I have read so many posts about folks leveling their trucks. I love the look of leveled trucks. I am not interested in a lift for big off road tires. I tow a camper and don't want to change the height too drastically. I am looking for options that would give me a greater load limit though. Is this where the AAL comes in? How do you decide what size leveling kit to put in the front if you are adding the AAL? I don't have a problem pulling the camper but a little stiffer in the rear would be nice. but I figured the AAL would add some height in the rear which would look out of place so I would need something in the front to balance it.

 

nothing that you add will gain you any greater load limit over what ford specifies as the max payload for your truck because ford doesnt assign a payload limit based solely off the spring capacities. they take into consideration axle load, frame strength, engine/ trans configuration, vehicle weight ect ect. but an AAL will stiffen and raise the rear of the truck to make it so the truck doesnt sag as much under a load.

 

You are correct. I see now that I misstated my intent. That is what I am looking to accomplish. I would like for the truck to sag less when loaded. I am just not sure how people determine which size leveling kit they need. I would assume the correct method for me would be to install the AAL then determine how much to put in the front. I just don't know the formula to figure that out.

 

im not sure if there really is a formula for that. id do what you said and do the AAL and then figure out how much you want to bring the front up. im kind of in the same boat as you, i want to bring the front up a but but i pull a heavy camper trailer and i dont want it to be too low in the back with a load on it. i might just leave it alone.

 

Air bags are a great way to keep from sagging. There are several auto leveling kits you can add to air bags as well with a compressor to keep your truck level under load. It's not going to raise your rear end up at all but it will keep it level. They're nice too if you have an uneven load. Might be worth looking into.

 

Yes agreed air bags are the way to go if you want to keep it from the sag look, it also keeps you from having to adjust your headlights when you load up your truck. Which you should do, but probably no one does. Get the air bags first.. measure the height from ground to top of wheel well in back.. then measure from ground to top of wheel well up front, then just order the height level kit you need to make that number the same. I wouldn't go any higher then 2 1/2" level kit. Personally, i wouldn't go any higher then 2". I'd rather be off by being a little low, then being off and being a little too tall.

 

Had air bags in my last 3/4 ton truck. Only inflated them when needed to. Other than that I only kept 10 psi in them.
Didnt see the need to buy a compressor. I installed the valves on the rear bumper next to the license plate and used a bicycle pump to inflate them.

 

air bags are great i agree, but they are also alot more money than an AAL. in most cases an AAL will suffice for helping the truck sit a bit more level. i personally dont worry about it because i can level my truck/ load with my weight distributing hitch but i used an AAL in my ranger that i towed alot with and they helped a ton with sag with a load on it. as far as the headlights go it is something to be aware of but most trucks come from the factory with that in mind and the headlights are aimed so the lights arent pointing to the sky when the truck is sitting level under a load. as soon as you start to sag the rear lower than the front thats when headlight aim becomes a concern.

 

I too use a WD hitch with my camper, which is pretty light anyway. This is something I am looking into before upgrading my camper. I don't see the point of having to buy a big truck just to pull a camper when I could just beef up what I have for thousands less.

 

A simple bolt on air bag set up will be under $300. They typically have about a 5000lb capacity and you inflate them yourself. The auto leveling kits are what will end up costing you a little more (air compressor, valves, lines, etc.) but with a seperate pressure gauge on the bags you can even it out yourself.