buck183

You may still be correct in your thinking. This information is for their Ride Rite series of air springs, which are for what I would consider light duty trucks. 1 tons and lighter.

Your number may be correct for the commercial line. I have never installed any of their commercial products to be able to comment either way.

Buck

29KILROY

iTrader: (1)

I have Firestone Ride Rite on mine and love them!!!!

wannabe

x2

ezstriper

I have air lifts(firestone bags) with their old style compressor, gauge and control on dash, love them !!! nice to be able to adjust while driving...

353Formula

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Thanks Again everyone for the input on them.

tnc110

Do you find that after removing a few leaf springs and installing the bags that the ride is much smoother?

My father has a 350 ford with an aluminum bed that rides like a buck wagon. You can barely talk on the phone when on anything less than a perfectly smooth road. He thought adding bags would help...I told him that if he didnt take any springs out he would not be doing any good...he didnt listen....

Sydwayz

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IMHO, you can't remove a leaf spring and make up for it with air. If I were lowering a 1-ton (considered it); I would de-arch the rear springs and still go with air. I do like 502ss' setup though, and he is not trying to make the truck work as hard as it would if it were still factory.

In my experience, the bags inflated just enough to snug/firm/solidify the connection between the axle and the frame helps a lot. My F350 dually with bags rides better than my Dodge 2500 without bags, empty. I've put bags on 4 trucks now, (96 Tahoe, 97 Tahoe, 02 AV 2500, 00 F-350) and every one has been a wise investment. I used to really wring out my Avalanche 2500 on curvy roads and the bags (coupled with rear wheel spacers and wider footpring wheels/tires) really enabled that truck to handle well for as big as it was.

I keep about 30 lbs. in all of my bags when not towing, and somewhere between 50-80 lbs. when towing depending on loads.

KEY and IMPORTANT: If you are towing 5th wheel, Gooseneck, or Tag Along Hitch, you will be fine with a single schrader valve or connection between both bags. HOWEVER, if you are placing a significant load IN THE BED OF THE TRUCK; over the airbags; like a camper or heavy cargo, you REALLY NEED individual fill control/schrader valves for each rear airbag. Reason: the cargo load can shift the air from one side of the truck to the other if they are tired together with no air flow restriction/control. This will cause an unstable condition when you least expect it, like on a highway cloverleaf or turn; and you are likely to loose control.

aquaforce

As a general rule inflated rubber will bounce more than springs. Some forget this when they install bags only and expect ride improvement. Because of the added bounce shocks should also be adequate for towing and the ride requirement.

I have the Firestones, in my dually, and love the more level ride and cornering stability. Empty the bounce got worse. So much worse that it felt like a semi tractor on all bags bucking against the cab. I installed the Rancho XL9000 series shocks that adjust by remote from the cab and I love these things. Just dial in the ride for empty and dial in the ride for loaded and keep a perfect ride all the time.

GTOKILLER

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I use or should I say abuse that same Airlift system w/ digital controller. I used larger then recommended airbags but its been flawless!!!
This setup had to rely 100% on the bag & valves hiding up, thats why I chose Airlift.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

Strong points. Shocks are a big part of the equation. I've got Edlebrocks on my dually at the moment, and may go to double shock setups. These were a very nice upgrade from stock, and I even bought them used from a good friend. I've got leafs on the front of my dually as well. (2000 F350) Increasing rotating mass weight actually improved the ride which I did not expect (19.5s).

Off topic even further, but don't forget about steering stabilizers. I added one to my low rider Tahoe, and installed doubles on my F350 and Dodge 2500.