i'm thinking about getting some Gabrial HighJackers for my truck. has anybody used there or anything like them? they are suppose to add 1100 lbs of capacity per pair, which i could use

 

I don't know about adding 1100 lbs per pair, I have a set on Monroe on mine and they add about 600 lbs for the set. Personally I would not go with the Gabriel or Ryder air shocks because they tend to leak at the top of the shaft. The Monroe has the air contained in a bladder that is sealed on top with a welded cover. Other brands use a sliding seal on top to hold the air, after a short time this sliding seal will start to leak. After it starts to leak you will always need to add air.
A simple way to calculate the amount of load that the shocks will carry is to add the area of the bladders together and then multiply by the air in the shocks. For example a 2 inch piston has about 3 square inches of area. With two shocks you have a grand total of 6 square inches you then multiply by the pressure to get force. Say 100 PSI, which is higher than most air station outputs, times the 6 square inches is 600 lbs force.
For a pair of air shocks to carry 1100 lbs with standard air compressors you will need almost 4 inch diameter shocks. Remember you will have to subtract the area of the shaft from the total area to get the area of the piston, think of a hollow cylinder for calculating area. For more weight carrying capacity think of using air bags instead of shocks.

 

anybody else?

 

no one?

 

The only thing I use air shocks for is to jack up the *** of my LeMans.

 

I had a pair on a 93 Dakota I used to own. It made a big difference in ride height and load capacity, I couldn't say how much extra load capacity it added though, but I was happy with the results. I would go with Monroe, like mitchalvin said.

 

i think monroe and Gabrial are the same company, if i put monroe's part# into autozone i get the gabrials....and i know they carry both there

 

All the gabriels I have seen had the sliding seal on top of the shock. Check to see if the top of the shock is welded together or if it has a separate sleeve that covers the air bag. I got mine from napa under their store brand, the kit was cheaper than one of the standard heavy duty gas charged.

 

this is what the picture shows it $75 for the kit

 

Yeah those look like the sliding seals, the Monroe brand has a pretty good bead around the top mount, also does not have the premade lines. Making the lines takes only about 5 seconds on each side, routing the lines will take longer. The Napa brand sensatrac are about 87 dollars with the not sliding seals and a heavier bag.