Airbag springs - Montana Owners Club

Montana_3288 · 03-03-2005, 04:36 PM

I just registered and this is my first post. I hope this is the right forum; if not, my apologies.

I have a 95 F-250 Powerstroke pulling a 2001 2955 that we bought used last year. We towed it to Yellowstone for our annual visit. Since this rv is 2 tons heavier than our first rv we have about 1/2 ton more on the hitch. Someone suggested we get inflatable air springs to keep the truck level.

I would appreciate advice. Do they really help or are they just expensive ornaments? Better handling?

Thanks

stiles watson · 03-03-2005, 06:00 PM

Welcome to the forum and keep on posting. As to air bags, I don't have them, but many here do. I know someone with experience will come along with a worthwhile piece of information for you. Glad to have you aboard the MOC Forum...

tundra rose · 03-03-2005, 07:00 PM

Some folks like overload springs, if the TV does not already have them, and many like the airbags. I plan to install airbags this April, because overload springs will not fit under the Silverodo shortbed frame.

This subject was throughly reviewed (Overload Springs / Air Bags)in this forum earlier this year. The last reply was on 2/1/05.

You can find it via the Search function (above the sign in box) by searching for overload springs.

Montana Sky · 03-03-2005, 09:45 PM

I do not have air bags on my Silverado for towing the 3400RL. I notice the truck only squats approx. 1 to 2 inches when hooked and loaded. I have not found the need for air bags yet, but will be traveling many miles this summer and will be keeping a close eye on it.

HamRad · 03-03-2005, 11:44 PM

Hello fountain,
You're in the right place. If we'd kept our 250 we would have installed the airbags. The rig we pull, the 3295RK, has a heavy pin weight and caused the rear end to sag significantly. We had the SD PSD 2000 250.

Several other folks have installed the airbag or are planning to do so. Do try finding them with the "search" feature and join in on that thread. Lot's of good info.

HamRad

tweir · 03-04-2005, 02:16 AM

Had Ride Rite air bags on the old 2500HD. When I got rid of the truck I kept the bags and mounting brackets. According to the Ride Rite catalogue, this was a straight cross-over from a 2001 2500HD to an '05 3500 dually. Well, its sorta true. Have to remove the rubber snubbers on the frame so the bags will bolt up. Unfortunately, these things are riveted, so I can either use an air chisel or a plasma cutter. Plan on doing this next week. I can attest that on the 2500HD, the use of the Ride Rite's really made a difference in the ride when towing "The Beast". Once I have them installed on the 3500, I'll let you know how much of a difference they make.
tjw

tbhd · 03-04-2005, 07:20 AM

We installed the Air Lift springs and it really helps. I put 30 pounds of air in when we are towing and 10 when not. 10 is the mininum pressure you need to have. With our truck being a 95 also our springs were starting to sag and with the extra weight of the Monty over our previous smaller 5er the truck was bottoming on the bigger dips in the road. Also when the rear sags too much it affects the front end alignment. We were experiencing some front tire wear on the inside edges. So after we installed the air springs I took it in for an alignment and it didn't need one. Mechanic said it was OK. He saw that the air springs were new and said that they are a good investment.

sreigle · 03-04-2005, 03:38 PM

Welcome aboard, Fountain! We had the airbags on a truck a long time ago and it really did help keep things level and it definitely eliminated the handling anomalies caused by a squatting rear. Our current rig has a pinweight of 3120 pounds. When we bought this truck we got the tow package and the 10,000 lb GVWR package but did not get the Camper Package. That package would have added a leaf to the springs, to have the same springs as the F350 (ours is the F250). When we first hitched the Montana to this truck it caused it to squat just a little. Not much, but just enough I noticed the difference compared to our '03 F350 that this Montana just brought down to level. I noticed it mostly in wind and when passing/being passed by big vehicles. There was just a small amount of a light feel in the frontend. I don't like that so we had airbags put on the truck. We got the bags with the compressor under the hood and the gauge and switch in the cab to inflate/deflate. We haven't towed with the airbags yet (next Thursday we will) but having had the same setup once before I have no doubts as to the performance. If you feel the need, the airbags will definitely bring things back to level. On our prior truck I also found when we were on those concrete interstates that would set up that herky jerky motion when towing, a little fine tuning of the airbags while driving down the road really helped. It didn't eliminate the motion but made is a whole lot less uncomfortable.

trukdoc · 03-10-2005, 02:23 PM

I set up a cargo van for a customer with a set of these air bags hauling way more weight that the law or common sense allowed. But they worked perfectly. Had to put about 150 PSI of air to do the job, but it leveled everything out.
I have installed them for Motorhomes and several PU trucks. Never a complaint.
What is a very nice feature to them VS overload springs. With overloads you are stuck with the ride empty. With Air Springs you can vary the pressure for hauling and empty. The onboard compressor is handy for this.

carlson · 03-10-2005, 04:23 PM

Put in Firestone Ride Right air bag springs (part # 2170) to assist in leveling the truck when hooked up to our 3400 RL 5th wheel.
Then it came to me how do I know when it is level and also level side to side.
I intalled a set of the small trailer bubble levels to the bed of the truck, so I can hook up my compressor and put the right amount of air in so the truck is level.
I also did not put a compressor system in the truck, but I have a portable battery pack with a built in compressor and it works great.

richfaa · 03-11-2005, 03:34 AM

Had airbags on my previous truck(Chevy) got them at Camper world..They are great// keeps the back of the truck super stable My terry TT weighed in at @7000Lbs and I kept the bags at 30lbs.Kept a air compressor on board to control the pressure. Roger on controling that herky jerky motion..takes about 90% of it out. They are a good investment

Searchers · 03-11-2005, 04:41 AM

Fountain,

I have a truck like yours, and installed airbags on it when new to help stabilize a 4000 lb. Lance slide in camper. We now drag a 2850RK Montana which pin weight wise is less load than the camper, but the airbags have been beneficial in leveling and adding stability to the ride. As a side note, the instructions state to leave a few pounds of air in the bags at all time, but I've run mine empty for 10 years when not pulling for the softest ride possible and never had a problem doing so. As you know, these older Fords have the ride of an ironing board when empty. I've found filling them to 20-24 lbs. BEFORE hooking up allows for a comfortable, level ride.

Dave e Victoria · 03-11-2005, 03:24 PM

We have airlift bags on our Sierra. But, we also have the trailair hitch pin. The sierra doesn't sink much when the trailer is attached. With 5 psi in the bags before hooking, I will have 25 to 30 after the hoohup. Still it takes about 60 psi to level the setup.

I've towed with and without the airbags pumped up and don't really notice much difference. I suspect the trail air is doing the work as it is in a better position to deal with the "herky-jerky" motion.

A lot of what you will experience with airbags depends on the rest of your system such as length of vehicle, suspension strength (are you bottoming out), relative weight of truck and trailer, percentage of towed weight on the pin and so on. There are o simple answers to these issues else there would be one supplier getting rich.

sreigle · 04-09-2005, 06:21 AM

As an update to my earlier post, we've now towed about 1500 miles with the airbags. They are absolutely worth the money if your truck sags even a little under load. Not only does it bring the truck to level, I also found that I can use the in-cab control/gauge with the compressor to fine tune the ride on those herky-jerky type roads. I don't eliminate all the jerk but bring it down to a more comfortable level. Fortunately we don't often encounter that type of road but when we do it's nice to be able to reduce the motion.

I recently discovered another nice side benefit of the air bags. When just overnighting, we often do not unhitch. But I still want the Montana level. We'll use the usual boards under the Montana wheels for side to side level. For front to rear level I used to use boards under either the truck's rear wheels or the Montana's wheels, depending on which way to level. Now I often find I can either increase or decrease airbag pressure enough to get us level front to rear. In rare cases I'd still have to use the boards but most of the time the airbags will do it.

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