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Old 08-25-2005, 01:22 PM   #1
Montana_4221
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Join Date: Jul 2005
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M.O.C. #4221
air bags

While pulling the new Monty I made observations and have more questions about air-bags. I took measurements and the truck squats about two inches when hooked up.I had been leaning towards the Timbren SES but I had a problem with the rear of the truck bed contacting the FW when backing My old Savoy into the driveway. My driveway slopes down from the road. And the road is coming down a hill and in the middle of a curve. It ocurred to me that without that 2 inch squat I might have the same problem with the Monty and would very much like to avoid that. To address the problem before I merely raised the hitch up and problem solved. If I install Timbrens on the truck I lose the 2 Inches and that may be a real factor with the driveway. The hitch will go up no farther and I prefer to leave the pin box were it is. My questions are to those who use air bags; (1) Is there significant improvement in handling and ride?(2) With the onboard compressor can you adjust the truck bed up or down To compensate for such situations?
One more note the truck handled surprizingly well considering the additional weight. And wth the long bed the 2 inches is not that noticable. (without the springs)

Thanks in advance for your input
 
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Old 08-25-2005, 03:07 PM   #2
5rvers
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Serenity,

To answer your questions:

1. Yes, the air bags will level the rear of the truck and you will have a better ride. You just have to play with the amount of air in the bags until you feel confortable with your ride.

2. With the onboard compressor you can adjust the level of air in each bag.

My driveway also slopes from the road. What I do is empty the bags leaving the minimum (5# PSI) before I start to back in the trailer. So far I have not had any problems with the truck making contact with the 5er.

Hopefully more folks will provide some additional feedback.
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Old 08-25-2005, 03:53 PM   #3
Charlie
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Michael-
I think that you will be very happy with the air bags. My truck had about a 3" squat before adding the air bags, now there is no squat. I do not have an on board compressor but inflate them to about 25# before setting the trailer on the hitch and they then compress to about 45#. To answer your question, from what I understand you would have the capabilty of making changes in your truck setup while underway. Your suspension might be a little stiffer than mine but I was down on the overloads and I did not like that situation. The air bags lifted the springs and gives a more stable ride. Solo I do not feel any thing any different then before I installed the air bags. Like Almo I let them down to about 5#. Peace of mind is worth a lot.

Here is a link for the Ride-Rite air bags
http://www.ride-rite.com/

The one that you would need is the #2330.
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Old 08-26-2005, 07:05 PM   #4
sreigle
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My experience is similar to 5rvers and Charlie. We do have the onboard compressor but ours is not to individual bags. Both bags air and deflate at the same rate on ours. You can get them with switches to air each separately. Those are most often used when the load in the bed is uneven, like with a slidein camper. Nothing wrong with having that with a fifthwheel, too, but we don't. We adjust on the fly sometimes when on those concrete highways that cause the herky-jerky back and forth movements. It doesn't eliminate the movements but can sure dampen the oscillations. I would think airbags would be ideal for your situation. You could just dump the air when ready to back into your driveway.
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Old 08-27-2005, 04:04 AM   #5
ols1932
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I agree with everyone else. I've got the airbags and it makes everything ride level and smoother.
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Old 08-27-2005, 04:29 AM   #6
DHenry
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As the others have already said in their posts the air bags are a good thing. I really like the on-board compressor as it really makes it easy to adjust the air in either shock.
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