Airlift bags and compressor

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Feb 25, 2015
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Sask, Canada
This will be for my 2017 Ram 3500 6.7 megacab. Its long winded so please bear with me. We sold our Trailswest 5 horse and upgraded to a 6 in the fall of 2023. 7400 pounds or so empty, fully loaded it's well within the capability of the truck but the added length puts a bit more pin weight on it. It can squat just enough that I want to level it and keep more weight on the steer axle and headlights pointed at the road. The quad headlights suck on a good day (recent led upgrades sure help).

Originally wanted Timbrens because of the experience I previously had with bags and air leaks and cold weather. The Timbrens are bullet proof but still allow some squat before taking up the load and can have some harsh ride characteristics.

A client out at our place showed us their Airlift setup on a new GM half ton. They have the smaller compressor, likely 25980 wireless mounted underhood. My wife and I liked the features and especially the dedicated controller.

So, there is nowhere under the hood of my truck that would fit a compressor so I would have to get the frame mounted 25980ez. Likely fabricate some sort of plate to protect from road debris and such.

Any advice on this plan? I will add an inline kill switch in case of a leak, allowing a guy to just shut it all down and run at 0psi. The system will be called upon in the summer when we tow heavy but our horse trailer does not come out in the winter. I hope this system can work in -40 to +40c. We still trailer in the winter but nothing heavy anymore.

Any advice on eliminating leaks with the plastic line and push fittings? I wonder if I lube up the o rings with some silicone grease to keep them from drying out and even using some heat shrink over the to keep the dust out. This thing will get plenty of dust from the gravel roads and some salt over the winter.

Thanks for any advice!
 
This is a review I wrote of the Airlift bags and frame mounted pump w/wireless remote. Many years after writing this review, I'm still very please with the better ride we get from the bags. Our 5th wheel has a roughly 4,500 lb pin weight loaded and the bags to take as much squat out of the truck as you'd like.

 
I used Firestone bags on a tundra rated for 6900 lbs. the tow weight was roughly 6000, and it wallowed and sagged. The bags were really great for firming up the rear axle when loaded heavy. They were a royal pain when there was no load, even down at 5psi. Mine leaked a good bit after the hoses aged some, and an automatic compressor was helpful.

You never keep bags at 0psi, as they can tear that way.

Does your setup allow for a weight distributing hitch? I would do everything I can there, upgraded hitch, etc., before going with bags.
 
@meep I should have clarified more than what I did. I am looking at the airlift 88295 bags. They come with an internal joust bumper and can apparently survive at 0psi. This is worst case as the compressor has a minimum 5psi operating pressure.

As well, forgot to clarify this is a gooseneck setup so no weight distribution hitch. The SRW Rams do not have overload springs, just the DRW trucks do.

The truck handles the weight great and it's far from taxing its capabilities, it's just to level it and add some balance.

@wwillson thank you for your review, much appreciated! It brought back some points I had forgot when I ran Firestone coilrites on my 2011 Ram 1500. No on board air and yes, constantly adjusting pressures to match load with a vehicle we towed with and daily drove. PIA. But the bags did transform that truck but I chased air leaks for years..... but.... I have learned a lot since then.
 
I have the 5,000 "Ultimate" "Wireless Air 2nd gen" Airlift system on my F-350. First it will not run at 0 PSI but 5 PSI to keep the bag from running empty which is harder on them. It also comes with an app you can use via Bluetooth along w/remote control. I had one firmware update early on that bricked the "Brain" I have on the frame. Airlift sent out another one since it was under warranty & I installed it w/basic hand tools. If you have it professionally installed by one of their approved shops it will double your warranty to 4 years instead of 2. I definitely recommend taking advantage of that. I think I paid like $350 for installation & I'm happy with what they did. It's been a great system to haul my 4,500 lb truck camper. I also combined this setup with Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks which I also highly recommend.

** 0 PSI is not achievable with a compressor system as they maintain a minimum 5 PSI
 
I have a set of 7500XLs for my 2024. I have not gotten them on yet. Plan is to get them installed weekend after next. I have been messing with my sons LB7 Duramax. It is finally fixed, so I can get them put on.

My buddy has the 7500s on his 2021 2500HD and I really like how they work. All of his equipment is under the truck and has had no issues.
 
Thanks gents for your input, much appreciated!

@fantastic thanks for the info on installation and warranty. There is a couple shops on airlift's site that are local and i will reach out to them to inquire. I am not opposed to a professional install and if warranty is extended, well that's not a bad thing.

I do not plan to run 0psi but in the winter, leaks can appear and i do not want to have to run the pump near duty cycle if I have to. Just need the ability to shut the pump off completely and safely run the bags empty if I have to.

Not funny story, in my 2011 ram 1500, I had the bags manually inflatable and on separate lines. Seemed great at the time. My wife had to trailer a horse she sold, several hours away in -25c ambient. I knew the bags leaked a bit in the cold but this particular day one bag leaked more than the other. An hour in she calls me frantic as the truck and trailer were unsafe. She got hit with the wash from a passing semi truck and trailer, causing our rig to swerve all over the road. She checked and one bag was full and the other empty.
 
Thanks gents for your input, much appreciated!

@fantastic thanks for the info on installation and warranty. There is a couple shops on airlift's site that are local and i will reach out to them to inquire. I am not opposed to a professional install and if warranty is extended, well that's not a bad thing.

I do not plan to run 0psi but in the winter, leaks can appear and i do not want to have to run the pump near duty cycle if I have to. Just need the ability to shut the pump off completely and safely run the bags empty if I have to.

Not funny story, in my 2011 ram 1500, I had the bags manually inflatable and on separate lines. Seemed great at the time. My wife had to trailer a horse she sold, several hours away in -25c ambient. I knew the bags leaked a bit in the cold but this particular day one bag leaked more than the other. An hour in she calls me frantic as the truck and trailer were unsafe. She got hit with the wash from a passing semi truck and trailer, causing our rig to swerve all over the road. She checked and one bag was full and the other empty.

In the app you can set the duty cycle of the air compressor (as a %). In your case you could set it to the lowest cycle, or whatever you like, whenever you want. If you want 0 psi you'll need to pull the power fuse. Otherwise it maintains 5 psi. I've never had any trouble with it and pressure holds pretty good. Occasionally coming on when firing up the truck.

Also, in the manual it recommended to put some antifreeze type product inside the airbags to prevent freezing moisture. Not antifreeze like engine but I forget what it stated for the product to use. In your case I'd highly recommend that you include that step due to your cold temps. I have freezing weather were im at but didn't do that step and wished I'd done it to protect the system for the cold.

The only other issue I've had would be that the phone may not sync with Bluetooth and I'll need to pull the power fuse that was wire to the battery. Not what one wants to do but nothing's perfect I guess.

Just more for you to chew on.
I do like this system very much.
 
Thanks! Well this sounds line a very interesting system!

Thanks for the info on the Bluetooth. While a neat feature, we were drawn to the dedicated wireless controller.
 
We have the same year RAM Dually with the factory air bag system in the rear. It works great even at max payload. Maybe retrofitting to your SRW is an option. That would be more involved than aftermarket options.
 
One thing that saved my bacon in the half ton, was that larger diameter bags alone ride like rocks at 5psi in an empty truck. I added an expansion tank under the bed and used 1/4” ID line from the bags to the tank, and then kept the smaller line up to the front pump. This gave me more “give” in the system.
 
Thanks! Well this sounds line a very interesting system!

Thanks for the info on the Bluetooth. While a neat feature, we were drawn to the dedicated wireless controller.
More that I can think of...

@wwillson has a good review. The only thing I'd recommend is you get the two way path, instead of single, to be able to control both airbags independently.

They'll include some push to connect "T"s so you can run some manual fill shrader valves. This is important b/c if there IS any issue with the system you can still manually fill the airbags. I didn't initially have these valves installed but I ended up doing it myself about two years ago. Thought that I wouldn't need them but had that one early hiccup that prompted me to rethink why they included that to begin with. Hindsight is always 20/20 😅

Here's the bumper on the F-350. Sent off the bumper for powder coating first since it was quite rusty. You can see I placed the valve sort of down towards the bottom side instead of having it stick straight out the sides of the bumper. I didn't want them to be caught on anything.

PXL_20250124_133513860.webp

PXL_20250124_133506197.webp

PXL_20250124_133458645.webp
 
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As well, forgot to clarify this is a gooseneck setup so no weight distribution hitch. The SRW Rams do not have overload springs, just the DRW trucks do.
I always see older bag systems and they're defunct by the time they get to me.

Make sure they can go full droop. Older systems that bolt on top and bottom sure look awfully stretched on the lift.

I think upper overloads are the ultimate two-stage solution, but you DO still get some squat before they kick in. Have you considered retrofitting? I've done it on a '95 F250 and '98 Ram 1500.

No hoses, no leaks, no maintenance, no kill switches, no apps, no controllers. Maybe?
 
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