"Official" Firestone RideRite + Lift Thread

Will have more experience once I pick up my camper this December, 900lbs. Have Dakar medium duty right now in the rear with the daystar cradles. With minimum pressure, 5psi, puts slight pressure on the cradles but no noticeable feel on the road. Looks to be quality. I don't know if it was discussed on this thread already but I switch my T union with one valve back to separate valves once I was told of a wobble caused from air shifting from one bag to another.

 

Yeah, there’s a thread discussing people’s experience with the firestone bags specifically.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/official-firestone-riderite-lift-thread.279865/

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

I like your thought process!

 

I've looked through this thread and haven't seen my issue addressed, so here goes. I have a '17 TRD Sport. I installed an OME 2" lift in the front and hopefully doing the rear Dakar's tomorrow. I have the Ride-Rite bags already installed when I bought it. I also purchased the Daystar cradle's. It looks to me that the "bolt" holding the leaf pack together in the center is much longer at the top of the leaf pack than stock. I am worried that the bottom air bag bracket is going to contact the bolt on top of the leaf pack. How did you all handle this? Drill a hole in the air bag bottom bracket? Grind down the leaf pack bolt a bit?

Appreciate any advice, thanks.

 

Cut it

 

U Bolts hold the leaf springs together. So I'm not sure what you are talking about. There should be a bolt that comes up through the lower air bag bracket and screwed into the airbag. That bolt is replaced with the included with the cradle. Then the bottom of the air bag is no longer connected to anything. Here is a video (start at he 1:00 mark) that should clear it up.

 

Sounds like he’s referring to the leaf pack centering bolt. If so, it can be cut/ground up to flush with the top of the nut.

 

I can say that if you have a ubolt flip, 35gal fuel tank, AND air bumps installed this is not a bolt on deal lol.
After lots of hours of making shit, i got the air bumps off and new bags installed. truck sits level again with all the shit i have added lol Tows better too.

 

Yes, exactly. Thanks. That would be the easiest for sure and I don't think there's any chance of the nut coming loose. Appreciate it.

 

I'm not sure I follow you, or maybe you don't follow me. Did someone say they were using their airbags for increased load capacity? To be clear, I never wrote anything meant to be interpreted as that.

I think this discussion exists because people want "two trucks in one." For example, I want one truck that doesn't produce a lot of body lean on a winding two-lane mountain road when I'm driving across the country with two weeks of overlanding gear in the bed. I can get that first truck by putting some additional pressure in my Ride Rites.

But when the pavement ends, I want a second truck with supple, more limber suspension. That's where I let the air out of the bags, and that's also where Firestone's own air bag mounts started giving me problems. There's no single setup that will do both things well without allowing for some adjustment at the trailhead, so it's not just a matter of installing some different springs.

You are right that I want a "cheap" fix. I bought my truck with the air bags installed, so I decided to find a way to make them work for me.

I discovered other things the air bags are good for too. For example, if you have camped in your truck in the high desert, or on the beach, or between two mountains that channel the wind – or just in a Walmart parking lot on I-40 in Oklahoma – you have probably been kept awake at night by the wind rocking the truck – especially if you are lifted or have a topper on the bed. And especially if you have something on the roof rack. If I put 40 lbs. of pressure in my bags, the rocking stops, and we get a good night's rest, and I didn't have to bring any extra hardware to stabilize the bed.

Or if we stop on a slanted side grade of a forest service road for the night, I can let the air out of one bag and put more air in the other, and my wife and I can sleep more level, without gravity slowly sliding one of us off the side of the mattress, where things get cold fast.

But I still want soft springs on the trail. Nothing can give me the best of both worlds if it is not adjustable at the trailhead. And the Firestone air bags need to be able to let the axle droop freely.

I suppose I might have been able to solve at least some of these issues in other ways (although I can't think of any right now). But I also enjoyed the technical challenge of making what I already have work for me, and I have always preferred to solve a problem by producing a solution instead of buying one.

 

So you installed bags on your F250 to increase the load capacity of your rear suspension during times when the load is higher then normal.

Check.

 

With a GoFast Camper (approx. 300lbs) and a load of camping gear in the back of my 2018 TRD Offroad Tacoma LB I'm getting some bottoming out on bumps. The Firestone Riderite airbags with Daystar cradles sound like they could be the solution. Two questions: 1) Back in 2014 Firestone put out a warning that Riderite airbags should not be used with Daystar Cradles. Has this situation changed? 2) Can anyone recommend a good shop in Salt Lake City who could install a pair of these for me? Thanks!

 

Warning shmarning, go for it. Without the daystars, you can't safely jack up the truck without hanging the axle from the bags, which can't be good for them. As for installation, nothing could be easier, do it yourself.

 

I spoke with both Firestone and Daystar about this. Firestone engineers got into trouble for not inventing the cradle. Because of the patent Firestone was pissed and added that disclaimer. My Daystar cradles have been on of over a year no problem. Depending on the load you are adding Airbags may not be the best or only solution. I ran a 6 week trip and they worked flawlessly at 25 to 30 PSI. The ride was harsher than I wanted so I installed ICON RXT springs at the highest setting. The airbags are down to 5 to 10 PSI to level. More when the ground is sloped when sleeping and more weight is in the back or when I tow or carry extra weight. I am very happy with this combination.

 

I've been combing through these threads and the web trying to find the answer to my question, so please forgive me if I've missed it. This is a long thread...

I have Bilstein 5100s set at 2.5" in the front, and with a 1" block in the rear to level the truck. I just got Ride Rites and the lower bracket doesn't contact the axle. I saw something about fabricating plate to provide the support on that side, but wanted to confirm that that was the solution - that no one makes a different bracket or purpose-built part for this situation. Fabricating something isn't a big deal but before investing the time and modifying the bracket (which would presumably void the warranty), I wanted to ask.

Thank you all for everything you know and share - I consult this forum frequently and have had many many questions answered by the collective experience and knowledge of this community.

 

Firestone makes brackets in multiple sizes for bolt on but you have to drill the lower backet or weld them. If you are welding don't buy them.

 

I am running blocks on my rear as well. I made an extension for the lower plate:



I have pictures of the entire install in my build thread thread, post 224.

 

Thanks for the info. I did more research and consulted my mechanic buddy (the garage where I'm doing the work, or I should probably say: the guy I'm helping to install these on my truck) and we agreed the best bet was for me to purchase the (expensive) extensions sold for this purpose. So those should arrive today.

Next, hopefully final, question: I use my truck to go far into the Sierra backcountry, sometimes on rough and rocky roads (not crawling per se, but I've been on trails where rock crawlers go). Do I need the Daystar cradles? Do the bags seriously restrict travel that much, and is there risk of damaging the bags if I end up in a situation where my suspension is maxed out?

 

Yes and yes and yes.