FireStone Ride-Rite Install question...

I always keep spare parts/ doubles of all potential failure parts. Even a spare winch line. Redundancy.

Thank you though. Glad to see others on the same page./

 

Got em' installed.

 

Looks good, where did you run the fill lines to?

 

Ended up just doing the standard dual line to the bumper outside the tag plate. Wanted to do something creative and out of sight but it was getting dark and the wife was ready to hit the back porch with a bottle of wine and some music! Perfect way to finish the project so I kept it simple and called it complete for now. Did a test drive and some up's and down's with it and it performed flawlessly. Really happy with the product and install.

 

I installed mine the same way. Drilled through the bumper on either side of the tag plate.

 

Initially I had my lines coming out where the tow hitch is. One on either side. Re routed to under my dash for now so I can inflate in cab.

 

Yea I agree. Nice setup for making adjustments and repairs when needed. Love the feel of it with a load. Can't wait to really load it down and see the difference. Only done a few hundred pounds in the bed so far.

I'd love to add in the on-board air options once budget allows! Was checking them out the other day. Very nice setup once those components are added.

 

Looks cool Skygear!! Thanks for posting the pics. For now it's nice for me to just be able to back up the truck to the garage and use my air compressor to do a quick fill when needed. As mentioned earlier I'd like to get on board air at some point. Either way it's cool to see some of the setups folks are doing.

 

Never would have thought to run them into the cab Skygear, looks good man. Av8er, glad you're happy, I've been crowin to people just how freakin awesome these bags are. Most folks look at it and go 'hmm ok, whatever', but if you run any loads at all, these bags are such a godsend, I can't live without them.

 

Thanks for the pictures & write up! I have been thinking about buying...this helps!!!

 

Acdronin nailed it! Can't live without em' if your running loads. I think you'll enjoy them as much as we are if you purchase them.

 

guys if you are looking a place to put the air lines and valves, the sid storage pockets have drain holes in the bottom, they are the same size needed for the valve, have had mine in there for several months and they are doing great.
I ran one to each side keeping the lines split.

 

Anybody notice any front to rear sway when under a load after installing these?

I was going to use these on my Chevy and was talked out of them and instead went with an overload spring helpers? The sales guy said they tend to sway around under a load?
Thanks

www.**************.com

Links won't copy and paste, sorry

 

I have a Wheeler's 2inch AAL and 5100's all around with no TSB leaf.

No, if anything it stiffens everything up. my rule of thumb generally is this:
Offroad, no load other than the cap and rack, deflate the bags completely and the rear is nice and flexy, I don't try to max out the flex because i don't want to tear a bag but over the time i have had them i have been pleasantly surprised at just how tough these bags really are.

Unloaded with my cap and rack, those are about 450lbs, roughly half the normal load capacity of the truck, usually there is about 200+lbs of tools in it at any one time. Normal pressure in the bags is set at 10-15lbs.
Truck sits pretty much dead-level and does not sway much at all, i have a stiffer strut/spring set up in the front so the truck actually handles quite better than one would imagine for such a high center of gravity. It's not a sports car by any stretch but the bags act as anti-sways keeping the rear from swaying. It's a tid bit bouncy in the rear so i tend to ease it over the more pronounced speed bumps. I think a small price to pay for the benefits.
The other day I loaded up three-quarters of a yard of wet mulch plus a few tools, with the cap and rack the total weight was probably in the neighborhood of 1200-1300lbs. Center the load over the rear axle and pump the bags up to 60lbs (roughly half of their 125lb limit). Ride is not bouncy in fact it's on the firm side without being harsh. Truck still doesn't sway much but I drive nice and easy with loads anyways.
Now for 1300+lbs, which I do not recommend! I will pump the bags up to their 125lb limits, the truck looks like it doesn't have a load in the bed at all. The bags have just enough give as not to make the ride overly harsh in the rear and they definitely do not rock front to back. I have run 900lbs of lumber on the rack, 400lbs of concrete bags in the bed, tools and a worker all at once. Probably something like 2250lbs total. Very high center of gravity but you don't notice a lot of extra sway running like that.
I did, one time last year, do a load that goes above and beyond anything that one could expect out of a half-ton truck. WARNING: Do not try this at home! I am a deranged professional!
I was finishing up a job and I needed to get some extra rock, well the order for a half-yard of gravel got changed to a whole yard and "BTW, can you pick up 8 bags of decorative rock too?" You may want to shield the children's eyes from the pic below, it's pretty graphic. I went about 15 miles with this load. It did yaw a lot and stopping was a bit of an adventure too.

Estimated weight with the cap and rack???????


3500LBS!!!!!

Stick that in yer carb and smoke it!

BTW, nothing was bent, broken or leaked because of it Like I said, I do not recommend EVER doing this but it does illustrate just what a properly modded truck COULD do. Notice the rear doesn't sag at all.

 

Mine should arrive tomorrow and am hoping I will be as impressed as all of you are. Hoping to keep the back up so the travel trailer sits level.

I will start the install this afternoon by cleaning up the install site and wacking off the spring stops
Spare tire needs a good cleaning, it's been a year since its been down. Probably has a good collection of sand and rocks.

Jim

 

Just installed mine. Measured before and after and with 10psi it added 3/4" to my tsb leaf spring pack with 5100s. Mounted the fill valves on tow plug.

 

Looks nice man! Not a hard install is it?

 

My install was easy, dropped the spare, removed rear tires, mounted valves in left rear box compartment, ran power to the compartment, bought cheapo Slime inflater with cheapo guage wired up using a SAE two prong plug. Worked great at 40 psi with my 650# tongue weight TT and 300# WR250R in the bed, Corpus Christie, TX and back to beautiful NE Iowa, no air loss, no problems. Another one of those why didn't I do it sooner projects!

 

i know huh? It's incredible how useful this one mod is.