air bags

[ak_petey]

I have never used air bags or put them in. From what I read, it is pretty simple and self explanatory. Whenever it seems this easy I usually get myself into trouble.
Been pondering the idea around. They are about $250 for a basic kit here:
http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-...rings.html

planning on towing around a trailer for the buggy and offroad truck. some new houses on the market have caught my interest as well, meaning I might need to start hauling wood. (if i am hauling wood I will be probably towing the trailer to put wood in it.
necessary or not?
who has run them?
should I shy away from air bags and just go with a stiffer spring pack?

just trying to collect experiences here.

[AKMark]

I love Air Bags. Had them on 3 different vehicles so far. Would do them over putting overloads or helpers on anything.

Why do I like them? They are adjustable, quick and easy to adjust. Two of the vehicles I put them on had leafs that were slightly worn out. So a little droopy, with the bags, the ride was great. Felt kinda like a caddy in the rear. With the Air bags at 30 psi when the vehicle wasn't loaded and 80-100 when they were loaded.

The exception to this was my Avalanche. Had the coils in the rear, those air bags weren't nearly as strong as the ones that were on the leafs. I still recommend them, but they aren't as tough as the others. These types just have 1000 lb ratings instead of the 5000 lb ratings. (I think) The ones for coils can only handle 35-40 psi instead of 100 psi. I also found if you have dual exhaust you need to verify that you have appropriate shielding as I blew both of my bags driving from California to Minnesota while going up a hill in 2nd gear. Put new ones in (that style is $80 or so for a set) and shielded the pipes, and no issues up the Alcan with bigger hills.

I carried a small compressor with me and it could air up the bags in less than a minute if I needed to adjust them.

I have a set for my current Suburban, but haven't had the time to install them yet. I will be getting them in soon though.

I have found that the Firestone ones don't mind the cold. I have heard of one person with the Air Lifts that cracked when it was -48 last winter. All of the ones I've had were Firestones.

Hope this helps.

[Zukman]

I hate air bags all they do is sit in Washington and screw crap up!










Oh! you want the other air bags, there great double convoluted bags ride better then rolling lobe bags.