:)

Hahahaha....I didn't even have to try this time, KMET. This guy revived a 3 year old thread, didn't bother with any context, called me out, then called me names without me even responding. Whatevz.

Coil and shocks for trailer hauling?
 

We are having problems with our 2005 LR3 air suspension, and simultaneously preparing to buy a 5,000 pound travel trailer to haul with the LR3.
Since this thread is several years old, I thought to see what the current experiences and recommendations would be.
We replaced the compressor about eight years ago at about 50,000 miles, replaced the front lower and upper control arms at 75,000 miles and recently replaced the alternator at 83,000 miles to alleviate a symptom of warning lights and having the LR3 drop to the bushings when travelling on the freeway. It did not work, so the dealer is puzzling through it at this time.
We don't want to be out in the boondocks with a trailer when the system dies again and drops to the bushings.
Our thought is to replace the air system entirely with a heavy duty shock and coil solution (which adds 2" lift).
Anyone out there that has done this, or has personal knowledge of it, they would care to share?

How long is the trailer?

What codes did the dealer pull or is this a independent shop?

The trailer is 20' long.
I will ask the LR dealer for the codes tomorrow.

Having towed the exact same load behind a EAS and coil sprung LR3. I can say the EAS does tow better. It self levels which is great and I think it did slightly better on sway. 20' at that weight should be fine

I pulled the air suspension from my 2009 about 3yrs ago or so and have never looked back. I did it for the same reasons your worried about, I use my rig for hauling trailers across Canada from Ontario to PE, and I got sick of 'repairing' the system only to have it fail again on me weeks sometimes days later (I also do a lot of off road trail riding and couldn't risk the air suspension dropping me to the mud in the middle of nowhere). I have a 26 ft twin axel with electric brakes, I have the heavy duty shocks with 2" extra height with the old man emu set up.

I can tell you from personal experience that the Landy runs just fine and sits well even with heavy loads. The ride is tight and I don't get any sway from the trailer even at highway speeds.

As I mentioned in a previous post a few years ago off road capability also has not been compromised win this set up either. (At least I don't notice any difference in my style of off road driving).

For me making the swap was worth it, as I was spending $1000's on repairs that kept cropping up and no matter what I did the air suspension kept throwing codes.
I have a friend who did his 2006 last year after riding with me for some time in my 2009 he is glad he did too as he pulls a boat and he was getting stuck at the side of the road too often.

The only problem with air suspension is fear and ignorance. No, really. The system is pretty simple yet people are intimidated by it. Long ago EAS was no as common and they systems were even simpler in design, yet people could not "handle" fixing them. It was too foreign to them. They fear what they dont understand and get easily frustrated. Perfectly normal really. But once you get educated on all the bits you can see its a simple system. The only way it could cost thousands and thousands to repair is by either replacing the entire setup or simply tossing parts at it out of ignorance or going to a shop that is ignorant of the system. Like anything, proper maintenance and how to do so is all it needs to last the life of the vehicle. The weak points are already known (dryer desiccant, dryer cap, compressor life, airbag life). At least with EAS if it fails, you can still dive. If a leaf setup snaps, you can be totally out of commission. If a suspension coil breaks - 50/50 chance of being safely drivable. In the end, each setup has pros and cons and it would be silly to call any setup better.

Few things can really make it go out-of-commission while on the trail, too. I think height sensors "failing" is something that got over-stated. Do they really fail? Or does the calibration get lost for some reason (mine got lost due to a bent bracket that went undetected, for example.) Regardless, carry a few spares; they are not expensive.

The health of the air shocks can be ascertained by raising the vehicle and checking for space between the cannister and the upper control arm. That is easy enough to do before an overlanding trip or if you are swapping tires.

The compressor is not usually gonna just go out SUDDENLY without giving some signs of tiring out. If those symptoms occur while you're overlanding, get it up to off-road height, pull fuses, and deal with it when you get home. No big deal.

Proper understanding and proper tools (have an IIDTool) are required.