Air Lift bags (review, pics)

Finally installed some Air Lift helper suspension. My first impressions are good.

The kit was very well stocked and had good vehicle specific instructions. The install was pretty straightforward with the only "tricky" part being drilling a total of six 5/16" holes in the frame for the self tapping upper mounting bolts. After removing the wheels, all work was easily done with almost no need to get under the vehicle.

I haven't tried it under load yet, but with the minimum suggested 10 psi, it raises the rear ~1/2" and doesn't discernibly affect the ride quality.

I installed it to assist when fully loaded for camping and carrying my motorcycle on a hitch rack I built (~375 lbs total tongue weight, 8" rearward of bumper plus another ~600 lbs of gear in the cabin).

Here's why I need it. Notice the 2" of fender to tire clearance.


I made some animated gifs showing 0, 13, 40, and 80 psi. Soda can for scale.


Some pictures of the install and one side of the air line routing. I used some pre-existing big holes in the bumper and some small ID/Big OD washers to sandwich the valve stems in.


Tips for installation. You want to make sure the brake line retaining bolts (red arrow) have been thoroughly lubed. I sprayed WD-40 on them several times in the 24 hours preceding the install. Also, jack the leaf spring up to normal ride height and then drill the holes for the air spring with it inserted perpendicular to the surface of the leaf. It won't be directly up and down.

Thanks for the suggestions awhile back. Great forum.

Very nice installation and report. The animation is nice also.

Here's a gif showing the exploder fully loaded with camping gear and the bike on the rack with 0, 10, 40, and 80 psi.



I drove a couple hundred miles fully loaded on surfaces ranging from 70 mph slab to washboard gravel and lumpy path. Seems to handle better with the bags inflated.

I'm pretty sure I need to run about 50 psi to be near stock height. I think I might rig up a Y-hose so I can add equal amounts of air to each bag without having to rely on my dodgy pressure gauges.

Awesome post, any stories now you have had it a while?

Awesome. I've always thought about getting ride of 3 leafs from the pack and getting a set of these. Anything to help out the ride!

Nice -- this'll be great for leveling out a tow vehicle .
Keep us posted as time goes on in case they develop a leak or something.

bump

Haven't been a frequent visitor, so didn't notice the recent replies. I'd be happy to update.

Funny enough, I checked the air pressure in the bags today after WEEKS without doing so, and they were less than a 10% down from what I put in before a 2000 mile December road trip. I run 11 lbs in them when unburdened and about 15 with a load of camping gear. Add the bike and I run it up to about 40 psi (see above GIF). This puts me no more than an inch over the no-bag ride height. I suspect this is close enough to new/stock, and the handling stays very predictable and comfy.

As for "stories", I think the truly revealing detail is that I have no stories. The bags work EXACTLY as advertised. Honestly, until I load up, I forget they are even there.

One interesting thought occurred to me though. I bought a relatively hardcore 12V air pump for the truck when I'm in the wilderness. I used it on the air bags once, and it dawned on me as a VERY quick way to get a 3-4" suspension lift in a jam.

I definitely would not recommend pumping the airbags up above stock height for a permanent lift, but in a pinch when you are high centered on a boulder in the desert or snow bank in your driveway...

All in all 5 stars for functionality and price. I'll let you know about durability in 5 years.

Glad to hear they're working well. You should be fine as far as durability is concerned. My dad has had these on his Silverado for nearly 5 years without issue.

Just back on the forum after a few years off. Now I'm towing a camper with the 99 5.0 AWD, and have gotten a lot of good advice here. I'm seriously looking at these as the rear of mine has always been lower than the front by about 1 inch. I don't want to over adjust the weight distributing hitch to compensate, so I think I'll check these out. Thanks!

Update: I installed a set of these along with the on board compressor, and what a great find! They work as advertised, and I am more than pleased with the results. Thanks for the info!

UPDATE: Air Lift bags (review, pics)

Had a series of unfortunate events involving flat tires, worn out lug studs/nuts, and other variously expensive destruction/repairs during a "free" trip to Nevada.



On the bright side (sort of ), this chaos and carnage lead me to discover that my air suspension bag on the drivers side had twisted on the leaf spring. The rear of the platform attached to the bag which sits on the top of the leaf had shifted outwards towards the tire.

This resulted in a wildly tilted and off kilter bag, but more interestingly, it was proceeding to rub it's way through one of the brake hoses.

Whacked it back into place and retorqued the U-bolt and all seems to be fine (except for all the other repairs I'm undertaking). Haven't determined if the brake line needs replaced or not yet.

Just thought I'd report the airbag problem so those of you who have them installed know to keep an eye on them. I could foresee some catastrophic problems if my situation had continued unnoticed.

Hey, Sorry to hear that, but glad to know you caught it in time & let us know to keep an eye out. Thanks