Airbags - Lets discuss

[footlong70]

Take out all the leaf springs but the main leaf, just to center the axle, get a quality set of traction bars to hold the axle in place preventing axle wrap and use the ride rites to support all of rear weight (unless you plan on having more than 5000lb on the rear axle). Exact same idea as the R 4tech kit but much cheaper. Personally I don't trust the over spring ride rites with the upper brackets(seen a few bent and the grade 5 bolts shearing off). I have the inside frame mounted ones which IMO are beefier and setup to hold weight more directly on the frame.
I ran mine for a couple thousand miles to see how it pans out and if it was worth while. After being astounded by the difference I took it a step further and beefed up the brackets from the ride rite kit for peace of mind and ditched the cheap u bolt setup that holds the bottom bracket in place(welded it solid), replaced the bags with long travel triple bellow bags(600PSI rated) with the same diameter. Increasing the volume of the bag softened the ride further more by decreasing the rate they pressurize in the same given travel. For on board air I added a AirLift wireless compressor kit for simplicity, convenience, price until I'm ready to put on a serious compressor setup on.
Now I'm only using enough suspension to hold the truck up rather than the max GVW all the time. 55 PSI brings the truck back up to leaf spring height, 85 PSI supports a fully loaded box with a fully loaded rv hooked up to normal height. I have the ability to change pressures going down the highway to feel real time suspension changes and I have the ability to make the rear "kneel" to close to stock height for box use or fast trailer hook up (all firestone ride rite bags and my newer bags are made with internal bump stops so damage to the bag is no issue. Truck rides so much better than stock and its 7-8 inches lifted and running on 38.5" tires. She never has a saggy looking rear regardless of load. If I had to be honest, it rides like a well broke in f-150 and very "floaty" on the highway, with or without a trailer. My main concern was sway though. I expected an unstable setup with the bags being softer than the springs and being mounted 6 inches closure to the center of the truck then the leaves. However some how it feels just as stable as stock even given the height empty or pulling the rv. All and all I'm super impressed. Roughly just over 10k on the setup.
For anybody curious I'm running 7" lift Icon dual rate springs in the front with a mish mash of random drop brackets, Newton traction bars with 8" traction blocks and a homemade shackle flip (doesn't do anything now that the springs don't support anything). And complimenting the setup is a set of ICON aluminum 2.0 nitrogen shocks all around which took the ride comfort to a whole new level. I use to be embarrassed about the way the truck rode, now I receive compliments every time someone new rides in her.

 

[simonton6.4]

For those with the on board air and gauges where did you mount the gauges at

 

[VanoFord]

Take out all the leaf springs but the main leaf, just to center the axle, get a quality set of traction bars to hold the axle in place preventing axle wrap and use the ride rites to support all of rear weight (unless you plan on having more than 5000lb on the rear axle). Exact same idea as the R 4tech kit but much cheaper. Personally I don't trust the over spring ride rites with the upper brackets(seen a few bent and the grade 5 bolts shearing off). I have the inside frame mounted ones which IMO are beefier and setup to hold weight more directly on the frame.
I ran mine for a couple thousand miles to see how it pans out and if it was worth while. After being astounded by the difference I took it a step further and beefed up the brackets from the ride rite kit for peace of mind and ditched the cheap u bolt setup that holds the bottom bracket in place(welded it solid), replaced the bags with long travel triple bellow bags(600PSI rated) with the same diameter. Increasing the volume of the bag softened the ride further more by decreasing the rate they pressurize in the same given travel. For on board air I added a AirLift wireless compressor kit for simplicity, convenience, price until I'm ready to put on a serious compressor setup on.
Now I'm only using enough suspension to hold the truck up rather than the max GVW all the time. 55 PSI brings the truck back up to leaf spring height, 85 PSI supports a fully loaded box with a fully loaded rv hooked up to normal height. I have the ability to change pressures going down the highway to feel real time suspension changes and I have the ability to make the rear "kneel" to close to stock height for box use or fast trailer hook up (all firestone ride rite bags and my newer bags are made with internal bump stops so damage to the bag is no issue. Truck rides so much better than stock and its 7-8 inches lifted and running on 38.5" tires. She never has a saggy looking rear regardless of load. If I had to be honest, it rides like a well broke in f-150 and very "floaty" on the highway, with or without a trailer. My main concern was sway though. I expected an unstable setup with the bags being softer than the springs and being mounted 6 inches closure to the center of the truck then the leaves. However some how it feels just as stable as stock even given the height empty or pulling the rv. All and all I'm super impressed. Roughly just over 10k on the setup.
For anybody curious I'm running 7" lift Icon dual rate springs in the front with a mish mash of random drop brackets, Newton traction bars with 8" traction blocks and a homemade shackle flip (doesn't do anything now that the springs don't support anything). And complimenting the setup is a set of ICON aluminum 2.0 nitrogen shocks all around which took the ride comfort to a whole new level. I use to be embarrassed about the way the truck rode, now I receive compliments every time someone new rides in her.

pic of this bag setup would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[superstroked]

I just put bags on my 09. I went with the firestone bag setup and the Airlift Wireless compressor setup. This kept from having to run any wiring into the cab and really helped when pulling my Toy hauler which is about 2800lbs of pin weight and 15,500lbs total

before;

after with about 35 lbs in the bags;

 

[LovinPSDs]

I'm liking the idea of stripping the leafs down and using the bags for weight, however I do have alittle bit of concern..

Would there be any issues in scenarios of articulation, or any other scenario for that matter where stripping the leafs down would be dangerous or damage anything?

 

[LovinPSDs]

Any comments on Carli long travels? They are frame to axle, wouldn't that be better? For distributing the load?

 

[footlong70]

I'm liking the idea of stripping the leafs down and using the bags for weight, however I do have alittle bit of concern..

Would there be any issues in scenarios of articulation, or any other scenario for that matter where stripping the leafs down would be dangerous or damage anything?

Well I tested that out this weekend actually and the rear articulates alot more then stock. The triple bellow bags I upgraded to have 10" of travel and being closer to center means the bag is traveling a fraction of the wheel's travel. Even the ride rite bag's max travel is roughly 5-6 inches which is more like 10-12" of wheel travel with the inner frame mounted kit. As far as damage to anything I do not see any reason why anything would be affected negatively. As long as the bag clears everything (which they do). As for the main leaf, it doesn't really support any weight, just centralizes the axle side to side. A quality set of traction bars solves the severe axle wrap issue which is then created (which most of us already have or already planned on getting) and the bags take care of direct weight. I say "quality" because they are now the primary and only real axle stabilizer in place once the leaves are removed. As an added bonus the traction bars sway arch will bind much less throughout the wheel travel having not fight with a leaf spring pack, just one easily flexed main leaf.
Sorry no pics of actual setup for now since I'm a long ways from home for a couple weeks but heres some articulation. You can see a slight preview in the last pic:

The best advice I can give is if you have traction bars and a airbag kit then take an evening to pull the leaves and try it out for a couple days. If you don't like it for whatever reason throw the leaves back in, no harm done.

 

[footlong70]

Any comments on Carli long travels? They are frame to axle, wouldn't that be better? For distributing the load?

I like the idea of Carli's but I didn't see a load capacity for them. Sleeve style bags tend to have a lower capacity and I opted for minimum 2500lb rating for each bag. No point in having a bag that takes ~80 PSI to hold up the rear empty because it doesn't leave a lot of room to increase. (just speculation though without proper specs). My triple bellows are good for 2600 each and ride rites are obviously 2500 each. Sleeve style tend to ride better though, and rolling lobe bags if you can fit them in ride the smoothest with the highest capacity. Carli's are also 850 bucks vs 300 for a ride rite kit which IMO are still decent quality. Just a matter of preference.

 

[LovinPSDs]

So last question... What about traction bars, shock brackets and sways bars inhibiting ground clearance. Footlong, I like what you have going on there! I might need to pm you as to not detail not to much...

Edit... Yeah I'm side tracked. I'm thinking airbags + less spring for ride and flex...ill PM you as to keep this on track. But thanks for the great info!

 

[footlong70]

So last question... What about traction bars, shock brackets and sways bars inhibiting ground clearance. Footlong, I like what you have going on there! I might need to pm you as to not detail not to much...

Not sure totally what your asking. Traction bars will loose you obviously the most clearance but how many guys actually do serious offroading with their rigs? Plus you would be surprised what you can get over before bottoming out. Personally I wouldn't run a tuned 6.4 without bars period purely for ride comfort and crisp shifting. There are smaller traction bar setups that will accomplish the same thing with less bar to expose such as caltracs. As for shock brackets, nothing changes (stock locations). And I do not have a rear sway bar.

PM away.

 

[tbsimmons]

What's the best way to go about this? Remove some leafs or get new springs all together.

I had mine made. You could remove them PIA though, I would rather swap them.
If I was going to do it again I would get rid of the springs all together and use a 4-link and air bags.

 

[tbsimmons]

For those with the on board air and gauges where did you mount the gauges at

I took the gauge and the switch out of the plate they come in.
I put them in the dash to the left of the gauges.
There is a support to the left of them so the switch is below the gauge.
If you want them side by side you will have to cut that support.

 

[LovinPSDs]

Anyone have an 4link rear setup for mildly lifted trucks? All I've seen is kelderman or OUO 12+" lifts. Guess I could probably put one together but for a daily driver I would want to understand ALOT more about suspension geometry

 

[reyn7.3]

Check this stuff out. Might get some ideas if anything

http://www.airbagit.com/category-s/2162.htm

http://www.airbagit.com/1999-2004-FORD-F-350-Towing-Kits-p/towing-f350-5.htm

 

[Got Smoke?]

Another option at little less $$$ is PacBrake air bag kits. I'm planning to get a set for my OBS in the near future.


Sent from the command position of my dinosaur.

 

[Binder man]

I love firestone kits. Simple and bolt together. 99% of the time I don't use onboard air, just shoot some air in them when you fuel up with a trailer. If you want some prices shoot me a PM I deal them

 

[Tree Trimmer]

who has triple bellow bags???

 

[Redman920-06 350]

who has triple bellow bags???

For your pickup?

 

[Tree Trimmer]

yup. for instance to replace the dual bellow ride rites with those triple bellows.

 

[Redman920-06 350]

yup. for instance to replace the dual bellow ride rites with those triple bellows.

You can get triple bellows but their expensive for the most part and not common. I work in parts of a Trailer/truck repair facility, and I'll tell you its a :badidea: Unless you have a GOOD reason for it.