Hello,

I need to lift the rear of my truck a few inches. Ecspecially when pulling a trailer. I have considered 1 or 2 inch blocks. I have also considered air bags from either airlift or firestone.

My question is, what do air bags due to ride quality? Loaded and unloaded?

Also do the air bags behave differently when used inconjuntion with lift blocks under the rear springs?

I tow a 13K 5th wheel trailer and have found that after installing my Air Lift air bags the truck levels and rides 100% better.

Be sure to get the "dual" control for in the cab.

When towing I put about 50-60 lbs of pressure in them, and when not I drain them down to 7.

Look at Kennedy Diesel. He had the best price when I bought mine.

Have a good one.

I have the Firestones on the back and my truck, for the most part is unloaded. It still has a harder ride but I also still have the factory shocks, cranked the torsion bars, and I keep the bags inflated to atleast 20 psi per the recomendations from Firestone. The psi could be a little lower but I have not noticed any change in ride with the bags fully deflated or at 50 psi with no load on the truck.
I personly would go with the bags instead of the blocks since it gives you more variaty for different applications and weights. I plan on istalling the Bilstiens when the wallet allows me to.

I have the Firestone bags and a 6 inch lift and they work great for leveling my truck when pulling the 5th wheel:D . As for the ride you can feel a little difference but not much, the ride feels good to me. I also leave 20psi in the bags unloaded and about 60-70 loaded.

I have the airlift bags, when uninflated, rides like stock to me. Pump em up and it gets pretty stiff over the bumps when empty. Loaded it keeps the bouncing to a minimum, lets the shocks stabilize quicker.

I have the airlift bags, when uninflated, rides like stock to me. Pump em up and it gets pretty stiff over the bumps when empty. Loaded it keeps the bouncing to a minimum, lets the shocks stabilize quicker.
Same here. I like the Air Lift product...

Air-Lift for me too, with a nice drop bracket to comp. for my lift. With my height no 5th for me, just a 30ft WW with toys. For my truck I noticed alot less bounce and less sway to be honest. I went with an inch block at first, but then bags for safe measure, should have done the bags alot sooner! I run 5psi unloaded and 45psi loaded.

what the hell do both, that way when you load her up you can give it a nose down stance and people will think you have a 3500! :)

It is a monster but with the air bags it sits level and tows very nice.):h

hey snowho--
is that pic from glamis ?

It's Sand Mountain Nevada, but I wish it was Glamis it's got to be way warmer.

Why do you need to leave 20 psi in them when not towing?
My system seems to leak slowely. I need to look further into it.

I also have a lifted truck but used 1/2 tons springs in the rearso bags were needed for towing.

That's not Glamis, Sand Mountain?

According to Firestone you are suppose to leave 20psi in them when not loaded. Why they recommend this I don't know.

It's Sand Mountain in late October.

I beleive they recomend keeping the psi on it is because it will keep them active. In other words it will keep the bags pressureised and the fittings as well. If they do not have psi they will flex more under load (suspension flex) and may tend to pull or extend in positions not recomended. Kind of like driving on flat tires.

I use the airlifts, and leave 15lbs in when not towing. I believe that the truck handles and rides better than stock. After adding the Bilstein shocks it improved even more.):h

Don't do the blocks, the airbags will give you all the lift you need. I feel that 10psi is more then enough unloaded. The reason they tell you to run air in the bag is they can tear and add wear to the inside of the bag if you run then with no air, that's why 10psi is just enough to keep the bag nice and round and working as needed. Run the bags with sepreate feeds, if you run the bags together you can air transfer from one bag to other when going around a corner.

Andy

Air lift doubles their std 1 yr warranty if you buy their compressor kit. The kit has a 5 psi (adjustable) auto fill. The key is to keep a little psi in them so that they don't chafe holes in themselves.

[QUOTE=Mike330R]I also have a lifted truck but used 1/2 tons springs in the rearso bags were needed for towing.[QUOTE]

Did you request 1/2 ton leaf springs to soften then ride up or are your springs rated that way or what? I am running 10" Atlas Leafs out back and just assumed that since they for for my application 2500HD and I said I would be towing with the truck every weekend that they were "3/4 ton" springs. Never really thought about it much till you mentioned it.

I have been running AirLift SuperDuty bags w/o a compressor since my truck was new. The ride quality does not decrease when unloaded when you keep the recommended 5psi in the bags. The bags are a great benefit when towing a load with a heavy tongue weight. I opted not to get the on-board compressor, as the price just was not worth the benefit. It only takes half a second to fill them with a tank, 12-volt compressor or any other compressor.

Thanks for the feed back guys.

Sounds like airbags are the way to go for any kind of heavy load or heavy towing.

They do not hurt the ride of an empty truck and may only help unloaded ride a small amount.

Next question. How far do those air bags stretch/compress? Would they limit rear axel articulation/travel in an extreme off road condition?

Each site for the air bags has the limits for extension and loads.
I don't see why you would want to have your bags inflated past 20 psi for going off road. I curtainly would not be towing a trailer that warrents the airbags and going off road. If you keep your bags at the recomended settings for no load then they will flex beyond what your suspension will do.