steeper climbs. Hope this helps!

 

[linuxgod]

Longer wheelbase is better but I drove ~75mph across Iowa, Nebraska, and the eastern part of Colorado last summer and I had very little sway, and I'm running 285/75R17 tires, which have much more sidewall than the factory P-metrics. I expect the new Blue Ox hitch will do even better than the inexpensive Pro Series I was using. Yes a diesel crew cab F250 with 8' bed will pull better, but you can get excellent sway control on the LC with a good hitch and proper spring weight/support. The only time I've had any issues with sway were in 40-50 mph crosswinds, but slowing down to 60mph eliminated them (and BTW the 18 wheelers in front of me had far larger issues, to the point of being blown onto the shoulder).

 

[swatski]

I bought mine off eBay. The bags are $100. You can use the Schroeder valve (car tire style) to inflate with a bike pump or spend an extra $75 on an inexpensive air compressor like I did.

They fit inside the stock rear springs. If you have a lift then you may or may not need slightly taller bags depending on the spring height

Firestone Helper Air Bag Installation

Thanks a bunch for writing this up!

I had the bags installed by Brad at M.T. Shiele in St. Louis, great guys (thanks to @mmbirtcher for the recommendation for this shop!).

--

 

[mmbirtcher]

Those guys are top notch at MT Schiele

 

[Jason Andrews]

The LX is way, way better for towing. I drive an LC 200, but we also own an LX (wife drives it). I have had 2 LC 200s and 3 LX 200s. The AHC system is huge when it comes to towing. The fact that you can lower the truck, pull under a trailer, and lift the truck back into the tongue without having to crank anything up is very nice. The fact that the ride levels is very nice. If you happen to ever tow a boat with it, the fact that you can lift the truck up so the rear end doesn't get salt water on it is nice. The LC sags under heavy loads and simply does not perform as well as the LX towing wise.

View attachment 1678771

That is my old ride. I now have a 2016 LC. I actually miss my 2009 LX. It was pretty sick looking as you can see.

Damn, that looks massive! Know how much it weighed?? I'm debating putting a Redarc brake controller on my LX so I could possibly tow my 6,000lb 80series on a 2,200lb trailer. Definitely pushing the limits and theoretically breaking the legal limit with regard to tow capacity. Feasible or no?

 

[Lou Gill]

Follow the instruction manual on the LX, 1000 % better then any Tahoe or yukon I have owned the AHC is amazing!!! 5000 pound boat!

 

[dnh1]

Damn, that looks massive! Know how much it weighed?? I'm debating putting a Redarc brake controller on my LX so I could possibly tow my 6,000lb 80series on a 2,200lb trailer. Definitely pushing the limits and theoretically breaking the legal limit with regard to tow capacity. Feasible or no?

The boat and trailer are 12k plus

 

[dnh1]

Always fun