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Be sure to use a LP tank that is made to be horizontal it should work out nice right there.
My 2011 Tahoe LT. build, a work in progress.
- Thread starter Charles M
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Here are some updated photos of my Air up/down system. It does all 4 tires at once. This is the complete system minus the air lines mounted into the rig.
The air gauge normally hooks to the air source and the right and left lines hook to the truck hoses. But if I needed to air up another rig I could hook the
hose coming from the air gauge directly to my tank .
There are a few hoses with standard quick connects so I can run blowers or other air tools
These lines connect to the hose connections right inside the doors.
This shows where they hook up inside the doors. From there they hook up to the tank in the back when filling them.
When airing down I just disconnect from the tank and put the hose outside of the truck. Most people may not know the Co2 gas can kill you so never let it drain out inside your rig vent it out in the open.
When filling it up I connect the hose to the tank and turn it on, checking the gauge until it is close to the pressure I want. After filling I leave it connected for a minute to be sure all the tires have equalized.
This gauge is calibrated to my TPS sensors on my tires. So if in doubt I can scroll through on my dash and double check tire pressures.
The air gauge normally hooks to the air source and the right and left lines hook to the truck hoses. But if I needed to air up another rig I could hook the
hose coming from the air gauge directly to my tank .
There are a few hoses with standard quick connects so I can run blowers or other air tools
These lines connect to the hose connections right inside the doors.
This shows where they hook up inside the doors. From there they hook up to the tank in the back when filling them.
When airing down I just disconnect from the tank and put the hose outside of the truck. Most people may not know the Co2 gas can kill you so never let it drain out inside your rig vent it out in the open.
When filling it up I connect the hose to the tank and turn it on, checking the gauge until it is close to the pressure I want. After filling I leave it connected for a minute to be sure all the tires have equalized.
This gauge is calibrated to my TPS sensors on my tires. So if in doubt I can scroll through on my dash and double check tire pressures.
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Sorry I forgot to follow up on filling in my post above.
Airing up or down is pretty equal because the air hoses will move a lot more air than a tire valve can and if they are off a little they will equalize each other much the same as water will flow to a common level.
If you think about it by connecting all of them at once they become one big tank and the pressure will become equal in all of them very quickly.
I also give it a minute to equalize but, so far it seems to always be equal. I dropped all four down to 20PSI then back up it was pretty quick and easy.
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Latest upgrade... Custom 2.5 King Shocks for my 4 inch lift... Replacing the Rancho RS 7000 coil over struts that came with the lift kit.
First step in installing front struts lift both sides and put it up on jack stands. Remove wheels, loosen the sway bar bolts (but leave them connected)
Remove upper and lower shock mounts and slide shock out the bottom.
Slide the new shock in and tighten upper bolts to 37 Ft lbs and lower bolts to 40 ft lbs.
Remember to tighten the sway bar bolts when done with both sides. It will be easier to get the shock reservoir bracket on if you install the other two top bolts first. If needed you can use a heat gun to soften the plastic in the wheel well to make things easier too.
Note the rag over the lug nuts... The reason for this is to keep your shirt clean because you are one of those people who regularly puts never seize on your studs so it is much easier when you have to change a tire on a trail... Be sure to torque those lug nuts to 140 Ft lbs.
I set ride height to allow for 3 inches of droop this leaves at least 6 inches for compression until bottoming out. Yes I have over 9 inches of travel now.
How does it feel..... Well amazingly better... It feels just as smooth if not better on the highway and I had to drive across the field with little boulders in it next door and also hit several speed bumps as well... Hit them a lot faster than normal people would too... lol The suspension kind of shrugged it off and felt very smooth. It was much smoother and softer than it was with the Rancho RS7000's and it didn't make any noise... I give these shocks 3 thumbs up...
I also added a 12 gauge shotgun scabbard and small ammo pouch under my front platform today. The molle mounting perfectly attaches to the rack.
The section above is the front right section to the left of the refrigerator in the below photo. Both front and rear sections are on hinges so I can lift them to access the storage area underneath.
First step in installing front struts lift both sides and put it up on jack stands. Remove wheels, loosen the sway bar bolts (but leave them connected)
Remove upper and lower shock mounts and slide shock out the bottom.
Slide the new shock in and tighten upper bolts to 37 Ft lbs and lower bolts to 40 ft lbs.
Remember to tighten the sway bar bolts when done with both sides. It will be easier to get the shock reservoir bracket on if you install the other two top bolts first. If needed you can use a heat gun to soften the plastic in the wheel well to make things easier too.
Note the rag over the lug nuts... The reason for this is to keep your shirt clean because you are one of those people who regularly puts never seize on your studs so it is much easier when you have to change a tire on a trail... Be sure to torque those lug nuts to 140 Ft lbs.
I set ride height to allow for 3 inches of droop this leaves at least 6 inches for compression until bottoming out. Yes I have over 9 inches of travel now.
How does it feel..... Well amazingly better... It feels just as smooth if not better on the highway and I had to drive across the field with little boulders in it next door and also hit several speed bumps as well... Hit them a lot faster than normal people would too... lol The suspension kind of shrugged it off and felt very smooth. It was much smoother and softer than it was with the Rancho RS7000's and it didn't make any noise... I give these shocks 3 thumbs up...
I also added a 12 gauge shotgun scabbard and small ammo pouch under my front platform today. The molle mounting perfectly attaches to the rack.
The section above is the front right section to the left of the refrigerator in the below photo. Both front and rear sections are on hinges so I can lift them to access the storage area underneath.
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Which FabFour Bumpers are those? Are these the ones for suburbans? Great job on the tahoe build
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When I got them they were listed for a Tahoe but, they no longer list them that way it would be worth it to call them and request a set.. A few things on my Tahoe are no longer listed as available like both bumpers and the lift kit..
Carid has bumpers listed too
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Member III
Nice! Cool build thread, there is a lot that we have to improvise or go fully custom for the GM trucks sadly... especially with the suspension.
Influencer II
Member III
I am guessing ain is a typo for air... There are some differences I have noticed.
CO2
Is a liquid that expends to a gas when taken out of the bottle so it has more gas volume contained in a CO2 bottle compared to a pressurized air tank. My regulated pressure coming from the tank is 150 psi it will fill tires very quickly it can also be used for high volume air tools. With my system all four tires can be filled in less than 5 minutes. I have 35x12.5x17 tires and air down to 15 to 20 psi and fill up to 50 psi...
Compressed air will generally have some moisture in it and this will affect cold vs hot pressure but, CO2 I think expands more from cold to hot than air does so this may equal itself out...
The main benefits I see are in how the two are supplied.
With air the tank is much smaller or you need a pump and most quality pumps cost more $ initially and depend on being in or close to the vehicle. They tend to be little slower than CO2 also. The air supply is unlimited.
CO2 Tanks if you source the components yourself are around $150 or even less. They can be transported any way you want but, should be standing up when in use so, you wont pump liquid CO2 into your airlines or tires. (They can freeze, crack and blow out) I get about 4 to 5 tire fills per 10 pound tank. Tank refills are around $20. The tank is portable you can take it anywhere to fill a tire.
Personally I have a real cheap air pump and CO2. I like redundancy. My air pump stopped working once and had to drive out with three tires pumped up to 50 psi and one with 25 psi in it... It was not fun... lol
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Thought I would add a few more things to the rig... Since we sleep inside this rig and also spend a fair amount of time in the desert at very high temperatures and hunting in the colder seasons too. I decided to add some insulation to reduce heating and cooling needs. I used 10mm Uxcell it has fabric reinforced foil on one side and an adhesive on the other. is pretty easy to use and sticks well to a metal surface. It will insulate the hot and cold and also deadens the sound too.
I lined the door panels and also sealed off the factory foam barrier so the door is completely sealed from outside.
I lined the door panels and also sealed off the factory foam barrier so the door is completely sealed from outside.
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I took it out last weekend and it was pretty cold at night and it was warmer inside with the new insulation. While out I did feel around to find other cold spots so I can work on more insulation in those spots before the next trip. We did find a really nice place to get away..
Found a use for one of my old motorcycle tank bags... I added two white wire racks inside it and use it to hold kitchen supplies. When traveling it is inside the truck my paper towel rack is just a simple bungee cord going through and hooked on both sides I put just enough tension on it to keep the paper from flying off when the wind blows...
Found a use for one of my old motorcycle tank bags... I added two white wire racks inside it and use it to hold kitchen supplies. When traveling it is inside the truck my paper towel rack is just a simple bungee cord going through and hooked on both sides I put just enough tension on it to keep the paper from flying off when the wind blows...
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Pathfinder III
Charles, thank you for putting this thread together! Lots of ideas and great information.
I have been willing to build an air up/down system similar to yours for some time now. Could you share more details about it, and maybe parts needed? Was it difficult to assemble?
Thank you!
