I'm about to install my Firestone air bags in the rear; anyone done this?

[jsimpson]

Do they mount on predrilled holes, or am I gonna have to buy a bag of drill bits?!

I need a guage and control valve panel so I can hook the bags to my Hadley's compressor and storage tank. Any advice?

 

[Wiredawg]

You Gotta Drill!

JSimpson:



You gotta drill dude! No problem though. Buy the best drill bits you can find. It has been over a year since I installed them so I don't remember the bit sizes. Just remember, measure twice, drill once. Also, make pilot hole using bit at least 1/3 size of bolts.



I think Firestone or Airlift sell individual components like tubing, fittings and gauges. Check their websites



If you have factory overload springs, you have the option of retaining them or removing them. I chose to keep mine on. the ride is good and I have a back-up in the event of an airbag failure.



The instructions were good. Read them all the way through before beginning. I used a 1/2 drill. Be careful of the about the recoil on it, it can sprain or break a wrist.



Hope this helps



Wiredawg

 

[JWhitcomb]

I think you will have to drill, don't try to mark and drill all at the same time, use a center punch and drill a pilot hole. Keep in mind you lose a lot of clearance when you leave the overloads on. Use carriage bolts on the lower mount and install the bolts on the frame so the head is facing out so you can avoid interferance problems.

 

[Cummins Corvette]

I put some of those on my old truck. I hated them. Jack the back of your truck up until there is no weight from the truck on the axle. Then measure the distance between the rubber bumper and the stop on the axle. This is the total amount of travel that your rear springs have. The greater this distance, and the more your truck uses when sitting (until it hits the stop), the better it will ride.



You will most likely come up with a measurement of 8-9 inches. Now fully compress one of those bags, and measure how tall it is. Then let the air back into it and measure how tall it is as it sits on a table or something. That is the total travel of the bag.



OK, I just went up in the attic and got one of them because I wanted to see if they were as bad as I remembered.



Not including the studs, it is 6" tall when just sitting there.

When fully compressed, (with my sister standing on it) it is exactly 3" tall. That means it has about 3" of total travel.



3" isn't much compared to stock, and some complain about how the truck rides stock. In reality, they really don't have that much travel. The pressure inside the bag goes up exponentially with respect to how far the bag is compressed. So unless you have an active reservoir (which I did in an effort to make these things not suck), the bag will never fully compress, making the actual useable travel about 2. 5 inches. Needless to say, my truck was very miserable to drive with those on it, thus they are sitting in the attic, and my old truck had useless holes drilled in the frame above the wheels.



There is one good use I could see for them. They would make the ultimate bump stop, like a replacement for the rubber thing on the frame. Their exponentially progressive increase in resistance to load pressure would make them perfect for this.



Even with no air, they are still limiting your total travel to 3 or less inches, and the truck will ride much worse, and if you hit any speed bumps at speed, you will bend the mounts or the frame if you're unlucky enough.



These are just my experiences and observations. Not discourage you, but I would never put those on any truck ever again.

 

[Scooby]

Are you sure that little compressor used for your horns can serve double duty? I think the compressors used for airbags may be capable of continuous cycle duty as opposed to the air horn compressor which is only capable of intermittent cycles.



Just something to take into consideration.....

 

[SnoKing]

jsimpson

What problem are you trying to solve? SNOKING

 

[emarsh]

I have the Firestone Ride Rite air bags on my dakota and love them, but they do limit total travel, each application is different. What i like is you can load more tounge weight for safer towing.

Mine is manual fill, a valve stem at the rear bumper. The most air I put in them was 11 pounds!

 

[DAWG-1]

Drill

Buy yourself a can of cutting oil (do not use a lubricant like WD-40) and keep the drill bit wet. There is no need for a pilot hole just a quality bit and drill relatively slow. Sam

 

[jsimpson]

I've never noticed any travel at all unless I loaded the camper into the back. That settles it down a few inches. All other times, both my 89 and my 94 feel like the bed is bolted to the rear axle!

 

[SnoKing]

Ranhco 9000 adjustable shocks are a better starting point and adjusting rear tire pressure down when not loaded. MY old 93 with HD rear springs rode really bad with 12. 50x33x16. 5's. When I put 265x75x16 snow tires on it, it rode a lot better. I am using the snow tires on the new 2001. 5 also. SNOKING

 

[Mak]

Air bags

I agree that the bags do make the truck a rough rider. They were a necessity on my '95 with my 5th wheel. I used them to level out. But without the trailer, it was a harsh ride. Like another post, I used about 10-14 pounds when trailering. Good luck..... and do use a good cutting oil for drilling, it make all the difference.

 

[Wiredawg]

Doesn't RideLike a Caddy, but...

Guys:



Everyone has their own desire for ride and carrying capacity, but they don't always come together. I'm happy with my truck's ride, but then, I never cared for cushy either. Empty, I run with 10Lbs in my Airlifts. loaded, I run about 60 Lbs. My pin weight is 2,600 Lbs and my trailer weighs 15, 300 Lbs wet. Talk about a super hauler!



Here's the otherside of the coin: if i took this beast off-road, i wouldn't have air bags on it: they WILL limit your travel. I DID NOT buy my truck to off-road! I bought it to tow heavy and to drive in winter weather.



So, you have to decide what's best for you. Balance ride, tow, hauling and off road characteristics.



You could always buy a Chevy Avalanche if you want everything.

LoL



My . 02,

Wiredawg

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

echoing what Scooby said.....

Originally posted by Scooby

Are you sure that little compressor used for your horns can serve double duty? I think the compressors used for airbags may be capable of continuous cycle duty as opposed to the air horn compressor which is only capable of intermittent cycles.



Just something to take into consideration.....

Right on the money Scooby! The compressor that drives them airhorns hasn't got enough cajones to double up and do justice to those Firstone airbags.



You'll need the Firestone compressor and if your budget will run to it, get the in-cab EZ adjust gizmo, which means you can deflate or top up at the flick of a switch from the driver's seat to adjust ride height when hauling stuff, like a heavy camper. It does what it says on the box. Just make sure you go careful and catch any potential air leaks on the installation.

 

[jsimpson]

I was a little disappointed that my Hadley Ambassadors came with the same pump as the Bullys, even though the ad showed a belt driven pump. But the leittle pump hasn't let me down, and the storage tank is bigger than BOTH of the airbags, so it should work OK!

 

[monkfarm]

firestone air-bags

You bought the right brand:Firestone. I had a set of air-lifts on my power thumper:what junk compared to the firestones ; plus made in china!

My firestone (compressor) doesn't run continuously, just when it needs it. The in-cab adjustors are nice. I have two of them. (you can get just one for both sides or two) I run em about 30-40 lbs. I would definitely buy firestone again. I don't see how it would limit travel on my set-up . Maybe there is a smaller different set for the dakota.

I'm finally putting the bilsteins shocks on mine, it'll be great!