Ive seen some setups on the net that had air bags in the rear but they still had the factory shocks.. I dont know why they would have both or if im just imagining that i saw that. Other thing is the rear bags go from the frame to the rear end in some setups and in some it goes from the frame to the 4 link trailing arm. Im looking to put the truck on the ground when its parked so i assume i would go to the trailing arm with a c notch for the rear end? Any info helps. Thanks

 

The shocks are installed for dampening,without them it will feel like your floating when driving (not a good feeling) for bag placement go on the Web and search the pros and cons,on both of my trucks there placed on top of the axle.

 

will the shocks prevent it from lowering all the way down though?

 

Shocks are not designed to limit travel. If they do they wont last very long. That's the job of the bump stops.

 

So youre saying pretty much the setup keeping the shocks is better for the ride and that's the way I should go?

 

All I'm saying is that the shocks would not prevent you sinking unless they ran out of travel. And you should be designing to avoid that happening anyway.


I don't have enough knowledge about the system to say whether or not you need to run shocks sorry. It's just not for me. Dynamic performance is more important than static performance in vehicle suspension.

 

This is what you will have without shocks or with bad shocks.


Not only a rough ride but you will have very little grip so it's really dangerous too.

Select a shock that has enough travel to cover the range of suspension travel you need. You will often see shocks on air ride vehicles mounted at an angle or more extreme angle. This allows for a longer travel shock to be mounted in a shorter vertical space. The shocks will not be quite as effective mounted at an angle but they will still be much better than no shock at all.

 

Air bags replace springs...shocks are not part of that equation. If you plan to slam the truck then you better find a shock that will handle that amount of travel. You don't want your shock acting like a bump stop...up or down.

 

Just like the others posted, you can't use a shock to limit your travel,all you do is figure out your ride height and your drop height, make sure you add extra travel past ride height and drop height,go to your local parts store and match to length.

 

My running board only has less than 1/2 inch clearance in the front and I have shocks,it's all in your air setup.

 

any pictures of your setup? or do you know of anywhere i can see? i kind of get what your saying but it would be much easier to see with my own two eyes.

 

I have 2 write ups in this forum, one is a 55 with stock frame, the other is project fuggly with a s10 frame, both have air ride

 

Air bags in the rear used to be added to handle overload. As Mike's video shows shocks are used to dampen jounce and rebound and smooth out the ride.

As an example if someone has lowered a front end by changing springs only, air bags may need to be added if the axle contacts the jounce bumper on the frame too often or too hard.


Before


After - not a good A/B comparison as front axle is not loaded but you get the idea.

 

On a air ride system you still need shock to dampin the bumps and uneven road surface and also if it is a good gas shock will give you better roll control of the vehicle,, it is a very good idea to run shocks on a air ride vehicle unless you run shockwave shocks then you will not need a shock as it is built into the bag, but a bag style shock you must run a shock