michaellake

Hey guys,

First I want to apologize if all of these questions are answered somewhere in here. I searched for about 10 minutes but couldn't find them.

Please forgive me, as there are some things in here where I don't know what I'm talking about. I am going to look at an FX4 SCREW tomorrow and the dealer sent me a few pictures that raised some questions. The truck has an air ride suspension, and an external air hose attachment point (like the place on a tire where you fill it) by the license plate. Dealer said it consists of bags between the frame and suspension/axle/whatever it is that cushion the ride. He said no original parts would have been removed. He said if the air was let completely out, it would basically function as stock suspension. He also said these could be removed in about 15-30 minutes. I won't be doing any serious off-roading with the truck, and at most would be towing a trailer or fishing boat. However this will be VERY rare.

My questions are these:
1) What is this setup called? Air ride, air suspension?
2) Would this prevent me from doing a leveling kit, and eventually installing 20" wheels with 33" tires?
3) What kind of maintenance am I looking at with just normal driving? Is it something where I'll have to fill up the bags every week?
4) Should I just remove them right away to not have to deal with any of it?

Thank you in advance, and I apologize or my lack of knowledge on this stuff.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

There are a bunch of kits out there for this type of setup. They are air bags and are used to supplement the stock suspension when carrying heavy loads. The dealer is not quite correct on running the bags with no pressure, most of the systems specifically say not to do that. You can adjust the pressure to match the load you are carrying but they should always have some pressure in the system. If you leave it at say 5 psi, it would ride close to stock. One thing to check is, make sure the air bags didn't require the removal of the factory bump stops. If they did, you would need to put new ones back in if you ever removed the air bags. If you want to look up a similar system, google Firestone Ride Rites. That's a similar system to what the truck has, if not the exact system the truck has.

Depending on the kit, it could potentially hinder a lift as the bags wouldn't extend to allow the axle to fully droop. If you're just doing blocks, the air bags wouldn't make any difference. If you're going with an add-a-leaf or replacement leaf pack with more travel, then you could have an issue with the air bags.

There is no maintenance on the air bag setup, just check the pressure from time to time.

It comes down to personal preference. If you have no use for them, don't want them, etc, you can yank them out and sell them off. If you like the ride with low pressure in the bags or like having the ability to stiffen up the suspension to compensate for a heavy load, then leave them in.