Hellwig Products Sway Bar and Air Spring Get Mounted Up
Story and Photos By: Staff of UTV Sports Magazine
Hooking up a trailer and towing for the first time can be intimidating to say the least. Towing something large (and usually expensive) can be a daunting task to many and can cause a lot of unneeded stress and anxiety.
While there is no substitute for experience and familiarity with a trailer, there are a few upgrades you can make to your tow vehicle to mitigate some of the stresses of towing, like the rear sway bar and air spring kit from Hellwig Products that we will be installing on our 1995 Dodge Ram 2500 4×4 shop truck.
On the install docket is the Hellwig Products Rear Sway Bar (Part #7626) and Air Spring Kit (Part #6400). With addition of the rear sway bar and air springs, our shop truck should greatly benefit from the increased stability and load leveling capabilities making it drive down the road with or without load much better. The 1995 Dodge 2500 4×4 is a fairly sought after truck, mainly for the power packed and bullet proof 12 valve Cummins Diesel Engine under the hood.
The chassis on the other hand is less than desirable for towing heavy loads as it often feels like you are driving a giant marshmallow down the road. This is a unsettling feeling when you are headed to a mountain pass with a heavy load in tow. The addition of these 2 easy to install components help make the factory Dodge 2500 chassis a very good towing rig. Add to that the power and torque numbers that can be had from the 12 valve Cummins and for a 1⁄4 of the cost, you have a one capable truck.
Why Sway Bars?
Sway bars or more accurately anti-roll bars, are designed to resist a vehicle’s tendency to pitch from side to side during cornering. Since most trucks and SUVs come from the factory equipped with a front sway bar but are lacking a rear sway bar, installing a larger, aftermarket bar or set of bars can dramatically improve cornering ability, making for a more comfortable and controlled ride.
Body roll is reduced by the torsional effect of the sway bars as they transfer the pressure exerted on the inboard wheels to the out- board wheels. This results in weight that is more evenly distributed to all four wheels, helping the vehicle stay more level with the road and im- proving overall grip in turns.
Sway bars are one of the most cost effective and dramatic improvements you can make to your tow rig. They are easy to install, making them a great first upgrade for anyone who wants more control.
Why Air Springs?
Air springs, also commonly referred to as air bags, are a great way level the vehicle when under load from a trailer. When a vehicle is not properly leveled and is sagging in the rear, the vehicle is more likely to bottom out and make the steering and braking unpredictable due to uneven weight distribution on the front and rear tires.
Air springs mount to a vehicle’s rear axle and require air pressure to operate effectively. The Hellwig bags offer a 2,500 pound load leveling capacity per bag, for a total of 5,000 lb load leveling capacity. Our kit also included the optional automatic load leveling compressor, which adds just the right amount of air to each bag to restore the vehicle to a level ride height.
Once properly inflated, the air springs provide the needed support to keep an even contact patch on the ground with all four tires.
Though air springs provide added support and confidence on the road, it’s important to remember to never exceed the factory GVWR load rating of the vehicle.
With the upgrades complete, we were anxious to hit the road and do some test- ing of our own. We hooked up the trailer and inflated the air springs to return the truck to level. Once underway, we noticed the difference almost immediately. Steering and braking response was vastly improved, no doubt due in part to a more even weight distribution from the installation of the rear sway bar. The truck felt very sta- ble through corners and at highway speeds. We were pleased to find that at no point the air springs made the ride harsh or stiff.
Better yet, we were pleased to find that without the trailer loaded, the truck ride was greatly improved as well. Our old Ram reacted very well to the addition of the rear sway bar, sans the trailer weight it felt like a 6,000 lb race car.
If you are looking to improve your vehicle’s handling on your tow rig or regular vehicle, the addition of a sway bar and or air spring kit is an easy upgrade that will provide a noticeable difference instantly.
