Air bags on a F-450
 

I'm trading in the F-250 which has airlift 5000 and getting a 2013 F-450. Any one out there running a F-450 with air bags or is the truck suspension enough to keep the truck level with a load?

Whatcha haulin? :-wink

Here's a spec sheet from Ford:

2013 Ford Super Duty | Detailed Chassis Specifications | Ford.com

I've got Firestone airbags with a 3 gallon tank and a single Viair 480C and automatic leveling valve. Trailer in my sig is 21,000 lbs with a bit over 4,000 lb pin weight. The truck bed also has a couple of boxes of "stuff" ahead of the factory installed 25K hitch. The rear of the 2011 F-450 sags enough to give me some vibration on launch with the trailer hooked up, and the air bags were the fix.

Second Viair is still in the box, waiting for warmer weather and an RV park that will allow me to work on the truck. I also have a set of train horns behind the front license plate.

I apprecaite it! I have already used all the spec sheets for determining how much truck I needed! I have a 2013 Forest River XLR Thunderbolt 380 AMP toyhauler being delivered tomorrow. Went up to Lakeview Ohio last month to pick it up but there were some issues.....mainly it wasn't finished! So they are delivering tomorrow. Unloaded weight is 14,651, but GVW is 18K
Pics are in my garage, she's a beast!

Nice 5er you got there, Doug! :-X22

How long is the garage? What kinda toys you got? Ohhhh, lots of ?'s.

My wife and I have a: While it does't show it very well in the video, the thing sleeps 12. We have had 11 humans and 2 dogs in there. Thank God it didn't rain that weekend. LOL (forgive the cheasy youtube video)

We have talked about getting something different. We like the Raptor. But, well you know. When my 5er is all loaded up and we're headed to the mountains, I weigh in a little north of 29,000. I do have the rear-end shutter issue upon take-off, spoken of earlier. I just ease into the throttle until I'm rolling good and then pour the coals to er. I need to pursue a fix for the axle wrap before I fall off warranty.

Bob, on your 450, did FOMOCO pay for the airbags or was that out of pocket? I have read here that Ford has bought a set or two of airbags.

I have a 12 ft garage and I'll be hauling a HD 2004 Screeming Eagle Deuce and a 2012 Electra Glide Classic. Only about 1600 lbs payload there.

Friend and I got 2011's ordered within a few days of each other. 350 DRW for me 450 DRW for him. We both pull Cyclone toy haulers . We both have air bags to level the load.

You will find the DRW Fords sit a bit lower then the SRW's (about 3"), so they go "below level" given the same load as SRW's I'm referring to loads not high enough to engage the over load springs.

Doug,

Plan on needing the airbags. I am at 17k 5er, and 450's rear end sag with 3800# pin is 4.5 inches - overload springs fully engaged and less than 1/2 inch of travel between the yellow bumper stopper above the axle and the frame, i.e., 1/2 travel before a teeth jarring bump. I suspect the bags are the same but the mounting brackets would be different. Also, if your 450 has factory hitch prep, the mounting brackets are different from those that don't have that option. Same goes for other models.

I just saw an add for an airbag with in internal rubber bumper so no inflation is needed when running empty AirLift LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate:
Air Lift Company LoadLifter 5000 ULTIMATE with internal jounce bumper; Premium Leaf Spring Leveling Kit - 4 Wheel Drive
If I were starting from scratch this is where I would begin. They don't yet have mouting brackets if you have the factroy hitch prep.

I have a 2011 450 with Firestone airbags and compressor, and do have the factroy hitch prep. Firestone was the first to offer it 3 years ago - put them on at 500 miles.

and at 8k miles, tossed the stock shocks in favor of Bilsteins - softer ride when empty and better ride when loaded. I went with the 4600 (yellow and blue HD's), not the off road 5000 or 9000 series available for mostly lifted but some stock trucks.

I also added just last year the Supersprin Super sway stops -
SuperSprings Self-Adjusting Suspension Stabilizers
This engages the stock overload and anti sway system earlier than the airbag would normally allow, and firms up the ride a bit when loaded. Before I added these I ran empty at 7psi - no impact to ride. I woud air up to 25 before loading the 5er and that load would raise the pressure to 55, and everything is level. Unloaded 25 psi was pretty rough riding. With the sway stops, still run 7psi empty, and unless I hit a jarring bump, no difference in unloaded ride. However, if there is a jaring bump, the sway stops engage the overloads and exagerate the jolt - I think if the sway stops were about 3/4 inch shorter you would not notice at all. Witht he sway stops, I still fill to 25 psi efore loading the 5er, and that load raises the pressure to only 45 psi (overload spring is carrying some of the load) and everything is level.


FYI, if supply house folks don't show a fitting for a 450 dually, ask about a 350 dually. It is the same unless the 450 is a chassis cab model with 19.5 tires etc.. The 350 SRW are a different animal lift wise.

Greg, sorry I called you Bob in that other post. Anyway, did FOMOCO pay for your airbags? I keep telling my dealer that is what I want to fix my axle wrap issue. Ideally stiffer springs or traction bars are probably the best fix, but, I would settle for a set of air bags if they take away the launch shudder.

For a 2013 F450 4WD Pickup, we offer the 57396 LoadLifter 5000 Leaf Spring Leveling Kit. You can learn more here and check out the installation manual too: 57396 Kit. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!

Ron, the air bags were on my dime. I know about the Ford fix with shims, but it doesn't really solve the problem when you are either empty or fully loaded, they can fix it for one, but not the other. I can pretty much guarantee airbags will cure launch shudder problems - there are a large number of owners on the Nuwa Owners Forum who haul heavy trailers and the bags have cured 100% of the time - including on those other two brands of trucks. ;)

For everybody else towing heavy, I tore up three sets of the rubber bump stops at the ends of the springs within 5,000 miles. Ford was nice enough to pay for all three sets, but I figured I was pushing my luck, so that's why I went with the air bags. The last time, they checked the truck and said the rear end height was "within spec." I didn't have them check with the trailer because then it would have become a p*)&^ing contest about trailer and pin weights. I didn't need the aggrevation and the air bags made for a much better ride anyways.

Hey, that's great to hear, Greg. Glad the airbags fixed the launch shudder. My dealer replaced the Spicer third member on my truck with a Ford third member with less than 1000 miles on it. They said there was a TSB about the shudder and this was the fix. :-roll The service tech rolled his eyes and said shims were the cure but he had to follow FOMOCO's orders. Well, the new third member made no difference at all. I have been back a couple times about the same issue plus a leaking pinion seal and rear diff gasket leak. The last time I talked to the Serv. Mgr about airbags and told him that was what I wanted to fix my problem and he said they might have to try it. I'm at 31,000 miles and with towing season coming up, I think I better get to hounding him again.

Thanks a lot, Greg, for the info on the cure.

Will this kit fit with the factory installed Reese hitch?

Yes, the 57396 or 88396 kit will work with a factory-installed hitch.

I have a 2013 F350 DRW 2WD with the 6.2L Gas Engine - pin weight on gooseneck trailer lowers the factory yellow stops by 3" or to 1" from the axle, and does bottom out - considering installing Firestone Airbags - I had a set on a 2006 F250 2WD short bed with 6.0 Diesel - worked great loaded, but raised the rear of the truck about an inch when unloaded and with 5psi. Will the airbags raise the rear of the F350 an inch or so unloaded also even with just 5psi?