"Official" Firestone RideRite + Lift Thread

I did a foolish thing today - I went to pick up flooring and should have made two trips. The salesman said the weight was 2400 lbs, not including the pallet and other supporting materials I picked up. I inflated my airbags to 36 lbs and loaded up. When I got home and added up all the weight, including myself, pallet, etc, the total was 2815 lbs. Yes, I was sweating it the 20-minute drive home. But, my Taco came out of it unfazed. With the weight on, the air pressure in the bags shot up to 56lbs and sunk, maybe, 3 inches - it still sat higher than unladen. Air pressure lost after removing the weight was 2.6lbs (from 36 to 34.4). These bags are about 15 yrs old and cracked - I have put superglue in the deepest cracks! Thus, I am impressed they held up as they did.

Here some picks with the weight on, off, and air bags empty.

 

Yeah, people need to realize or remember that bags can level weight that’s way in excess of max load for the truck. It may sit & ride ok but the parts(bearings, axles, frame, etc) are over their limits. It’s not that failure is guaranteed but it’s operating in the red and you may or may not get away with it.

 

When bearings are designed - and their life projected - the reduction of life due to load is linear and life reduction due to speed is exponential. The kindest thing you can do for them in an overload is operate at reduced speed. An example (admittedly poor) is that a linear progression is 1,2,3,4,5 as the divisor as the load goes up - and the exponential divisor is 2,4,16,256 and so on as the speed increases. A little speed reduction goes a long way in the life calculations. It also goes a long way toward saving the bearings when you come home with a ton in the back of your little truck.

 

Yep, took the back streets home, in third gear, and never exceeded 45 mph. And, that was just one half mile section. First time she ever carried that much. Should be the last.

 

Best thing you can do when you’re running heavy.