Air Bags - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

RC and Samantha · 09-01-2007, 08:06 AM

Thanks everyone for the replies. We ordered them from JC Whitney and boy did they arrive quick.

Dick is over at his buddies house installing them right now. He was in our driveway laying on the gravel and his buddy stopped by. Dick asked if he had jacks since we don't and his buddy said why don't you do it at my house and use my air tools. He has a really nice pole barn that is huge with everything in it one could want. So Dick packed up his stuff and away he went.

We won't have the on board compressor, no funds right now for that.

I'll report back once they are installed as to how they are working for us.

All of this information has been great and helped us make our choice of whether to install the air bags or not. Now we also have some numbers to reference and a starting point.

Thanks again and bunch everyone!

Patty

rogue · 09-01-2007, 08:39 AM

Patty, As soon as funds are available, get the compressor and a tank. You will be much happier when you unhook and can lower the pressure for sight seeing, and raise the pressure when you hook up again. Also with the tank and extra connection you can check tires anytine and add a little air as needed.

Ozz · 09-01-2007, 09:19 AM

Harbor freight, around $40.00

RC and Samantha · 09-01-2007, 01:42 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by rogue

Patty, As soon as funds are available, get the compressor and a tank. You will be much happier when you unhook and can lower the pressure for sight seeing, and raise the pressure when you hook up again. Also with the tank and extra connection you can check tires anytine and add a little air as needed.

I'd love to.

He got them installed and said no problem. He has twenty pounds in them right now. I haven't looked yet but imagine the back end of the truck is a bit high.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

Harbor freight, around $40.00

Ozz I am lost...what????

Patty

sreigle · 09-01-2007, 01:49 PM

I admit to not having read all the replies (have some other time commitments tonight) so hope I am not duplicating.

First, air them until the truck is level when hitched. Take a reading of the psi while still hitched. Then unhitch without changing the air bags. Note the psi when unhitched. That way you know how high to air it up either before hitching up or after. You will want to let the air out when unhitched or it will not ride well.

As soon as you can get the compressor and incab controls, I highly recommend it. Just having them aired up even without the controls should help your ride. But the big improvement comes when you can alter the pressure in the bags to adjust the rides when you go from one kind of pavement to another, for example. To me that made the incab controls worth every penny.

Noneck, the above is how I used to adjust, on the fly, for that short hop concrete slabs you mentioned. It does not eliminate all the motion but it sure makes it more comfortable.

I do not have the bags on this Dodge as I don't need them to keep things level. But on some of the roads we've been on recently while towing there were times I wished I could adjust the ride with airbags.

RC and Samantha · 09-03-2007, 03:52 PM

Again thank you everyone for all your valuable information.

Dick installed them and said it went without a hitch, which is a very unusual occurrence for him.

He has 20 lbs of air in them right now and says he can't tell much of a difference in the ride.

I will drive it to work tomorrow and I should be able to see if I can tell the difference, although my drive to work is really short.

The good thing is we will feel much better towing it to the Fall Rally in Goshen and get a better feel for how this mod works for us. The truck is a work horse and we've always felt amazed by it's towing ability.

This is just icing on the cake.

If GM made a short bed 3500 I'd be pushing harder for a new truck. I can't understand why they don't and the other two automakers do.

Patty

Ozz · 09-04-2007, 01:16 AM

Patty, here are some pictures and one of the compressor at Harbor Freight.
12 volt compressor:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/100_0450.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/100_0457.jpg
Harbor freight ad.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93186

RC and Samantha · 09-04-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

Patty, here are some pictures and one of the compressor at Harbor Freight.
12 volt compressor:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/100_0450.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/100_0457.jpg
Harbor freight ad.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93186

Are you sure you can't attend the fall rally and just do mods? I'll be you could make a bundle, or at least get lots of beer (if you drink it?) and food.

This is the one you mentioned earlier for $40.00? Just how hard was it to install? I am going to assume there are no gages and no way to adjust from inside the cab while on the road?

Patty

sreigle · 09-04-2007, 03:48 PM

Re the unloaded ride with airbags. I did feel a slight difference with 5 psi in the bags, which is what Firestone recommends when unloaded. The purpose is so the bags are not damaged if the rear suspension is ever bottomed out. When I realized there is no way I will ever bottom out that heavy suspension when unloaded I dropped the bags to zero and never had a problem. And the ride was identical to without the bags. I ran zero psi when unloaded on two different trucks for a total of about 135,000 miles of unloaded travel without a problem.

Pretty slick the way you did your signature picture, Patty.

Ozz · 09-05-2007, 02:31 AM

Patty, I would love to meet all of you guys and be there, we are just busy setting up the new truck, and getting the Montana all ready for South Padre. I have tons of things to do to our home to ready it for 6 month's by itself. Installing new motion sensors, upgrading my security system, also we are trying to find time to paint some of the exterior that needs it. Busy, busy...
I do relax at Padre, I ride my bicycle all over the island, put 1,000 miles on it last Winter, wore the tires off of it...
We will make a rally next year, certainly will be at Branson for that one.
On you air system, Steve has a really nice inside the cab adjustment and balancing system, my suggestion was just the compressor you can carry to wherever you need the air. It is completely portable no install needed, just clamp the battery posts and string out the air hose, Steve's would be the slickest for you. I'll see if I can find one to post for you.
Load controllerII

RC and Samantha · 09-05-2007, 01:37 PM

Steve, thanks for the compliment on the photo. I'd like to make it a bit smaller however so my signature line is not so big. I try to make sure I only have the signature box checked once for each page I post on. I know it's large and people don't need or probably want to see it every single post.

Ozz, thank you very much for the link. I am afraid we'll have to wait a while. The one that's portable sounds nice. We have a portable but it's AC instead of DC, so the one you're recommending seems more practical for the truck.

Your plans sound exciting. If you and Dick ever meet you'll have to go bike riding together. He's a mountain biker and will ride as much a forty miles in a day and if we are out west up a mountain. He loves biking but really loves that ride down the mountain too. He's always been a thrill seeker. He wears tires out often too.

Patty

sreigle · 09-07-2007, 04:24 PM

Patty, send me the picture and tell me the size you want.

Yes, I had the gauge as well as the compressor. I do not have airbags on this Dodge, though.

tkditta · 09-12-2007, 01:44 PM

I have Air Lift air bags on my F350 CC truck. I had about a 2 - 3" drop before I added them. They are great specialy on a SRW truck. I keep them at the 15 lbs with no weight in the truck and 60lbs pulling the 2006 Montana Mountneer 329RLT and the Morride pin box helps even more.

marknbarb · 09-25-2007, 02:30 PM

After reading all your responses, does anyone have a preference to either Firestone or Air L1ft Brand? Also I read that you can hook them up to control either side independently, or the rear together. Suggestions?

And last, what type of onboard compressor units do you have? I see ones with a gage that you monitor and control, and ones that auto control the air pressure.

Opps, forgot to both brands work with mounting in the frame with the fifth wheel rails installed?

Getting my truck ready to tow my first fifth wheel. Any more suggestions?

Montana Mountianeer 345DBD
2006 Chevy 2500HD CC Duramax

rogue · 09-25-2007, 07:18 PM

Marknbarb, Cant speak for Air L1ft, but we have the Firestone. Dual contols and gages in the cab so we can adjust as meeded. Had the compressor, tank, gages, and bags all done at the dealers, and a connection on ths drivers side frame below the door so I can fill the bag in the 5th Airborne pin set. with dual gages and controls it allows you to adjust each side separtaly. This may not be needed for the 5th wheel, but if you load the back with some landscape material you can adjust if one side is heaver than the other. So far, very happy with them.

sreigle · 09-26-2007, 04:07 AM

Marknbarb, I had the Firestones on two trucks and liked them. I know nothing about the AirL1ft setup. I had the incab controls. My personal opinion is just get the ones that air both sides the same so you keep things level more easily. You'd want to control each side separately if you had a slidein camper in the bed where the appliances make one side heavier but for fifthwheel towing you are putting the weight in the center. Just an opinion.

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