Questions about air bags

I'm thinking about adding some air bags to my truck.

I tow/haul (depending on availability of a trailer) my 600lb ATV and would like to prevent the sagging. I intend to remove my Toytec AAL because of take-off vibes. The bags are not going to be used for lifting the rear end.

User that the Air Lift bags sit forward of the rear axle, Ride-Rites are directly over top of it. Are the Ride Rites better because if this?

My next question assumes that the air bags are deflated to minimum pressure... How would the bags affect the articulation of the rear suspension when driving off road?

 

I have the Air Lift bags on my 96. I did a lot of research between the Air Lifts and the Ride Rites, and as far as I could tell, no one could come up with any reason why they should be right over the axle, or what problems it would cause if it isn't. In the end, I went with the Air Lifts because they were cheaper, and I couldn't find any compelling reason why the Ride Rites were going to be better.

I've hauled considerably with them, and they've held up great - no issues, and it really helped the ride to level myself out while loaded. I run them around 10-20psi normally, to support the weight of my topper and tools that stay in the back of the truck most of the time.

As to offroad articulation, I don't do much "hardcore wheeling", but I do take them up some pretty gnarly jeep roads to go to friends houses (the things you do when you live on the CO front range), and have certainly pushed the articulation on the back without damage. I wouldn't put them on a vehicle intended for serious wheeling only, but if it is a truck first and a wheeler second, then I don't think you will run into any issues - at minimum pressure the bags will compress considerably, and aren't much taller than the original bumpstops. At full extension it might theoretically be possible to tear a bag, but I haven't seen it, and even if you were unlucky, replacement bags aren't expensive.

-Sam

 

Awesome, thanks for the reply.

Anyone else care to comment?

 

I have a 09 and I have experienced with both- air rite and firestone. The air rite are not as strong as the firestone. The Firestone are rated for 5000lbsand unlike the rite air ,, they are sitting on top of the axle. Off road is not the best choice. It will limit your travel. On road - when I don't tow anything, I keep them at 10psi . If you tow and use the bed- as I do - the air bags is the best investment you can do. All you have to do is add a little bit of air- based on what load you cary. I use a bike pump.
One thing you have to remember is- axle and truck limit.
Don't think that you can carry 3000 lbs in your bed now

 

Cool thanks. I don't really offroad like most on here, mainly tracks down to the river on fishing trips or muddy fields. I'm not talking rock crawling or anything like that. I have done some reading on other truck forums and the consensus seems to be that keeping the bags at minimum pressure gives stock articulation, which is good enough for me.

I intend to hook a compressor to a 2 or 3 gallon air tank, giving the option for on board air and the air bag adjustment. I'm looking for a compressor out of a wrecked vehicle right now. If I can't find one I'll buy the firestone one and use that for my setup.