Any one use Air Bags on their pickup ??

[tramp bushler]

Pretty much just that . I had never heard o them till a few days ago ... My 3/4 ton Dodge , tho it has over load springs really needs some help .. ..

 

[1foxracing]

Summit racing, they are local to me and I can just drive there to pick stuff up.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AIR-57215/

 

[Mike Van]

The left rear only of my F350, the airbag offsets the 600 lbs. that the crane weighs.

 

[John D]

I use them on my 2000 Dodge 3/4 ton.They are very nice esp if you run heavy a lot.I routinely load my truck with 3000+ in the bed esp in the winter...they keep the truck from squirming,and i have the independent controls for left to right,in order to put extra air in the RR bag when carrying the wing plow out back.
Mine are firestone air bags,the complete setup was about 600 with high quality compressor,and independent controls.I wouldnt go 1/2 way do it right,the compressor also has a 25ft coiled air hose for inflating tires,and a 2 gallon air tank,Im very hapy with mine after 5 yrs no problems at all so far...

 

[Haywire Haywood]

You don't need airbags... you need a tandem axle firewood trailer to get the wear and tear off your truck springs, axles and bearings. Put the 4 wheeler in the truck and the wood in the trailer. I'm thinking a short one for agility in the woods. 5 x10 or 6x12 and 3' sides. Brakes of course.

Ian

 

[John D]

You don't need airbags... you need a tandem axle firewood trailer to get the wear and tear off your truck springs, axles and bearings. Put the 4 wheeler in the truck and the wood in the trailer. I'm thinking a short one for agility in the woods. 5 x10 or 6x12 and 3' sides. Brakes of course.

Ian

A few yrs ago I would have agreed with you...however the great State of NY,and its Gov Patterson has enacted new and unfair tax increases on vehicle registrations.Trailers are unfairly hit the hardest.I HAD 4 trailers on the road last yr,this yr I think im going to change plans.My dump trailer used to be 185 a yr at 14000lbs.I use it about 2-3x a month on the road,for about 6-8 month of the yr,I go 5 miles each from work to home usually,the rest of the time i use it on site at my home,or work.The fee went from 185 a yr to 325.00 My 10K flatbed trailer went up 120.00 yr,my landscaping trailer is more than doubled,and my camper has doubled as well. For the money it costs to keep a trailer on the road here,I am rethinking my game plan,I may end up using a pickup or 1-2 ton flatbed soon as well.It will serve as a plwo truck in winter,and wood hauler the other 3 seasons...That is on top of the constant trailer problems that plague every trailer owner,like tires,wheel bearings,electric brakes,breakways,batteries,and connector /light problems.I dont care how new your trailer is,this stuff happens,its constant maintenance,that costs time,and money.Just something to think about before jumping in and going with a trailer.With that said(cost aside) I absolutley love my 14K dump trailer,I can haul 3x what i can in the pickup bed,and its easier to load/unload.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Man, that sucks... Here in KY, as long as I don't use my trailer commercially there's no registration at all and if don't run at night I don't even have to put lights on it. Mine is a single axle 5x8 with 2' sides. I'm wishin' it had a 5000lb axle under it, but it would need a beefier frame if it did.

Ian

 

[crashagn]

Air bags?? We dont need no stinkin air bags!!!.. Well they would be nice but for my 1/2 iam not putting anymore $ into it. I would like to get rid of the pickup and trailor and invest in a 60's-70's c-65 flatbed with hoist...Maybe i wont overload a big flatbed.....

 

[Bl8tant]

I've had the AirLift kit (includes compressor, gauge, 5000lb bags) on my F-250 for 5 years now. Install took a couple hours and I've had ZERO problems with them. I'll definitely put them on every truck I ever own. I tow heavy trailers alot, and it's nice to be able to pump them up and keep the truck from porpoising and level everything back up. On a scale of 1 o 10, I'd give them a 9.9

 

[freemind]

We use airbags on all the farm pickups.

I found a goos place to buy them REASONABLE.

www.airbagit.com . They sell all different kinds of air bags for trucks and cars. The kit for my truck (1996 dodge 1/2 ton) for the rears is 200 bucks. If you add an onboard compressor, I think it was 400 more.

We don't have onboard compressors on our trucks. You just have to check air pressure once in awhile.

 

[avalancher]

A few yrs ago I would have agreed with you...however the great State of NY,and its Gov Patterson has enacted new and unfair tax increases on vehicle registrations.Trailers are unfairly hit the hardest.I HAD 4 trailers on the road last yr,this yr I think im going to change plans.My dump trailer used to be 185 a yr at 14000lbs.I use it about 2-3x a month on the road,for about 6-8 month of the yr,I go 5 miles each from work to home usually,the rest of the time i use it on site at my home,or work.The fee went from 185 a yr to 325.00 My 10K flatbed trailer went up 120.00 yr,my landscaping trailer is more than doubled,and my camper has doubled as well. For the money it costs to keep a trailer on the road here,I am rethinking my game plan,I may end up using a pickup or 1-2 ton flatbed soon as well.It will serve as a plwo truck in winter,and wood hauler the other 3 seasons...That is on top of the constant trailer problems that plague every trailer owner,like tires,wheel bearings,electric brakes,breakways,batteries,and connector /light problems.I dont care how new your trailer is,this stuff happens,its constant maintenance,that costs time,and money.Just something to think about before jumping in and going with a trailer.With that said(cost aside) I absolutley love my 14K dump trailer,I can haul 3x what i can in the pickup bed,and its easier to load/unload.

I used the airbag in my truck when some old granny pulled out in front of me, does that count?sorry, I had to throw that in there.

Three hundred bucks a year for a trailer tag?Like Haywood, we dont have to have tags either if its less than 16ft and not used commercially.I would move!

 

[fiasco]

trailer registration in Maine

I've read of people doing this to save money on trailer registration. Note how many big fleets have their trailers registered in Maine.

http://www.staabagency.com/
http://www.staabagency.com/services.htm

Here's another link with more info.

http://www.improvedtouring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22873

I have no connection to these people and haven't tried it myself, since my little trailers are $28 a year in NH, but it might just work for you!

 

[MJR]

I miss KY. NY taxes SUCK!!!

 

[barton174]

We use airbags on all the farm pickups.

I found a goos place to buy them REASONABLE.

www.airbagit.com . They sell all different kinds of air bags for trucks and cars. The kit for my truck (1996 dodge 1/2 ton) for the rears is 200 bucks. If you add an onboard compressor, I think it was 400 more.

We don't have onboard compressors on our trucks. You just have to check air pressure once in awhile.

I have the Airlift 1000 bags in the rear springs of the wife's driver Trailblazer for towing, and keep them at 7psi all the time when not towing... Takes about a year for them to drop to 5psi. I've just got Schrader valves with caps under the rear bumper, to air them up individually. Works out very well.

ETA: I'm just going to put a set of overload springs on my '90 4x4 Cummins truck...

Mike

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I miss KY. NY taxes SUCK!!!

The tax man cometh... Our state budget is so short on revenue that it's written on the back of 6th grade homework assignments. When I bought this trailer 6 years ago, the dealer told me that taxing personal trailers keeps coming up and keeps getting shot down. I expect that and more will come to pass shortly.

Ian

 

[BigE]

I have the Airlift 1000 bags in the rear springs of the wife's driver Trailblazer for towing, and keep them at 7psi all the time when not towing

I bought my Silverado 2500HD and it has air something or another in the back. Two air inlets above the rear license plate. The truck seems to sit level by itself. I checked the pressure and they were down to almost nothing (1-2 lbs). No clue what the pressure should be, so I put 30lbs into each side. Maybe I'll back that off to 10lbs. I never noticed a difference.

Even when pulling my 7500 lb trailer, loaded with my 6000 lb tractor I never noticed the back end going down any.

I have a canopy on the back, so that really limits how much weight I can easily put in the back of the truck.
-Steve

 

[tramp bushler]

WOW !! You guys are great !!

.. I was thinking it would be 3 times as much ........
. A trailer is good sometimes , But I have to drive at least a mile off the highway on a winter road ... Winter roads equal , narrow , rough and 2 tracks that if a trailer gets off the side of , well , it,s time to start unloading ....... Hard enough just keeping the truck on the tracks .........Plus the light problem is a pain ... And trailers that are useful for me start @ 2k$ I only paid 1500 $ for my Dodge and #K $ for my F350 4x4 6 pack . ......... I,m planning on moving up to a Duce n a half for next winter . But will still be using the pickups .........

 

[Pain Cow]

Not air bags, but helper springs for me. Hellwig ez level 550's. I installed them on my 4 cylinder tacoma pickup because the stock leaf springs are the weak point of the truck. They were only $55, were easy to install (4 U bolts) and live up to their claims 1 year later. I'd have to be driving a dually to consider air baggies.

 

[barton174]

I bought my Silverado 2500HD and it has air something or another in the back. Two air inlets above the rear license plate. The truck seems to sit level by itself. I checked the pressure and they were down to almost nothing (1-2 lbs). No clue what the pressure should be, so I put 30lbs into each side. Maybe I'll back that off to 10lbs. I never noticed a difference.

Even when pulling my 7500 lb trailer, loaded with my 6000 lb tractor I never noticed the back end going down any.

I have a canopy on the back, so that really limits how much weight I can easily put in the back of the truck.
-Steve

The 1000 bags are the kind that go inside coil springs... They have a minimum 5psi to keep them from rubbing against the springs, and a max of 25psi... I have no idea what the self-contained air bags take, as far as air pressure...

Mike

 

[jerryw66]

I've got the big 5000# ones on my f250, can't remember the brand name, but they sure help with heavy loads, when I pull my big vermeer stumpgrndr, it really smooths out the bumps. They do leak when the temps get really cold, like -10 or so.