Air Bag Suspension System - Montana Owners Club

traveljunkie · 03-28-2008, 04:05 PM

I love our 2008 F450 but wish the ride was a bit smoother when not towing. Does anybody own or have any thoughts on the aftermarket air bag suspension that supposedly smoothes out the ride? Also, what causes the herky jerky (forward / back motion) motion when towing our fifth wheel (Montana Mountaineer - goes about 12,000lbs). Would air bags help resolve this issue as well?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

stiles watson · 03-28-2008, 04:45 PM

You didn't say what kind of king pin/receiver hitch you have. The herky-jerky is in the connection. If you have a standard receiver hitch and a standard king pin, there is no shock absorption in your connection. Fifth wheelers solve this by using either a shock absorbing king pin device of a shock absorbing receiver hitch in the bed of the truck.

Cost wise the shock absorbing king pin the least expensive. I have used both the 5th Airborne and the Trailair. Both reduce the chucking. In my opinion the 5th Airborne is better. Also Mor/Ryde makes a shock absorbing king pin, but I have no experience with it others will have to supply experiential information.

My objections to the shock absorbing receivers are the cost and the weight. I can handle removing my hitch from the truck alone. It would take a crew to remove the shock absorbing hitches. However, folks who have them swear by them.

sreigle · 03-28-2008, 06:24 PM

Airbags might help a little but I wouldn't suggest them for ride-smoothing as the primary purpose. They are intended to level the truck when loaded. I used to adjust ours (prior trucks) on the fly to help smooth the road. They do help but I don't think the improvement would justify the cost. I'd suggest a different pinbox or hitch as the better choice for your needs. In my opinion, anyhow.

Snownyet · 03-29-2008, 02:20 AM

I think the question was about replacing the leaf springs with an air suspension system like a keldermann. I know theyre pricey and have no experience but I would think the ride would be smoother. Id bet you could find someone on RV.net forums that have used an air suspension.

jars · 03-29-2008, 02:51 AM

I have a 2004 450 that has Links air ride on it. When the 5th is on the truck it rides real good. It adjusts automaticly to the weight of the trailer. When empty it carries 20# in the air bags when loaded 50 #. I was disapointed in the empty ride with only 20# it bottoms out on large bumbs. it's adjustable but I can't seem to get it set to satisfy the empty ride. Of course with more air it will ride rougher. Just remember it's still a truck which is made to carry weight. When I get ready to unhitch put a block of wood under and drop the air don't have to use the dollys much.
Richard E.Smith
Jars

richfaa · 03-29-2008, 03:02 AM

We do not have air bags on this 08 F-350 as we do not need them however we had them on our last truck. We used them to level the truck, nothing else. They worked fine but the solo ride was rough and you would have to adjust the air pressure when not towing. The chucking and or bouncing can be reduced depending on how many dollars you can spend, and how many miles you drive, etc. The 06 3400 has the OEM Mor Ryde suspension and we added the Mor Ryde hitch pin.All of the chuck and bounce will never be eiminated due to some very rough roads we travel. The Mor Ryde hitch pin gives us a smooth ride . I would estimate 90% of the chuck is eliminated as well as the bounce. There are beter as mentioned above.

exav8tr · 03-29-2008, 05:07 AM

I also have the Mor-Ryde hitch pin and since adding that, my rig has less chucking motion. The hitch did not take all of it out but a great deal. As far as ride on the turck, I found that if I air down my tires to around 60 psi when not towing I got a better ride. I run 80psi while towing, a little troublesome to do this each time we park, but we are usually stable for at least a week at a time. If under a week, I don't air down...You might want to try this on your 450, or not....

GregN · 03-29-2008, 06:34 AM

If you are not going to be hauling anything large, put some weight in the bed. I have my shell I put back on and sand bags I put in the bed over the axle. This seems to take alot of the bounce out. There is also a water bag system you can out in the truck bed.

traveljunkie · 03-30-2008, 02:39 PM

thanks all for the advice. It sounds like the chucking motion is due to our hitch and the hitch on the fifth wheel itself. We have a reese 18K Hitch in the truck and the standard kingpin hitch on the Montana Mountaineer. No airbags on either. It sounds like if I would change the hitch either on the truck or on the Fifth wheel it might take care of some of the chucking going on.

Now for the ride in the truck, I do have sandbags in the bed and realize that the truck has a very stiff suspension, I was just wondering if the Kelderman set up or something similar might be justifiable to smooth out the ride when not towing but it sounds like it is only marginable at best.

Waynem · 03-30-2008, 04:06 PM

Wow! So many different things to try. Runs me crazy sometimes.

Here is just an opinion of mine. Chucking, as I think of it, appears to be a condition of weight on the hitch. The trailer is going up/down up/down up/down, and you feel it exponentially in the TV.

I don't know where your holding tanks are, but here is something you can try. Remember to stay within the limits of weight restrictions.

Get your TV and Trailer weighed. Find out how much weight you have on the king pin. Put water in a more forward, or more rearward holding tank. How much will depend to distribute more or less weight. Typically if it is going up/down up/down on the king pin, then it is more weight that is needed toward the front of the vehicle.

I don't know where your basement storage is located, but you might be able to shift some items around in their for a more even distribution.

Just an opinion on the old way we used to distribute weight to stop chucking before all these fan-dangled expensive technology helpers came on the scene.

Good luck.

Tincup703 · 03-30-2008, 04:38 PM

Before you spend a lot of money changing over to air ride or an air hitch, get rid of the junk OEM shocks on your truck and change over to an aftermarket shock such as Bilstein. New shocks are the cheapest and easiest way to improve your ride.

tc

bkirk · 03-31-2008, 03:51 AM

For the chucking, invest in a TrailAire King Pin. I promise you there will be a huge difference in the ride while pulling. Cost ?? $1000.00 or so, you can go online to their website and it will explain how to measure the bolt pattern on your kingpin box and they will ship it right to your residence. I then paid someone to put it on, they are heavy. I have the Firestone airbags for leveling. I run about 10 - 20 lbs in them when Im not pulling. Buy the TrailAire first !!

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