"Official" Firestone RideRite + Lift Thread

Circa 1950s, Bantam trailer. Stopped holding air in 2016. Probably last longer than the truck. A little different design but same concept.

 

Lord how much are you carrying in that M101?!?? I carry up to 3/4 ton in my very similar trailer and I’m not on the bump-stops.

 

Too much firewood. That was the suspension setup when we got it in the ‘70s. I remember it being very bouncy when empty.

 

Looks like you are missing shocks.

 

Yeah, rebuilding it currently (slowly). New leaf packs, adding shocks.

 

Question for the group. I just installed the 2407 Ride Rite kit with Daystar cradles on my 2020 TRD OR and they are exactly what I was hoping for. My question is about the bottom plates that the cradles mount to over the springs. I read a lot about people needing to custom fab a bracket that extends the plate down to the axle to prevent it from bending. The plate that came in my kit was super sturdy and didn’t have any indication of a brace that dropped down to the axle for support. The installation manual didn’t show anything either so I assume these bottom brackets have now been upgraded by Firestone to prevent this issue, but I thought that I would check. Thanks.

 

@Kravitz I have a similar gap. I was wondering the same thing and can only say I've now had them on for over a year w/ moderate use (popup campers, trailers/atvs, home depot runs) and offroad -- no issues so far.

 

A couple of questions...

I removed my airbags today to clean them up and replace the fittings - had a couple leaks.

The parts kit I got on Amazon had larger fittings than the original. What size fitting do I need?

And where can I get a straight one? I don't want the elbow when I reinstall.

 

Looks like the bag has a 1/4” male pipe thread to 1/8” female pipe thread adapter that the old elbow was screwed into. You can either remove that and get a 1/4” male pipe thread to 1/4” push to connect or leave it and get a 1/8” male pipe thread to 1/4” push to connect. Sizes are confusing since pipe uses inside diameter and tubing uses outside diameter.

Utah Pneumatic 1/4 Push To Connect Fittings Npt Male Dot Air Fittings Brake Tube Fittings Brass Push To Connect For Saej844 Tubing Applications Air Brake Fittings (2 Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CVYP6CB?pf_rd_p=34ddd399-3313-4562-9a30-685d1d7ce226&pf_rd_r=YN7W25SBN3T7WCB418R3&pd_rd_wg=ExZOU&pd_rd_w=IwyPW&content-id=amzn1.sym.34ddd399-3313-4562-9a30-685d1d7ce226&pd_rd_r=08fef009-19ca-443a-8533-5e17cd57019d&s=hi
or one of these with a 1/8” nipple

$10 RideTech 31952150 1/8" NPT to 1/4" Airline Fitting

https://www.amazon.com/RideTech-319...sprefix=1/8+npt+to+1/4+ptc,tools,157&sr=1-122
I switched from ptc to compression fittings as they are more forgiving and serviceable.

 

"Long" term review and update on Ride Rite airbags:
I think this will answer some of the questions above.

• I've been running the Ride Rite 2407 airbags for about 4 years. When originally installed, I did not do anything to fix the provided bracket underneath the airbag not reaching the axle. 4 years later, after removing the bracket there wasn't any damage or bending on the bracket. I did spend a full day towing a 16ft box trailer loaded down enough to only get 7mpg, as well as at least 20hrs of rocky offroad driving, most of which a little too spirited, so the brackets have definitely been pushed. The airbags still look good. I did put some stans mt bike tubeless sealant down the schrader valve at one point about 2 years ago to fix a leak that was probably caused by me not cutting straight across the air line, but it's still holding.
• They definitely help reduce body roll, most noticeable on winding mountain roads.
• Another benefit is being able to level out the truck for camping since we sleep in the back.
• Yesterday I installed the daystar air bag cradles. Thanks to a garage sale drill press and a $12 angle grinder, I went ahead and fabricated 2 brackets to reach down from the provided firestone bracket to the axle. As discussed above, I Probably didn't need the brackets but I feel better regardless. I'm planning on doing a lot more off road towing in the future. One less thing to worry about.

• I had to cut/drill the hole in the firestone bracket to relocate the cradle to line it up correctly. The brackets that go underneath the leaf springs couldn't slide over enough to get the airbag to sit centered on the cradle (they were hitting the brake line).

• The most effective method I found to locate the cradle was to jack up the frame to the desired ride height, ease some air into the airbag, put a bolt in the bottom of the airbag hole, and look up through the firestone bracket for the bolt while sliding the bracket around. Once the bracket was secured, I jacked up the truck more, deflated the airbag, and slipped the cradle in and bolted it down.

• In the end, I only gained about 2 1/4" of down travel (frame lifted, wheel drooping, 20psi in airbag) as shown in the photo. Every little bit helps though.

 

I just removed and refurbished my airbags. I want to reinstall them with with cradles this time. There are $28 imitation Daystar cradles on Amazon. Any reason to not go with those over the $75 Daystars? The cheap ones say they are plastic. Are the Daystars metal?

Just trying to decide.

 

Besides not buying counterfeit products thereby supporting an unethical and often illegal business model? Not sure. I’m sure there could be material differences, junk hardware, quality control issues, etc… but I wouldn’t progress beyond my first point.

 

I get that...I guess my real question is are the Daystars made of metal? I'd pay the full price if the cradle is metal, but $75 seems a bit steep for two plastic discs.

 

not metal. Be assured, you won’t break them or bend them.

 

Thanks, guys. Not sure where I got it in my head that the Daystars were maybe metal. I thought I had read it somewhere. Clearly, I was wrong (and should have Googled it).

Not much of an excuse but I had a colonoscopy two days ago and I've just had this brain fog I haven't quite shaken yet. I've had entire conversations with my wife that I don't remember. That sedation messed me up.

 

When I had my colonoscopy last month, I watched it in real time on the big screen. No more brain fog than usual for an old guy.

 

I kind of thought that was how it was going to go, but they knocked me out cold. I rolled on my side in the room and woke up in recovery. Never had any idea anything happened. They warned me to stay home for 24 hours and not to go shopping on the internet. Apparently, some people have made some crazy purchases without knowing it.

 

I’ve heard of thread jacking but this is seriously OT. I suppose a thread dedicated to colonoscopy would get mixed reviews. Hang in there.

 

Damn! All those perfect excuses to tell my wife all these years... All gone to waste!