Air bag suspension

When I hitch up my trailer, my truck squats in the rear. I'm going to install the Firestone air bags with onboard compressor. I'm thinking about adding the height sensor kit, so I don't have to get out and look every time I hook up the trailer. Has anybody done this? Any suggestions?

 

I like the air bags slot. I have them on my Tundra.

What I've learned is the OBA is not missed. I add the same air pressure every time I tow the RV. I never adjust while travelling.

Besides, I hated the look of the controller and didn't want it cluttering up my dash.

In other words, I like simple. Air up as soon as I hook up and air down when I get home.

 

If you do paintball you can use CO2 or high pressure air to fill your airbags and skip the oba. A bike pump works too. There's less air and pressure than an mtb tire.

 

Good to know. Think I'll just get the air bags as we have lots of bike pumps lying around the house.

 

If you're in a hurry bike shops sell one shot quick fill canisters as well. The air bags just use a common schrader valve, just be sure to mount it(them if you do separate sides)where you can access it easily with adequate clearance.

 

Won't hurt to wrap the air lines with wireloom when you install.

 

The Airlifts for the 3rd gen are complete bolt on. No drilling at all. No destroying with more holes and can remove later.

 

Hey All,

I had the AirLift bags on my 2018 Pro for about 3-4 days. Removed and returned them.

There was no issue stretching the bags during articulation but they severely limited the travel on compression with or without a load (5psi min unloaded). The rear would bottom out on the bag assembly about 2 " above the bump stop. I started to have doubts about these during the installation as they simply take up so much room between the spring and frame.

I tow a travel trailer on pavement and wheel my truck with overland gear (RTT & rack, camp gear, awning, road shower, recovery gear, firewood...etc). I use a WD hitch with the trailer but the overland gear is squatting the truck pretty bad. I'm loosing a nice bit of clearance and travel this way. Truck is also my daily driver so 70% of the time it's empty.

I was originally going to go the add-a-leaf route but wanted to keep the factory suspension feel for daily use. I will if I have to but was wondering what else is out there.

Anyone know if the Firestones limit the travel on compression? Is the whole assembly taller than the factory bump stop when installed and fully compressed? If so, by how much?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers

 

Dunno about 3rd gens but my Firestones replace the bumpstops. Tomorrow I can deflate them and measure thickness at 5 lbs. with my cap and normal load I keep them around 30. At 20 it feels spongy but I've never had more than 65 with a bed full of concrete rubble. Daystar cradles would allow a lot more up travel at the expense of cradle thickness on compression but still a net gain over your current set up

 

Yes they also replace the bump stop on the 3rd gen. I'm wondering if the entire mounted assembly, when fully compressed (no air in system) takes up more room than the bump stop between the spring and frame?

That's the issue I was having above.

 

Unless you have an aftermarket and/or lifted suspension of any kind. I had to get longer mounting bolts (due to Dakar Leaf Springs) and modify the mounts (for clearance of the 2.5 Icons) and then add the Lift Spacer for axle contact and Daystar Cradles. re-reading this I sound like a douche... not my intent. Just want folks to know what they are getting into when adding air bags. You can do it, just be prepared... get ready to grind, paint, make hardware purchases, etc.

 

2022 TRD PRO. Do these help with towing? I was reading the other post and it seems there may be an issue?

 

I have the Firestone bags with Daystar cradle and a air lift wireless one compressor. I cannot speak for heavy towing, only pull a 5x8 utility trailer with typically no more than a thousand lbs of motorcycles. While towing a fully loaded trailer with gear boxes in the truck bed, the truck rides level with around 30 psi. I personally have never had any issues with them. I found this video informative....

https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg

 

As above, I've got Firestone bags, Daystar cups and an OBA compressor. I carry a constant load of tools and supplies so not just an empty bed. I have to have about 10-15 psi in there to keep from bottoming on the internal "stops" while using as a DD. No big deal if you ask me - this is the third vehicle I had with bag assist and it has always worked fine for extra capacity "on demand". The Taco has way too small capacity standard leafs in the rear - maybe 1/4 ton load? They were maybe designed for a single passenger, personal transportation sort of life - not what I expected from a "half ton" truck.

 

I've had RideRite bags on my stock springs for 5 years. They work great to eliminate squat from camper shell. I put independent schrader valves on either side of my license plate. The plastic cradles are a solution looking for a problem, in my opinion. I drive offroad for work and I've never had any articulation issues or damage. I suppose you might be able to over extend them if you have lifted spring pack, but if you have a lifted spring pack you probably don't need airbags.

 

Makes sense, for what it's worth, I broke five leaf springs on my 1st gen over 14 years. I added a leaf to my current 2nd gen when it was new then added the airbags eight years ago to reduce the chance of breaking these. I've made it all 12 years of owing this truck without breaking one. I added the Daystar cradles for when I go offroading in Colorado and Utah, not sure how much of a difference it makes, but was worth the small expense for piece of mind. I've had a rear wheel off the ground several times on trails, but never stopped to see if a bag was very far out of the cradle.

I still have the open recall for the leaf springs, but of the three different dealerships I've spoken with, only one was willing to reinstall the airbags on the rear end since they aren't factory... Not interested in getting a box of parts back. The third is a 14 hour drive from me, I was in for a failed u-joint on a road trip, not convenient, but at least they offered for a nominal fee, couple of shop hours....

 

I've had my airbags on for about 4 years, and just recently added cradles. I always have a bike pump with a gauge on it in the truck for mt biking, and it only takes a few pumps to get the airbags up to 20psi. I've never felt the need for a sensor or on board air with them. As long as they don't leak they're pretty much "air up and forget about them" for a while. I put my shrader valves inside the gas cap door to keep them clean and easy to check. Probably doesn't even take 2 minutes to adjust the pressures. (I put each bag on it's own air valve so that it would help reduce body roll, and so that I could lean the truck to one side when camping and sleeping in it)

 

Iv been thinking about getting air bags for my taco for moving firewood

 

They’re great for those occasional heavy loads. With a cap and my tools I run them pressurized all the time and bump it more fas needed. A paintball tank, pressure gage, and 2 switched air solenoids in the cab let’s me air up on the fly.

 

Yeah that's good advice about the paintball tank.