I've been toying with the idea of putting air suspension on my truck for some time now, and have started getting serious about doing the research. I've looked pretty heavily at the Firestone R4 tech system, but have recently read some bad reviews on it (in the 6.7 forum from a guy with an F450) that have left me less gung-ho about it. The Kelderman 4 link looks really sweet, but it's quite a bit more coin. My plan is to only do the rear (with new leveling coils up front), but part of me says I may as well go all in and do the front too (my wallet doesn't necessarily agree).

I'm currently running stock suspension on my F250 and the goal would be to have the rear sit as high as a stock F350 with the front leveled out (~2" over stock). I pull a myriad of trailers, with the heaviest being a 10klb travel trailer. The truck handles it fine as is, so this isn't really necessary, but I'm looking for a project and a little bit of cool factor. It would be awesome if the truck rode like a caddy down the highway loaded or unloaded.

Anyone out there bit the bullet on this? Any outsider thoughts/suggestions?

 

Airbagit.com has a pretty nice setup also. You can go up and down without getting out to have to hook a trailer up.

I wanted to do my truck when I was actually using it for something besides a daily driver/grocery getter but not so much now......

 

Its always been a dream of mine, and after seeing how much money (and fabrication) would be involved, its going to stay a dream. Here's a picture, although a little more extreme than what you're looking for.

 

Yeah, I'm at the tipping point, and the more I look into it, the more it may stay a dream. This is one of the reasons that I'm looking at the Firestone kit - it seems to be a compromise and good middle of the road. I've read lots of good reviews on it when used on SRW trucks, but there are a couple of dually's running the system that have not been happy at all. Add this to the fact that I can't get them to return my emails asking for more information, and it makes me pretty cautious (they are usually eager to help BEFORE they get your money).

 

i have firestone bags front and rear on my van, for the load leveling,
however, i don't use onboard air compressor or leveling stuff...

50lb in the front, and 80 lb in the rear, and drive it. works well.

$110 for the front, $235 for the rear. the compressed air was free.

 

i have them on the back of my dually and i have no complaints at all. it didnt make it ride any smoother but at the same time it isnt any rougher either. When i have her loaded down she rides like a caddy tho. i can about 4 inches of lift out of them.

 

Are you guys talking about helper bags, or full blown air suspension (no coil or leaf springs)? I've already got some AirLift bags on the rear, and they are nice for leveling the load out, etc. I'm talking about going whole hog though, ditching the springs altogether and replacing them with air bags.

 

Here are some links to one guys "air ride"

PMF Air Lift - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

And a link with some final pictures. Says you can order any size you need. This would be the Wrong size for most!!!!!!!!

Change in progress....PMF Air Lift Install - Page 20 - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

 

This is the one I like and seems like a relatively easy install: Dealer_E-Mail_Ad_120409

 

My '06 F-350 is stock suspension. I want to upgrade to the Firestone setup. My Brother Inlaw has it on his GMC3500 and it rides like a Caddy... err Lincoln.

Problem is I have a B&W hitch and I read you can't use air ride with them. Overlapping mounts was the issue I think. Need to find out more before I go buying parts.

 

I'm 99% sure that the mounts do not interfere with each other. I will be adding a B&W in the near future and was slightly concerned about that as well. From what I can tell on all of the information I've seen, the air bag on the Firestone setup mounts to the inside of the frame. It uses the same holes as the B&W, but since the hitch mounts to the outside of the frame, the only thing you need is longer bolts.

Has your BIL had any problems with the R4 setup? Did he do the install himself?

 

He had the dealer install them when he bought the truck. He hasn't had any problems at all. We drove it from Texas to Wyoming and back and it was a great ride loaded and empty.