Advocate III
Airbags
- Thread starter theMightyGoose
- Start date
Enthusiast III
- 684
- First Name
- Blaine
- Last Name
- Wiles
- Member #
-
6061
Nice Power Wagon. :-) What do you tow or carry that requires the airbags?
Thanks @BigDogKona, I live in a 30' Airstream full-time, that's got a 850lb tongue weight. Plus I carry a lot of crap in the truck with a cap (200lbs), rtt (~170lbs), decked (200lbs), tools (~200lbs?), water, fuel, and a bunch of junk for the trailer so it's usually pretty heavy. I put the airbags on a few months ago but haven't been towing until recently so I'm just starting to experiment now.
Oh, I see now that yours is a wagon too, nice!
Oh, I see now that yours is a wagon too, nice!
Trail Blazer III
I have the Airlift 5000 Ultimates with the wireless compressor. It's great for towing but it absolutely limits suspension travel for offroading and is far more harsh on the road. This was accepted by me to make towing my camper safer and more enjoyable. I also tow a heavy enclosed gear trailer and these were a game changer.
@Cort, if you add Daystar Cradles your suspension travel should not be limited, and the Ultimates can be run at 0 psi so unloaded ride quality should also not be affected.
I think I've got mine pretty well dialed in now, 20psi for towing, 5psi for general on-road, and 0-5psi for off-road.
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Trail Blazer III
Enthusiast III
@Cort I have had Firestones on mine for about 6 months. Full Icon suspension. I occasionally haul a 6k trailer for my foundation at 30psi, daily driving ~5psi depending on load in bed. Rides great. I had to experiment as said above, running too high of a psi will result in the pogo effect.
Most likely going to swap from an AAL to the new Icon leaf pack that's adjustable for the load in the near future.
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Most likely going to swap from an AAL to the new Icon leaf pack that's adjustable for the load in the near future.
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Trail Blazer III
Advocate III
Icon has the add a leaf for my Tacoma. I’ve been really unhappy with the airbags. Super harsh ride over bumps. I deflated them but it doesn’t take much for the axle to hit them and WHAM! It slams hard. So I bought the add a a leaf and the Icon 2.0 shocks. The guys at Icon recommended I leave the airbags in with the add a leaf. They also recommended I leave in the overload spring. Not sure if thats a good idea or not. I really hate it when the truck hits those airbags , but I’m wondering if I might need them when I have an extra heavy load.
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Advocate III
The Firestone’s do replace the factory bump stops. So I would have to buy new bumpstops if I remove airbags. I’m also running the Daystar cradles so maybe that’s part of the problem? Running low psi helps, but it doesn’t take much to get those stock springs to hit the airbags. I’m hoping the add a leaf and Icon shocks will help the majority of the problem. My thinking is to remove the overload spring but keep the airbags for big bumps or heavy loads. The guys at Icon obviously know what they are talking about but I don’t want my truck to look like a stinkbug.
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Trail Blazer III
So I’ve installed the cradles and went to a Fox 2.0 level up front and the 2.0 shocks in the rear. I’ve also added a cap. I’ve found that daily driving at 30 psi nets a ride that doesn’t bottom out the airbag and doesn’t pogo. This seemed like a lot of pressure but it’s what works. With the front level there is a slight rake but far less than stock.
Advocate III
Trail Blazer III
Advocate III
Nice. I ordered Icon add a leaf. I’ll probably run them without the overload spring but leave the airbags in place and see how it does.
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Pathfinder I
Airbags are great on the road but not off road. You might be overloading your rig. Once you install the airbags, air lines, fittings and compressor you will need to carry shares of these new items. Upgrade your suspension and look at what your carrying.
