After being at SEMA all week and getting some inspiration on what I wanted to do with my truck, I stumbled over to the Firestone booth and talked to a tech guy for a bit. After talking to him about the specific kit for our trucks I decided to get one to the house for when I returned. Basically after adding the AS 2.5 the truck had the rear sagging about 1 inch or so and I didn't care for it. So, I knew that I didn't want the harsh ride of the add a leaf, nore did I want to go the taller block route in case I started making some power didn't want the axle wrap scenario. The air bag seemed like the perfect setup.

First impressions, the truck could easily get an additional 2" of height if you wanted with just 50lb of air out back. I just wanted 3/4" of hieght so I opted to run 15lbs of air in the bags and it acheived just that. The truck drives just like before but handled the on off ramps a bit better and felt more stable at higher speed. Also, the ability to air them up to 100lbs of preasure depending on load is a nice peace of mind. Weight transfer during intial movement is also distributed better for increased traction on wet/or dry surfaces.

The kit fit perfectly and performs better than expected, I am sure glad that I let them talk me into the kit at the booth. Here are a few pictures from the install.

Passenger Side Componets. Drivers Side already done.

 

 

Here are a couple random shots from tonight of my truck with it's new improved stance with some different camera settings at our local drive in.




New PIAA Bulbs

 

I considered the Air Bags for my truck and then stuck with the additional spring leaf choice. The shop where I got the work done made it pretty clear the Ride Rite system is not really designed for increasing load capacity, but rather for exactly what you are using it for, leveling things out or with occasional heavy loads.

I often carry fairly heavy loads in my truck so I opted for an additional spring leaf. The interesting part for me is that it has not hurt ride quality one bit, although it was a little harsh on the pocket book to the tune of $700. Apparently these rear springs have a different locating and bolt pattern which required drilling an extra hole in each new leaf. I'm sure that properly drilling spring material is not the easiest operation.

One thing that I haven't seen on here is the ability of the new series F150's to eat speed bumps. I am delivering pizzas for income these days and there is one place that I often go where there are speed bumps designed to slow down neighborhood traffic. They are marked 30 km/h. I am now consistently going over them at between 60 and 70 km/h. I know that is speeding and I know that it is irresponsible. I don't do it unless there is nobody else in sight and after little kids are long in bed. The fact is that the faster you go the better the truck eats them up. My guess is that at about 100 km/h you would only notice the sound.

 

Great photo work Jesse. Some of the best photos on this site. I particularly like the way that you hold with a long traditional of photographing your ride at the Drive-In. Pretty hard to find one of those in this part of the world any more.

 

Did you get a generic leaf or one made for our trucks? I got my rear Add A Leaf from Autospring off ebay and it was $150 shipped for the kit and I installed them myself (no drilling). $700 seems very high.

Jesse- Truck looks sharp

 

This was work done by a company called McCoy Brothers who operate here in Western Canada and who specialize in large truck work. Consequently they charge very high labour rates which are a fact of life in Alberta right now ($120 an hour as I recall). They also do superior quality work. I will try to take a picture later today and post it. Other than the spring clips which were obviously heated and reshaped it is hard to tell that the springs are not factory original. In fact when I post the pics of the springs on my 04 HD you will say they look the same and I truly believe that my load carrying capacity is close to the same (ie. Gross weight of 8200 pounds).

Just a little something else to think about here. The last time that I weighed my 06 truck with a load it was right on the maximum axle load rating for the FRONT axle. In other words if I put another passenger in with me I would most likely be exceeding the front axle rated capacity. Now with the HD package the rear axle capacity increases substantially but the front axle capacity is the same as any other F150 meaning that any load needs to be kept mostly behind the rear axle to help unload the front end by the lever effect. For example a conventional hitch trailer will take weight off the front wheels. That is what a load leveller hitch is designed to do is to transfer, and again by leverage, some of that weight back onto the front wheels for better steering and weight balance.

I have not yet had a chance to weigh my 04HD. I will be very interested to see what it weighs, as I know that the old 7700 series trucks are a fair amount heavier than those of standard load capacity. I am guessing that with a tank of gas it will be around 6200 or 6300 which will still give me a properly located load capacity of a ton.

 

Now see, the air bags are actually not exactly intended for what I am doing, but to in fact add more weight capacity and stability. The add a leaf, however, is quite the oppositte and does not suport any additional weight capacity and degrades the plush ride.

www.fsip.com

These were actually easier to install than an add a leaf as well. The install took about 1.5 hours with simples hand tools and taking pictures. No dangerous leaf packs to dissasemble nor springs to compress...just a traditional straight forward bolt on/NON DRILL design that made install a breeze.

Jesse

 

BTW are the Add A Leaf springs 3 inches wide or are they narrower? I saw a set once in a truck parts store but didn't pay a lot of attention since it was after I had already had the spring work done.

 

The other thing that was pointed out to me was that air bags are a maintenance item and therefore may not be the best choice for people who never look under their trucks. I'm sure you know that Jesse but a lot of people might not understand that important ingredient.

I just took a semi-trailer truck driving course last summer and an important part of the inspection is to check the air bags for visible damage and hit them with a hammer to make sure they are inflated. However they are a lot easier to get at on a big truck than they are on a pick up.

BTW I want to get my truck on the dyno here in Saskatoon, but the shop has been closed up all week because they are at the SEMA show. I'm guessing that is a truly awe inspiring event to visit.

 

The correct application add a leaf should be the same width as the current OEM pieces. If not, it could twist in the leaf back causing even rougher riding suspension. As for the air bags, yes there a slight chance of something ripping one open but I am willing to take that chance as it is very slim. Really no different than a cracked block or an add a leaf cracking (happend to me on my dodge and made for a scary ride) so really it's what made the choice for me.

Smooth ride, increased capacity if I ever need it, and full adjustability which no one else could offer so I pulled the trigger and am very happy.

Oh yeah, did I mention they were only 230 buck!?!?