Factory air bags and level or lift.

[David Lindsey]

Has anybody leveled or lifted a truck with the factory air bag system? I'm mostly concerned with the leveling kit if I purchase new in 2015 or 2016. If it has an unloaded mode that keeps the rear high, what happens when the front is lifted? Does it stay level or max out the travel of the rear?

I could go traditional leaves and bags, but I'd like to be riding on that monoleaf and air.

 

[Powder Extreme]

The rear height is independent of the front. It simply senses the measurement between the rear axle and the frame. Has nothing to do with actually leveling the truck (it just usually works out that way).

If you raise the front, the truck won't raise the rear "even higher"

 

[grabinov]

Has anybody leveled or lifted a truck with the factory air bag system? I'm mostly concerned with the leveling kit if I purchase new in 2015 or 2016. If it has an unloaded mode that keeps the rear high, what happens when the front is lifted? Does it stay level or max out the travel of the rear?

I have been experimenting with this on my truck, which has the factory rear air suspension. Powder is correct. In fact, if you want to level the truck, you just push the button and leave "auto level" on. The "off" position (which is just about 1.5" higher in the rear) serves no purpose but to give the "rear-high" look that people are accustomed to with pickup trucks.

If you lift the front 1.5", the truck will be level with the auto-level off, but will ride 1.5" low in the rear with it on. My next experiment is to see if I can increase the height of "level" in the rear by 1.5". It is easy to tell the truck that the rear is too low, you just lengthen the adjustable rods which go to the sensors, which has the effect of making the truck believe that the suspension is compressed 1.5". The big question is how high will the airbags go past the factory height, which is essentially what you're asking them to do.

Even if that works, the truck will always be 1.5" higher in the rear with auto-level off. If I had it to do again, I think I'd just add aftermarket airbags like on my old truck. As some mention however, it is no harder for me to do that now than if I had coil springs. The Kelderman kit replaces the coils with airbags. In my case, it would replace the factory airbags with theirs...