Thanks for the input. I found firestones #2330 for a good price and will most likely get those.

 

Good choice...I have the Firestones and couldn't be happier. Remember to run the fill lines seperate (not tee'ed together).

 

Could you, or anyone who cares to, explain why you should not Tee the lines? I'm curious as to why.

 

I'd like to hear that too. Had Airlift bags on a '90 F150 to support a camper for 10+ years and never had occasion to wish for individual air pressures.

I had the Airlift compressor setup. When the Airlift pump died I replaced it with a generic 12v compressor. When that died I went manual until the bags gave out. 15+ years old at that point so I didn't mind.

 

If the air lines are tied together, you eliminate the "counter-sway" and leveling capabilities of air bags. When they're tied together, and loaded heavy, and go around a corner, the compression of the bag on the one side will force air into the other bag with less weight on it, exaggerating the lean. Same thing with an uneven load, the air is going to move from the bag you need it in, to the other, and again, exaggerating the uneven condition.

I have my rear bags separate. My fronts are tied together. I need the rears separate for sway control, but the front end I need to articulate more for plowing uneven surfaces.

 

Okay, I see how the leaning issue makes sense. I suppose that would be critical with high center of gravity loads like a slide-in camper.

With a 5th wheel or gooseneck, where the balance of the load is isolated from the truck, it probably doesn't make any difference if the lines are Tee'd. Because the hitch swivels. In fact, in the case of a bag or line failure, it would probably be better if the whole truck dropped equally.

 

Thanks for explaning that! A family member had tee'd together on his Dodge with a camper, I was behind him and saw the sway thinking something was wrong. We removed the tee after the trip and saw a significant improvement.

 

Right on.

I carry a big spreader in the back of the F350, along with 1.5-2 tons of salt. When I leave the yard, she's generally real close to, or over GVWR. Also, due to the nature of the spreader, more than 1/2 the weight is behind the rear axle, so it's bearing the entire weight of the load. It's not especially top-heavy, but it's heavy none-the-less. But before installing the bags, the truck was downright scary around corners. For towing, I don't see any downsides to having the rears separate (other than like you said, a failure, in which case you could just as easily deflate the other side), but I dont see any advantages to having them together either. I'd still separate them, unless the truck already has a supstantial sway bar in the rear, then in may not matter anyway.

As for the front, the weight of the plow is evenly distributed across the front. The Blizzard plows also don't articulate as well as some of the other brands, so having them tied together helps the front axle articulate better over uneven surfaces than if they were separate..

 

One of my trucks developed a weak spring , and not having the lines teed together helped me level it. Using mine as a work truck, you never know when you may have an uneven load. Just the sway factor alone is enough reason to run separate lines.

 

Run separate lines your defeating the purpose with the lines T'eed together because you end up transfering air pressure back and forth nothing stays level.

 

My truck had a rear anti-sway bar and heavy add-a-leafs. Those would obviate the need for additional sway control. I did not feel any difference after I went to manual fill with a T.

The Airlift kit circa '91 had (approx) 1/4" lines. Can't see much side-to-side flow there. Maybe couple of pounds during a turn event?

But even 2 lbs flow would make a 4 lb difference ie (60/60 --> 58/62) so if sway is a problem then don't T.

 

Not to be argumentative, but I use my truck for work and am always carrying different loads and leveling the truck with the air bags is a big plus, I do it all the time. I don't think the kits even come with a tee anyway. It just seems like a no brainer to me to run them separate.

 

It's not pressure, but volume we're concerned with. Yes the lines are small, but how long does it take to fill up one air bag from say 5 psi to 20 psi? A one or two second blast from an air compressor makes a HUGE difference in the pressure in one airbag due to it's very limited volume.

I've got a sway bar and overload springs on my truck, and as I mentioned, the sway is noticeable at first after adding the inboard air bags. My kit did come with a "T", but I didn't install it.