I was reading a post that had a little bit about airbags in the back. (didn't want to steal the thread)... I'm not very familiar with this setup at all. Can someone please explain to me exactly how they work and how they are installed? Also some advantages and disadvantages....

 

check out a site called keldermanairride.com. This guy doessome whacked out stuff with air bag setups.

 

kinda like a controlable lift kit... similar .. almost exactly like the airbags they use on big rigs...known as AirRide.... they use compressed air rammed into some REALLY heavyduty bags of air that sit between points of the frame to the axle... ALOT of street rodders and custumizers run air ride to give the dropped look to ther car or truck and still having it ride like a caddy. also similar to the hyrdaulics some type of people put on there cars or trucks to make them bounce and to flex the suspension,,it can get all the way up to C notching your rear set and adding a 4 or tri 3 link to the rear so you can ride at normal stock hight then when parked...hit a button and slam the truck to the fram on the ground tucking the dueces in the wheel wells...now that said.. for our application... the caddy like feel wouldnt be too much to expect... only to be able to adjust your rear ride hieght to compensate for heavy loads in the bed or towing one hell of a heavy trailer... pretty much so when you load your 3 tons of gravel in the bed.. your not scrappin bumper on the road or bashing the hell out of your bumbstops on the axle... obviously exagerting... but thats the basic idea... Its an awesome system especally when you carry butt ton load of stuf in the back often... they even have kits that are self adjusting .. itll sense the weight in the rear added and pump the compressor fill the bags till the stock or preset ride hight is acheieved... hope ths helps... that site mentioned above its wicked awesome... them dudes do some nasty work!!!! if you are interested in the other end of the air ride technology... check out http://www.ekstensive.com/

cheezy plug for my buddies down in houston...

 

Thanks for the links. There was some crazy **** on there. All of these are lowered though. I bought a truck i want it HIGH! I was looking to get a little more height out of my truck. I was thinking about 2500 springs up front and maybe the airbag in back? Or would i be better off with add a leaf or a whole new leaf pack. I really like the airbag concept.... How are they installed?

 

Air bags are a rubber cilinder that install between the leaf springs and frame, wen you inflate them they expand upward raising your truck and increacing your load cappibilties, the nice thing with the air bags as aposed to an add a leaf is that if you want a smother ride you can let out some air till its just what you want. the only down side i realy know of is if you get a leak there a pain in the *** them but of the hundreds ive instaled ive only had a few with that problem. you can also put in an onbord compresser if your looking to spend a bit more money and then you can adjust them from your cab. check out
http://www.interioroffroad.com/index...e=product_list at the bottem of the page and
http://www.interioroffroad.com/index...ENSION&frmpg=1
thats where i work instaling them along with all the outher toys there lol. if you have anyouther questions send me an email id be happy to help

 

It looks like a pretty simple install....am i mistaken? What do these usually run a guy?

 

not sure..im know summit sells univ. kits for cheep..check em out

 

there usally around 300-400 $ cdn and they are prity simple to instal it takes about 2 hrs

go to the links i gave you they should have there phone number there and give em a call thell tell you anything you wanna know and if u do want them then can ship them to you

 

I have the FireStone Air Sytem installed on my 98 1500 4x4 truck, don't know how much it costs, I bought the truck used with it already installed. The guy who owned the truck before me had it all set up to pull a goose neck trailer. My system has the pump mounted in the engine compartment, and I can control the psi from the cab. I've seen these same systems at summit for around $250-$300. The quality is good, looks like it should last over time. basically it bolts between the top of the axle and the frame, and has a heavy rubber air cylinder in the middle. more psi makes the cylinder expand, increasing the distance between your axle and frame.

I'll tell you why I love the system. I have the 2" Daystar coil spacers on my truck to level it out, well, I kind of like the rear to be just a tad higher than the front (that's just me). so I run with a small amount of pressure in the air bags to give it just the look I like. I actually only lift it about 1/4" but that's all I need to make the rear look slightly higher, and you can't tell the difference from the stock ride quality. When I tow my trailer, or put my 700lb 4 wheeler in the back of my truck, I can increase the psi to compensate for the load, keeping the rear from squatting.

My brother who also has a 1500, got his springs re-arched (or re-arc'd, ??) to keep his truck from squatting with a load. Don't know how much he paid, but here is what I think the pros/cons are. I can adjust ride height and ride quality as needed. My brother is stuck with the rear of his truck raised up into the air, and a stiffer ride 100% of the time. Can't think of any cons, other than a re-arched leaf spring might hold out better over time, but don't know for sure. Ive had the air system for 4 years now, no problems yet.

btw, new to forum, pics and more info coming soon....