I just bought a new-to-me 05 F250 v10 and love it!!

The previous owner made a lot of upgrades, including a pair of Firestone air bags...there was no air in them when I bought it.

I read somewhere that you need to keep some air in the bags when unloaded, so I put in 15 pounds....ride is awful and it bounces all over the place....ugh!

Backed off to 3 pounds and it still seems a bit harsh. Any advice???

 

must keep at least 5 psi in them.

Here is the link to my install
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...l-08-f250.html

check everything over and make sure it looks right.

 

Yep, need to keep at least 5psi in them. I go a little higher, especially in the winter, as 15 psi when it's warm will be 5psi the next morning when it cools off...

It's a super duty, it's not going to ride like a caddy until you get it loaded.

 

For certain, I expect a "truck-like" ride...not a Caddy for sure.

With no air in the bags it rode ok, like what I expected....only 3 pounds of air gives it a bouncy feel in the rear....on a rough road it seems to be all over the road...

I am certainly going to look it over to make sure everything is set correctly....could be a misalignment??? I dunno


thanks for the replies...

 

chances are it is ok, but you need to have a little more air so that the bags don't get pinched.

 

i can't imagine that the truck is bouncy with just 3psi.in your bags. i keep 50 psi. in mine all the time and go up to 90psi. when i'm loaded.

 

The rear of mine is a little bouncy unloaded with 5psi in them, but it gets better with a little more air, even unloaded. It's a trade-off. If you aren't going to use the air bags or don't need them, take them off and sell them.

The brackets WILL bottom out and pinch the air bags if there's no air in them. The brackets bottom out before the axle hits the bump-stops. My 2 employee-driven trucks have pumps with automatic switches on them to keep the bags above 5psi for this reason.

 

i'm with Spinella..

i run my bags at 30PSI all the time..i love the ride of my truck thou.

being a lifted all leaf sprung vehicle it rides rough. but thats how i want it.

 

the op might be better off with a set of timberens.heres a link. http://www.timbren.com/guarantee.htm

 

If he's unhappy with the ride with air bags, he'll really be unhappy with Timbrens...

 

Have you thought of lowering the pressure in the tires?
They're the first spring in your suspension.

 

Yep...did the tires first....45 rear and 55 front....each had 80 pounds when I got it....road like a battle wagon

 

I doubt very much that the load tag says 45 and 55 PSI on your tires. Mine is 60 and 70 PSI, I run them 65 and 75 PSI when pulling a 36 foot GN trailer and the Firestone air bags and 40 PSI. I run 25 PSI in the air bags empty, the rear end feels more planted. Chris

 

I have the timbrens and the ride is not ruff at all. I like them alot, which is because I found a setup that fits the way I use my truck and the loads I carry. I think the key to the timbrens is setting up the distance between the axle and the timbren, which is really setting up when they engage.

I use a 1" spacer made by timbren on my setup. It allows me to carry some weight without them engaging and if I hit a bounce that causes them to hit the axle the rebound isn't ruff at all.

Another important thing to remember about the distance between the timbren and the axle is the amount of weight it takes for the timbrens to engage. If they engage to quickly you are relying on the timbren too much and not the leaf pack. This causes a bit more sway and bouncing.

My timbrens engage before the factory overloads do, but the ride isn't bouncy or squirmish. This tells me that there isn't too much weight on the timbrens - the weight is correctly distributed between the leaf pack and timbrens.

It is important to engage the factory over loads to help with sway. Supersway stops makes spacers to put on the overloads to engage quicker to help with sway if you find you can't achieve the desired sway control by adjusting the timbrens. However, this is not just when using timbrens but also air bags.

 

When I tow the 5th wheel I bump them up to 80 rear and 75 front....the lower pressure is for daily driving...........unloaded