I am looking to add air bags to the rear suspension and am looking for what you guys feel is a good product. I am on a budget and don't want to spend a lot of money. Yes the on board compressor would be nice, but to save money I'll forgo it. I have a f250 crew cab long bed single rear wheel. I do have a gooseneck hitch in the back and tow about 10-12k fifth wheel. What do you guys recommend? Or should I just add a helper spring?

 

I just finished installing the Air-lift bag kit on my dually. I really like it and installation wasn't bad at all. I didn't get the compressor kit with it either but I am going to be ordering that soon. I just got my fifth wheel out of storage and pulled it home and the air bags did great. That is my only trip I have gone on since installing the bags. My fifth wheel weighs in at about 12k lbs. I got the bag kit off Amazon for about 300 bucks.

 

Thanks Troy I was looking at the ones on amazon. The Firestone kit seamed pretty good. I'll look into the Air-Lift kit too. Was everything just bolt on?

 

I am sure the Firestone kit would be great as well. Yep everything was bolt on. The only modification I needed to make was to my exhaust pipe that went over the axle. My exhaust pipe being 5" was a little to close to the top mounting bracket so I had to heat up and massage the pipe a little for clearance. Other then that it bolted right in.

 

Well, I can speak to the firestone kit. I just finished the install on my 450 this last weekend. Overall, the kit was pretty easy to install. Everything bolted right in with no modifications. The kit was sturdy and well designed. I see no issues with this kit at all. I put my 11.5 foot Arctic Fox Camper on the truck and it did amazing leveling the truck out, as I would expect. I also added the tork lift stable loads, which helped a ton too. I've only driven about 30 miles on it, but it is noticeably better.

I too didn't do the compressor. However, that will be done in the near future. I put the bags on first as I can manually inflate until I get the rest of the system and put it on. I'd highly recommend the firestone kit. I have no experience with the Air Lift kit.

 

Air bag for sure if in the budget, adding helper springs will usually make ride quality worse unloaded and sometimes loaded as well . Unless you go with something like stable load quick disconnect . heres a link http://www.torklift.com/index.php/pr...ick_disconnect

Here are my suggestions based of experience towing and things i have tried:

The first thing i would recommend is an outboard air bag set up. A lot of the air bag setups out there are selling inboard setups that go on the inside of the spring. An outboard set-up goes on the outside between the spring and the tire.

Outboard set-ups offer more stability over inboard type set-ups. The easiest way i can explain is if you where to balance a 5' 2*4 on your fist the further you move your fist out the easier it is to keep the board stable, the same thing applies to the location of the air bags.

Consider the size of the air bags. The smaller the air-bag the more air pressure it takes to support a load. By going with a air bag that 1.5 or 2" larger diameter in size, air pressure can be dropped significantly and the ride quality improves as well to carry the same weight.

Here is an additional place to look.

Air Suspension Pros | Find Quality Suspension Lowering & Lift Kits

In addition, if you decided to install a on-board compressor there are some neat things you can do to improve ride quality. With the right air-bag set-up, one thing is removing a leaf or two from your spring stack. This will allow a much softer ride when your not loaded since you can adjust you ride height with the air-bag. Another one is a dump switch combined with the leaf removal will allow you truck to drop low enough to connection to a fifth-wheel or gooseneck then use the air-bags to pick it up. Thats just a few things you can do. If you would like some other suggestions let me know and i can share.

I started with a kit from air lift which was two bags a smart air controller with a little tiny air compressor that came with it, and basically modified it to what worked best for me. Now I run a electric magnetic sensor made by air lift that adjust the rear ride height automatically by controlling a electric air solenoid. The Air is now supplied by a 480C Dual Air compressor by Viair.

I purchased everything off e-bay and got some great deals. I have found t helps to look for the items by there part numbers vs description to get the best deals.

Hope this helps

 

I've had airbags on both F350s I've had and won't tow heavy without them again if possible. I used Firestones and a Viair onboard kit. I love being able to change the pressures in the bags as the road conditions change. They are totally worth it in my opinion.

 

If you are looking for some load support on a budget, we do offer our AirCell which is basically an enlarged bump stop. It will only come into contact with the rear axle while under load, but it will not allow you to level the truck at all. AirCell: Static Load Support from Air Lift | Air Lift Company - Tow and Haul with Safety and Comfort

If you would rather go with bags, we are offering a
$50 mail in rebate through June.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

I have the Firestone Ride Rites on both of my trucks and absolutely love them. Even empty the ride is better than stock. I'm with golfmedik, I won't tow without airbags again if I don't have to.

 

I've had the Firestone airbags on my 2008 F350 CC for the last 5 yrs. The F350 doesn't really need them, but I like the stability the airbags give me. I don't have the onboard compressor, but I did run a 12vdc outlet by the rear bumper where I have the valves. It only takes a couple minutes to air them up to 24psi and I'm good to go.

 

Wow 24psi is really low where you empty? With the air lifts i ran 75-90

 

Nope. My Fifth Wheel is 2k lbs on the the hitch weight. I've experimented with different PSI's and found 20 to 30 is perfect depending on how much the 5ver is loaded. If I run it anymore than that, my rear end has too much rake, and the ride is too stiff.

 

Ah that explains it, I'm usually around 3800-4300lbs tongue weight .

 

i like my timbren bushings, cheap easy no maintenance. Timbren SES Suspension Upgrades - Upgrade Your Truck, Van, SUV if i had money to burn id have me one them kelderman air suspension kits.... F-250, Ford, Stock Height | Kelderman

 

Ghetto,
I read about the Timbren SES Kit. I was thinking of getting a set of air bags for my truck but am very curious about the Timbren SES for the rear. Did you install the front kit too or just the rear? Can you give me any extra information about them? Thanks!
Clint