I was wondering how I should hook the air lines up since I don't have a commpersser. Do I run one valve for both bags or have each bag there own valve? No to sure what I should do. I hear reasons for doing it both ways.

 

Good to see ya got it done! Make sure you keep them seperate. If they are hooked to gether they will just pass air back and forth to each other never actually holding any weight.

 

looks good Jeremy!

 

They look right like yours. I was going to try both ways but I guess I will hook then up seperate then. Makes sence.

 

They will hold weight just fine.

Running them together will keep them from stopping any swaying. But thats what sway bars are for.

together or apart, it does not change the load of the airbag.

 

How do they ride loaded and unloaded?? How much air will you run in them loaded and unloaded?? Good job on the install.

 

I ran 80-90lbs on my air bags that supported the 3,800lb camper on my dually. Made a huge difference in the ride. I had a massive spring pack before the air bags and the ride was horrible. Much nicer with the air bags. Good job!

 

Just placed my order! Am getting the "outside the frame rails" version.

 

You are right, they "can" be hooked together, but as you point out the ability to adjust pressure from side to side is lost. I suppose in some situations that is not important, but when hauling (rather than towing) it is nice for a load that is not equally distributed side to side, as in a truck camper. Also, while the carried load sways the pressures in the bags do change, even when run seperate. I watch this in my in-cab controller as the needles bounce up and down as the load shifts while cornering at slow or high speed, but having them plumbed togeter would just "squish" all the air out of one bag and into the other. While air bags are intended to maintain ride height, they can also help with sway if connected seperately, or at least not make it worse. If you need monster sway control I would suggest the roadmaster swaybar. It is 1/8 inch larger in diameter than the hellwig and I can attest to it's sway control!

 

I guess the old additage of evenly loaded means nothing...

 

Actually that is a great point, especially when you have control of the loading. In the example I sighted, a truck camper, mine in particular has a slide out dinette and the refrigerator, on the passenger side along with an overhead wardrobe closet. This static loading adds about 600 lbs more to the passenger side than the drivers side. I have no ability to even out the load in this particular instance, its just a function of the equipment configuration. And since I do not have my air bags connected together, I really do not need to have the load evenly spread since I easily make up for it with different and seperate psi settings in each bag.

Here is a pic so you can kinda see what I mean:

 

When I installed my air bags (almost 7 years ago...), I ran a separate line for each bag. I drilled a hole in the lower lip of the rear quarter panel behind the mud flap and installed the valve there (one by each tire). I did this so I could use a tape measure and add or release air to get the ride height that I wanted. I wasn't so much concerned about the exact air pressure (as long as it didn't exceed the air bag limit) as I was about how the truck was sitting. I pretty much like to tow with the truck level or very slightly higher in the back (maybe 1/4" or so...). This gives me the most stable towing in a variety of situations and the brakes worked much better. I did notice that I had to add a little more air to the driver's side to compensate for the full tank of fuel and perhaps the driver (but the difference was practically nothing so it's not worth the effort).

Having the valves close to each wheel well was convenient but a P.I.T.A. as well because they get covered with mud and dirt and you have to make sure you clean it all off before you add any air. This past summer I added an on-board compressor with a gauge inside the cab. By default, when you add the compressor then both bags are tied to the same line anyway so it doesn't make any difference if you have one line or two. Since I already had two lines, and the valves were sealing off the ends....I relocated both lines to the rear of the truck just above the bumper and below the tailgate. Unless your truck has a 3 light bar installed back there....you will have 2 pre-drilled holes that work perfectly for the valves. Now if my air compressor goes out, I can manually fill the bags by using the valves at the rear of the truck.

Hope this help.

(Oh yeah....the big sway bars are awesome as well.)

 

Nice job.. My next project for sure.. I have a question though. Although all my pictures of folks mounting the bags just as you did, It appears that the helper spring if used will cause interference of the bracket and the spring pack. Is this so? Will it "Clank" over the bumps? Especially when squatting a bit from a heavy camper.

 

I share Dan's point and concern, maybe those bolts need to be turned around to allow the room so those ends don't hit the leaf. Jeremy, nice job and pics and your really going to enjoy your trips now, in comfort.

 

I'd like to add air springs, but I alread have 5th wheel brackets, welded to the gooseneck bracket, right above the springs LOL. I don't even know where I could put the bag brackets!