Air bags vs helper springs

Hi,

The earlier thread on "tacoma square feet in bed" got me thinking about some kind of leveler or suspension helper for worn leaf springs.

From what I can gather a lot of people like air bags. The problem I have with them is rubber deteriorates over time and can be punctured, or air can leak out of them, or they can just blow. Maybe I am wrong, but having a rubber bag with air pressure just seems like a pain and that they can fail at an unopportune time. Plus air bags and a compressor is going to be over $300.

Hellwig makes some decent looking helper springs for the Tacomas, they are around 100 bucks for the set. No air compressor, lines, or air bags to mess with or have leak. I like that they are low maintenance, no air pressure to worry about and they are simple. Do they make the unloaded ride any stiffer?

Why do you prefer either air bags or helper springs?

Thanks

 

Tembren's seem like an alternative.

 

any issues you can think of?

 

Sounds like you have already convinced yourself to go the cheaper route? Everything cost money and everything eventually needs replacing or maintanence. I have airbags with a daystar cradle and an on board air compressor with a remote. I can automatically fill or unfil my airbags with the touch of a button. For me its convenient and i can change my ride quality on demand. The airbags imo are cheap if i need to replace 1. Everything is relative and it really comes down to your budget and what you want for ride quality going from loaded to empty.

 

I vote either a progressive aal, omd style aal (custom from a chevy/ford etc pack) or a full leaf set which is obviously the most expensive route

 

How much?

 

Depends on what you want to accomplish and how you use your truck. Some options can make your truck no longer street legal if you're not carful (if that is even a concern for you)...

Airbags and OBA might be expensive up front but now you have OBA and can fill tires or run air lockers and maybe even run some air tools... It adds capabilities other options can't. You could also do air shocks. Air bags will be the most adjustable to accommodate different loads but I have heard they can restrict flexibility. Somebody else may be able to give more detail on that.

AALs or helper springs make more sense if you are planning for a consistently higher load. Most will give you a notably stiffer ride when empty.

If your only reason is tired old saggy springs, new springs makes more sense to me then any of the other options. They just seem like a bandaid.

New custom springs might be the most expensive but in the long run might be the best option because you can get them made to work best for what you use your truck the most.

There is no right or wrong answer as long as the way you go suits your needs. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Go with what will do the most for you.

 

Air bags are nice because they don’t effect the ride quality when they are empty. I haven’t had any problems with mine leaking, I’ve got the air lift ones. Plus you can add the specific amount of air that you want to level your ride out. I use a Costco jumper box/air pump to pump mine up. My bags don’t effect flex at all but I have stock rear suspension with some 5125s.

 

When I bought my truck with 120,000 miles, the po had installed a riderite airbag system with oba and a switch. 4 yrs and 80,000 miles later I haven’t had a single problem with the system.

With a stock rear end the flex is limited enough that I haven’t had any issues with stretching the bags. My stock springs are shot, but when I swap them out I’ll keeps the bags and install daystar cradles. As other have mentioned airbags are versatile and worth the money imo.

If you haven’t come across this, it has a lot of good information on airbag set ups
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/official-firestone-riderite-lift-thread.279865/page-4

 

argh, 2nd gen solutions...

 

True, but I think the solutions are applicable to 1st gens... I think there are few 1st gen trucks are in that thread too.

 

I have the Hellwig helper springs in mine and can vouch for them; though they were actually already installed when I bought the truck. I'm planning to replace the og leafs with some Dakars, but as a stopgap solution I'm pretty impressed with the Hellwigs. Even with the added weight of the cap and an extra 200lbs of sand bags for snow traction, it stays level. I've had 500lbs + back there many times and it doesn't sag.

The ride is indeed pretty damn unforgiving without a load, though.

 

This^. Take a look at timbrens.

I put them on my truck. $200something.

The only thing is they suck if you’re bed is empty. Loaded and resting on the timbrens they’re great. I did about 1500 miles of rough dirt roads in Baja in November with a ton of stuff in the bed of my truck. I have an aux fuel tank, 10 gallon water tank, sleeping platform with drawers full of stuff and a 12 volt fridge. Oh yeah, and a spare tire.

 

could be, I'll look into it further when the time comes.

 

It is def mexico city down there. I didn't feel unwelcome when I was down there for a day.

 

Austin, Tx

 

The airbags I've seen cost around $100 for the kit, but I might be thinking of the kits for 4Runners (coil springs = less brackets), and you don't really NEED anything else besides a pump to inflate them. Anything from a bike pump, shop air, cheep-o 12v tire pump, or a fancy-pants on-board air compressor will do the job. All you need is around 30psi or so, iiirc...

The main problem I see people having with airbags leaking is generally from fittings leaking, and those are cheap fixes, or even just from user error (bad install). 18 wheelers use airbags (albeit thicker rubber than ours!), but I generally don't see many people having problems with them.

 

Yeah, that sounds right, that's the Ride-Rite kit probably.

I've been looking at airbags for my 4Runner, that's why $100 was in my head.

 

Yeah, I am kinda leaning towards helpers. BUT, I wanted to hear from guys with airbags too to see. But if helper springs are gonna make it ride like an empty dump truck when I am not hauling stuff than I dont know if I want them.

Thanks for your input, some good thing to consider there. My truck is actually a 1996 5 lug so not too concerned with flexibility, as its not gonna see much off road use.

Thanks for the thread, good read. Hadnt seen that one yet.

Ok, so the ride is pretty harsh compared to stock then?

Will check out Timbrens, thanks.

 

Ok, so not so expensive as I thought. Didnt realize a bike pump was all you need.