Airbags

So I have a 23 SR Tacoma with a smart cap and a rough country bumper. The Tacoma was sagging so I placed rear airbags on the truck and now no matter what psi I operate then at they are extremely rough. I did place cradles for the airbags. But every psi is rough I was curious if anyone had this problem or solutions. Thank you

 

Sorry for the novel good sir but here it goes. I have a 16 OR with some tired springs and a set of the TRD pro fox piggies I got dirt cheap and rebuilt and was also looking for some additional support. I put on a set of airbags and the ride was absolute garbage as well. 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 , 25, 35 ect I tried it all and empty is was garbage. When I hooked up to my popup with approx 500 of tongue weight and tools and coolers in the bed (so maybe 600lbs of rear "payload" it road like a dream at 40 psi onroad, and felt like an older fullsized truck on washboard rocky roads (not great) but I was towing and took it slow. (sorry for the rant I just want to let you know you are not alone). the issue with "our" trucks and airbags is that once the bag and the cradle is installed there is not alot of room for uptravel at regular ride height so either you run them empty and it rides like garbage, or you run them at 15 and the damn (are we allowed to use adult words here?) truck bounces all over at every bump and expansion joint on the road, trail and freeway. Additionally even if we had enough room to run the setup on stock springs there isn't a good shock option out there (maybe top of the line resi's with adjusters) that have enough REBOUND dampening to counter this and dampen the bucking.

Longs story long. we don't have enough room between top of leafpack and frame to run airbags and cradles successfully on a stock truck. You could try removing the cradles and mounting the bag to the plate as this would give you an extra inch (maybe a little more) of space for suspension travel. I did not try that so I don't know if that would help you.

I got my bags for $100 used (still new in box the dude never installed them) and besides the time (Always happy to hide from the wonderful women of my house) I wasn't out much. So here is what I did.

I installed deaver stage 1's (just today - twas a nice little project) and as an experiment I put the airbags back on. Now even though the deavers are a thicker leafpack they provide more lift (space between top of axle and the frame) so the airbags and cradles now have enough space to comfortably exist. Full transparency I aired them up to 15 and it was just enough to contact so then I aired them down to 0 and went for a rip. I need to put them up to 7-8 (how accurate are my pumps? no idea) and drive 10 minutes out to the desert and see how they do but for now I will tell you this.

A lifted truck (spring lift not blocks) makes a massive difference and the damage that cradles and airbags did to ride quality is now gone. I only had 300lbs in the rear which is exactly what those springs are built for but it road like a dream. The hype is real deavers are legit and the guys at @AccuTune Offroad are awesome and the customer service is top notch. My airbag experiment was cheap and I might still keep them but the issue of the trailer/Payload putting the truck on the bumpstops is gone and I am impressed so far, and will provide updates moving forward one one of the airbag threads or make a new one.

If I was to make a recommendation I would say first try taking out the cradle and mounting the bag to the lower plate as the manufacturer instructions outline. I know everyone is worried about overextending and tearing a bag but I don't think a stock truck has enough down travel to tear the bag but you can jack up the tail end in the garage and find out in the comfort of your own home. I could be wrong and I am fine with that.

Next option is swapping out the current leafpack for a leafpack that would sag less under load (and or provide more lift) but I don't blame you for being hesitant to jump right into that because it would cost more of that "good money" that you already spent on bags.

(disclaimer I am fairly certain that now that I tagged accutune they might and probably should refute most of what I just said because they are a respected business and industry experts. So please don't anyone assume that my statements or actions were encouraged or suggested by accutune. I rebuild suspension on the side and have a solid mechanical background but they might not rubberstamp my comments, I only mention them because they would be a qualified source of information if you wanted to purchase additional parts to remedy this situation)

 

Thank you so much for the info I’ll try removing the cradles then go from there

 

The U-bolts around the center of the spring that hold the airbag bottom plate will stiffen your ride when empty.

You want an AAL or a new spring pack. Airbags aren't the correct solution for a couple/few hundred pounds in the truck. They can be the correct solution for rear sag due to extremely heavy loads or a trailer with a heavy tongue weight.

 

The thing is that I do occasionally haul a heavy camper and though the airbags would shine at this. I’m new to the whole suspension thing and was trying to figure a solution out then $1000 leaf pack.

 

I understand, a full leaf pack replacement isn't inexpensive or for everyone.

Headstrong Offroad AAL is $250 but it'll lift the rear of your truck since it's a progressive 3 leaf spring.

There are single spring helpers that are less expensive and provide less/marginal lift.