I'm having my new rig upfitted prior to picking it up. One of the options is a Link Air Ride Suspension. I see that several of you on here have this system. A couple of questions:

1) Did you drive and haul with your truck prior to getting the air ride system?

2) If you did is the air ride suspension a big deal or not? I'm not talking about cab air ride eiether, just the chassis.

3) I see many posts about leaks, bad valves, compressors going out, etc . . . is the Link system junk? What brand makes the best air ride suspension?

4) Ball park price for your air ride and did you inmstall it yourself or have it done professionally?

Thanks for any comments you have.

Mine 2003 came with link air ride rear susp, monroe installed it, I have had no problems and love the ride!!! I would not have a 4500 without it.

You will want ir ride and the good thing is that you'll get it new so you can mak sure it all works right. I bought mine used with no paperwork and the air system hasn't been real reliable as far as leaks go....

Your gonna have leaks no matter what, no real good way to seal the lines. I have leaks and have been running them down, the International dealer told me to stop wasting my time. "There is no such thing as a perfectly sealed system" is what they told me. As long as I cant hear a solid hiss or see bubbles, I leave it alone now. For eight months now my frame is on the axle in the AM. Dont fret the little stuff, it isnt worth it.

I have been running air on my tow truck for well over a year and have had spring trucks with comparable GVW. Day in and day out my back loves the air! I have put almost 1 million miles on tow trucks in the last seven years, and this last was the easiest on my body and the truck. I would recommend air to anyone that can get it, and when I get my next toy (5500), it will have it for sure!

Air ride for sure. Its already been said, "no perfect system". At some point you'll have to work on it. My Link system been ok so far. Conversion company installed it. Lot of work but you can do it yourself. kit is 100% bolt on. Link is easy to talk to and will answer any questions.

Air ride for sure. Its already been said, "no perfect system". At some point you'll have to work on it. My Link system been ok so far. Conversion company installed it. Lot of work but you can do it yourself. kit is 100% bolt on. Link is easy to talk to and will answer any questions.

Nice conversion. I am talking to two companies about doing the conversion (upfit) on my truck, Laredo is one of them. Seem to be a good set of guys.

By the way . . . VERY glad to see you are hauling a 5th wheel with this. I bought a 4 x 4 and have been sweating bullets I wouldn't be able to get the back of the truck under the front of the camper. The 4 x 4's sit so high. I love that fact but also worry about it. If you'res fit mine should too. I also noticed that you have an 80CA body and not the 60CA . . . do you ever have a problem with turning radius and trying to get that monster camper in any place? The whole reason I bought my Kodiak was because we just bout a toy hauler 5th wheel too. My 3/5 ton could pull it but it really just too small for the camper. We bought a 60CA (169" wheel base) so we could keep the turning radius.

Wow..I'm glad that someone else was working on their air some too. Here I thought it was just me.

You'll like the truck and air for pulling your RV. Ours weighs 16K with about 4500 lbs on the pin. We have the trail-air pin along with the air in the truck. We bought our truck with the consideration of a toyhauler someday but we have to find one that is worth fulltiming in. Unfortunately they're designed more for weekenders...

Laredo was awsome to work with. Was able to call anytime and talk to production manger Byron. They were willing to do any mod I asked for and confrimed my specs. The truck is actually 108" cab to axle. Im 67' with trailer hooked. Rides well, don't feel the need for air ride pin box yet. Turning radius truck alone, ok, comparable to crew cab duallies i've had. Bed height for trailer is fine, trailer is springs on top of axle with 16" rims. Truck and trailer are tall. I sit up under truck and trailer when working underneath.

I love hauling a 1 ton with a bumper pull trailer behind my truck. Throw the dually on top and pull the rest behind, everything rides nice and smooth. Having the air keeps my truck at t same ride hieght with no sag that could cause problems for me when backing in elevated drives.

Air is the only way to go, and I will eventually be in the same class as you guys in regards to a DD/MD truck. Right now as close as I can get is my IH for work. The sooner my dad hands the company keys to me the better! :D

I have a tall truck camper in my bed, and when I talked to Link they ended up discouraging me from getting their air ride system. He thought it might add to sway in crosswinds and such, with such a tall camper. I also asked him about ground clearance and off-roadability with their system. In the end, he more or less xconvinced me it probably wouldn't be a good idea in my application. It's interesting to hear you guys rave about your system...perhaps I should reconsider - but it's a pricey option to be considering without being able to really tell how well it would work.

My 4500 with camper weighs about 18500, so about 1000 overthe GVWR, and I total out at 13'2" to the top of the AC.

Think I ought to re-think air ride? Do you think it interferes with off roading? Are you completely SOL if you lost air out in the sticks?

I dont take mine off road, but backing up in the sticks is something I would watch for. If you lose air you just hit the frame stops on the axle. It is a rough ride, but you can drive with no air. Been there done that with a ripped bag seat.

I have a tall truck camper in my bed, and when I talked to Link they ended up discouraging me from getting their air ride system. He thought it might add to sway in crosswinds and such, with such a tall camper. I also asked him about ground clearance and off-roadability with their system. In the end, he more or less xconvinced me it probably wouldn't be a good idea in my application. It's interesting to hear you guys rave about your system...perhaps I should reconsider - but it's a pricey option to be considering without being able to really tell how well it would work.

My 4500 with camper weighs about 18500, so about 1000 overthe GVWR, and I total out at 13'2" to the top of the AC.

Think I ought to re-think air ride? Do you think it interferes with off roading? Are you completely SOL if you lost air out in the sticks?


My camper is 13' 6" high and 36' long. I'm totally not worried about sway. I hauled my camper with a 3/4 ton for 3 months and didn't have a huge problem with it. I don't understand why they think air ride will add to sway.

I was also concerned about lose of air. I asked about that and was told that there are stops in place and that you can still move the truck, the bed won't drop all the way to the tires. I was told not to drive it too far that way but that it would be fine to get it off the interstate and to a shop for repairs.

Jager, my camper is a truck camper on the bed, not a trailer (if that's what you are talking about anyway....hard to imagine a 36' camper on top of the truck! :) So it's the top-heavyness and large broad sides taking crosswinds they were thinking of....but with the stock springs my rig sways very very little.

Are the two sides of the suspension (i.e. each bag) on a seperate circuit? With air bags on regular pickups I've heard of some people not having them seperated which would add tremendously to sway. One side squishes down pushing the air to the other side, and pushing that side UP. I assume they wouldn't be setup that way.

Glad to know you can still drive without air at least.

Anybody have any good pictures of the rear end with the air-bags under there?

Ooops, didn't realize that. So ya, now I kind of understand your concern.

My truck is still in the build/upgrade process so I can't tell you yet if the air circuit is the same or separate. The company that is doing the upgrades has been sending me photos of the truck as it progresses. Here are some shots of the air ride.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z14/BigMusicFan/airride4.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z14/BigMusicFan/airride3.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z14/BigMusicFan/airride2.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z14/BigMusicFan/airride.jpg

It's not really a circut, but to seperate leveling valves. Yours does have two one on each side pic two and three show one mounted outside the frame. If there was only one most likley it would be mounted in the center of the frame.

NIce shots Jager, thanks. If they send you any, or get a chance to ask, I'd love to see a picture straight on from the rear, to see how much the bags/plates hang down relative to the pumpkin (perhaps even from the front?) Looks really nice, makes me drool over the potentially much better ride you'll get. I'm afraid I am going to beat my camper to death with the stock suspension....but I am not sure which direction I want to go.

Sorry if this seems off-topic, but here's my "tall" rig in comparsion to a more normal sized F350 Dually/Truck Camper combo.

http://i45.tinypic.com/5nsx2v.jpg

Ha ha ha ha . . . I love it. Your Kodiak makes that 1 ton 350 look like a a Ranger, S10 or one of those tiny Toyota mini RV units. Now that is funny! I'll see what I can get for photos but it may be a few months. I'm not sure when I am going to travel down to pick it up.

That is just to dam funny! I'll bet you need a step ladder to get into the camper though.

I would not be afraid of putting a airride under your rig. I may be way off but I don't think so. They have some good sway arms and the air bags will hold up the load good. They don't go down the road bopin and weavin like you might think, they have enginered them dam good in my opinon. I haven't hauld a camper on top of mine though and that is a lot different feel than pulling so.......

Ha ha ha ha . . . I love it. Your Kodiak makes that 1 ton 350 look like a a Ranger, S10 or one of those tiny Toyota mini RV units. Now that is funny! I'll see what I can get for photos but it may be a few months. I'm not sure when I am going to travel down to pick it up.

That is just to dam funny! I'll bet you need a step ladder to get into the camper though.

:coolio: Thanks, I dig it too. I bet you can hardly wait to go pick up your truck. I've got a long list of things I'd LIKE to do to it but I'm too busy paying off the truck and camper to do too much. The surprising thing about the camper on the Kodiak, is that the entrance is actually by far easier with the side-door Lance on the Kodiak than my previous rear-entrance camper was on my old GMC2500. The entrance has two fairly big steps inside, and then a two-step that folds out. We can enter it without having to put a step stool or anything on the ground (though we have one and use it when we settle in at campsites.) The old setup was tough with the basement model camper and no interior steps, plus the hitch was often connected...making it a nightmare to get my 115 pound dog in our out. He could walk right up the pet ramp to get into the Lance without any real help.

Another questions about the air-ride, do they raise the height of the chassis at all?

I guess if sway isn't an issue, the only remaining one might be 4WD/Off road sort of things, but truth be told, I don't do that much anyway.....

. . . I bet you can hardly wait to go pick up your truck. any real help. . . .

Another questions about the air-ride, do they raise the height of the chassis at all?
. . .

You have no idea! It is killing me. I'd love to take vacation or quit my job and go help them do the upgrades. I bought a brand new truck from a dealer that I have never even seen in person. Had it delivered to the custom shop and ordered the upgrades. I have owned a brand new truck for over 2 months and still have never seen it. Pretty crazy for me to say the least.

Hey I was going to ask you about the height of your rig with the camper. That thing looks like it towers! You must have measured the height, how tall is it? Are you running original 19.5" tires? Do you have underpass clearance issues?

Hey I was going to ask you about the height of your rig with the camper. That thing looks like it towers! You must have measured the height, how tall is it? Are you running original 19.5" tires? Do you have underpass clearance issues?

13'2" to the top of the AC. If I switch that out for a low-profile Carrier unit, I can shave about 6". No serious issues - had to turn around at an underpass in Philly when I was on my way back to Colorado when I bought it; to find another nearby route back to the interstate......tapped the top of the AC in a car wash (I was paying so much attention to the door opening, that I didn't notice the overhead hose elbow was actually lower than the door) and I've scraped a few branches on USFS roads, but no damage or anything. I certainly have to pay attention.

I run the original 19.5" wheels and stock suspension. I'd love to rework the suspension, add a little more travel and perhaps add 22/22.5" wheels, but not unless I at least lower/remove some of the items on the roof of the Lance - and probably not even then. Would love to build a custom camper some day and make it shorter to begin with and take full advantage of the flatbed etc - but who knows if I'll ever do it?