Air Bags vs Rancho 9000's

[BigMike]

When I hook up my 5er, the back of my truck drops 2-3". I'm thinking I need to level her up with airbags. My truck handles just fine while towing. Just want to get her leveled up and get my weight distribution between front and back axles right and the headlights pointing in the right direction.



I have two questions:



1. If I put airbags on, should I install the onboard compressor or go with manual system?



2. Will the Rancho's do as good or better job than airbags, or should I get both?





Thanks for your help!!

 

[LEEH]

BIG MIKE



By all means, go with the compressor system with in cab controls. Best thing I ever did besides installing power vision mirrors for towing a 5 er. You will find that the 5er handles much better with the air bags inflated to help level the pickup.



With the 5er hooked up, I still have a 1 1/2 inch drop (measured at the bottom of the receiver hitch) with 65 lbs of air in the airbags, but that is much better than the 3 1/2 inch drop without inflating the air bags. I normally carry 8 - 10 lbs in the air bags when running empty.



The in-cab controls are a tremendous help when inflating and deflating the air bags, to get the right pressure for your particular 5 er and the present road conditions. I find, that different road conditions will cause me to change the air pressure as much as 20 lbs to smooth out the ride and improve the handling when on a trip.

 

[BigMike]

Thanks Lee. When you added your airbags, how did that effect your 5er clearances over the truck rails? I'm afraid I'll need to flip my axles or figure out some other way to raise my 5er. My clearances are marginal right now. What's the added cost of In Cab Controls? Local dealer quoted me $386 installed for manual system. Mirrors are next for me. They don't give those away for sure. There seems to be no end to ways you can spend money on these toys!!



Merry Xmas!!

 

[Ram4Sam]

Mike, I put the 9000's on my truck for towing my fiver and they are great. I turn them up for towing and down when empty. Really, the best of both worlds. But, remember they are just a shock, not a spring. They probably won't help the rear height issue but sure make towing less hectic.



Sam

 

[LandShark]

BigMike: I've used Airbags (AirLift) and Rancho's on my truck, so here's my 2 cents:



You say your truck handles fine as is. so don't waste money on the Rancho 9000's.



The airbags work great for leveling the truck. I used the manual model with a $15 portable KMart air pump. Worked fine for me.



After about 80,000 miles (half of that with the camper on) I removed the air bags and installed Timbren add on springs (hard rubber). They give much better control (less sway), are only about $125, and are much simpler than the airbags. They took me about 10 minutes to install. They do ride slightly harder than the air bags, but the trade off was worth it for less sway. When the truck is empty they do nothing! The air bags contribute to a hard ride even when only inflated at 10psi (the minimum).

 

[RHamner]

Rancho 9000

My 94 needed spring help. My 2001 didn't. I put on the rear Rancho 9000s after 30000 mi towing not to improve the towing, but adjusted to 1 they really improve the empty ride. We find we spend a lot of time traveling empty and on dirt roads while exploring on a long trip.



For clearance I went to 245 tires on the truck(smaller) and 16" 245 tires on the trailer (larger). Helped us to be able to carry 1 unmounted extra spare for both. Good luck!

 

[LEEH]

BIGMIKE:



I can't remember the exact cost of the incab controls. I bought the whole setup from Les Schwab.



I had the same problem as you do with my 96 4X4 RAM and ended up flipping the axels on the RV. Was never real happy with the fix as the 5er seemed to be a long ways up in the air (about 4 inches difference). Went back to the 4X2 on my new 2001 RAM and reversed the axels again to the original config. on the 5er. Took the air bags off the 96 RAM and installed them on the 2001 RAM .



I now have about 7 inches clearance between the 5er and the pickup rails. After traveling with that much clearance for about 11,000 miles, I have decided that the clearance is just right. Had 4 + inches clearance between the 5er and the 96 4X4 Ram and kept hitting the bed rails everytime I encountered a steep driveway, service station entrance, etc.



Sorry about the long post. The airpump/incab controls are the only way to go.

 

[Mark_Kendrick]

Anybody know of good sites to check out the different brands?

 

[LRamey]

BigMike,

I just bought a pair of AirLift but haven't put them on yet. Summitracing.com has the best price around and free shipping. everyone else was $260 - 290. 00 but summit racing was $208. 00 shipped to my door. The control everywhere else was $160. 00 - 250. 00, summit was $99. 00. Everything came in 4 days.

Lonnie

 

[LRamey]

BigMike,

One more thing. The two major brands are Air lift & Firestone "Ride Rite" The thing I like about the Air Lift in cab control is it automaticly maintains 5 lbs. minimum air pressure.

 

[GRudy]

Air bags VS. Shocks

To answer the original posters question, If what you are looking for is to level the truck up with the trailer hitched up then go with the air bags. I can highly recomend the Firestone Ride Rite. This is a common misconseption amoung people. Shock asorbers do nothing to carry weight, they do exactly what thier name implys, they asorb shock. Shocks will improve the ride, handleing, tire wear etc. but will not increase the load carring capacity of your truck. This is the job of the springs. Now they do make a coil over shock which is a shock with a coil spring clamped onto it. They will help carry a little weight but I doubt anyone make one for our rams???? They also make air shocks... but you really don't want to go there!

 

[RICHIE 2]

I have both 9000 's and firestone airbags manual on my 3500, loaded or not works great

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Air bags+ Ranchos

Originally posted by RICHIE 2

I have both 9000 's and firestone airbags manual on my 3500, loaded or not works great

This gets my vote too. The best of both worlds. Height control with the bags and ride control with the 9000"s.

 

[Cobra]

air bags

Big Mike,

I know I am late with this message. I have both air bags and Rancho 9000. For your purpose I recommend the air bags. Do spend any money on the shocks. I think they are grossly overated. My stock shocks were atleast as good. The air bags, now thats a different story. Just as one of the previous posters said, for towing or carrying weight the air bags are what you need. Shocks are for dampening out the bumps. just my 02