johndeerefarmer

Anybody running these on your '15 and newer F150? If so how do they ride at 5 psi? Airlift tells me the new lighter aluminum trucks ride rougher empty. What say you?

Thanks

mass-hole

I've heard a lot of folks say they ride rough. One guy on the other forum tried the 5000's on his 15+, didnt like them, switched to the Ridecontrols and was much happier.

I have a 2014 and went with the Airlift ridecontrol bags and saw no difference in ride. They lift 2000 lbs which is enough for all but the highest payload rated trucks. The 5000's are overkill for us unless maybe you have an HDPP truck that you actually load to max.

johndeerefarmer

The 5000's will work with a B&W Gooseneck hitch or fifth wheel rails where the Ride Control bags won't unless I want to go welding or drilling holes in the frame or B&W mounting brackets.

I had Firestone 5000 lb bags on a '11 and '13 F150's and yes you could tell they were there but at 5 psi was no big deal. I am not sure I understand why a 5000 lb bag at 5 psi would cause such a harsh ride. Best I remember they say that 1 psi = 40 lbs of added capacity so 5 psi would be like adding 200 lbs of extra capacity.
I guess since the truck is lighter it bounces more so you notice it more?

I had tried the 5000's with the internal jounce bumper on my '16 but didn't like them because on every bump it would bounce off of the internal bumper. I ended up with the RAS on it but didn't like the way it clanked and made a jarring sound on bumps.
So here I am with this new '17 with the same dilemna

TMacFord

I have them on my '16. I was normally riding with them at 0 psi when not towing. They were bouncy because they are bottoming on the internal jounce bumper normally. But at 3 or 4 psi they aren't bad at all.

mass-hole

I think because the bags are physically thicker and much larger diameter. The lift force is because of the pressure exerted by the air on the upper and lower plates of the air bag. If you have a 3.5" plate on the Ridecontrols and a 6" plate on the 5000's, the 5000's are going to be lifting ~3x the amount at the same pressure. So if you have to fill both of them to 5psi then you are getting a lot more lift from the 5000's. All thats doing is causing the rear to lift and unloading the leafs but effectively keeping the same spring rate. Now everytime you hit a bump you spring rate gets stiffer much faster between the bag and leaf..

banshee350

I had these on my 2015 screw 4x4 for pulling my horse trailer. They worked great but when the truck was not pulling they rode rough. I called airlifter and they sent me a set of bags that didn't have an internal jounce. I tried those for a while and they rode better but it was still a little bit of a rougher ride than my wife liked. I then bought a weight distribution hitch for my horse trailer and removed my airlifters. If you are interested in them I have both sets of bags and the complete setup that I would let go of for a good price.

ifallsron

I've run 5 in my 2000s and didn't notice much difference. I am replacing the bags this spring as one leaks. Although overkill, maybe the 5000s are more durable.

wineman

Don't put the Air Lift bags in the stock height f150 unless you plan to carry a load at all times. Just installed this weekend and on the 5 pound setting (lowest) the truck has no movement in the rear end. And the daily driver comfort is completely gone. Apparently in a stock height f150 the bags drop to the internal bump stops in the bag. I had thrown the boxes out and after one day of driving I am removing the bags and will offer them for sale on Craigs List. Apparently AirLift knows about this problem, but they still sell them and brag about their internal bump stops. Bags & Compressor & about a day of install labor over the weekend, with plans to pull all out later today... Don't Buy These Bags

storageman

A couple of months ago I installed a set on my 2018 F150. Yes the ride is now stiffened up @ 5psi. I don't believe they ever touch the internal bump stops (unless you just jumped 10 pickups and your landing). I never really cared for the super soft ride with the stock suspension. It always seemed really mushy. But its much better vs my old F250 with a set of supersprings installed. Now that was a rough ride, this not so much and one of the reasons I went with air bags

johndeerefarmer

I had the bags installed but removed them because when pulling a fiver my truck would bounce up and down on bumps in the road (these didn't have the internal jounce bumper). It didn't matter how much air I put in them, it still did it. I removed them and installed Super Springs. The bounce is gone and as far as I can tell the ride is no different than than the air bags when they weren't bouncing me around. The Super Springs are easier to install and I can move them to a new truck lots easier than the air bags