Aribag suspension -v- raised leafs

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Hi all,

I'm researching a suspension lift for the new toy and a number of suppliers have recommended i go the way of airbags and new shocks in the rear instead of new raised leafs because i tow a 1T camper trailer on long trips two or tree times a year.

Anyone have any comments on whether i'm better off going with a normal leaf lift or airbags??

I had decided on a Ironman or EFS lift but this new suggestion as thrown an iron in the works.
 
depends on what you what the raised suspension for.
is it just to handle the towing or you want it for ground clearance?

1 ton trailer should not be a problem to tow. if your looking at airbags just for towing them i would suggest load springs.

i was reading a good discussion on airbag suspension on another forum. big problem with them is people use them incorrecty.
 
depends on what you what the raised suspension for.
is it just to handle the towing or you want it for ground clearance?

1 ton trailer should not be a problem to tow. if your looking at airbags just for towing them i would suggest load springs.

i was reading a good discussion on airbag suspension on another forum. big problem with them is people use them incorrecty.


Ground clearance is my main aim but i still want the vehicle to sit even with the trailer on. My camper only has a ball weight of 130kg so i don't foresee that being a problem either.

Can you explain what you mean by 'using them incorrectly?' That, or post a link to the other forum.

The more i look into this suspension i become more confused. My D40 has 58km's on the clock and people are telling me to upgarde the original suspension. Why??
 
ground clearence .....forget air bags, just get a susupension kit.

used incorrectly. i will have to go find it again but i think it was more to do that people where useing them like a main spring. also changes in load position can cause problems. the main discussion was on patrols that where useing air bags to help with all the extra weight they had. not uncommon for them to end up with broken chassi's.

i think there is a pic of a D40 wiith brokebn chassi around. towing big boat, proberly poorly loaded so to much tow ball weight, plus overloaded rear deck equals stuffed ute.
the big problem with double cabs is people think they can actualy fit 1 ton load on the rear of them. they forget that the load is past the rear axle and weight is multiplied.
then they wonder why the arse is dragging on the ground.
 
I think air bags tend to isolate the spot they concentrate on the chassis when quick hard load is applied, as opposed to leaves, if that makes sense?
 
Hopfeully I've done the right thing then with my 08 D22 STR, have just ordered a pair of BOSS Bellows type bolt on air bags as I am a tradie, have a steel H/D tray on the back plus 2x 1500mm high sided boxes fully loaded aswell as ladders and stock about 400kgs roughly which is all on during the week then all comes off (except tray obviously) on weekends...........Air Bags were recommended by a few people and 4WD shops locally ???? Have I gone down the right path ????
 
I think air bags tend to isolate the spot they concentrate on the chassis when quick hard load is applied, as opposed to leaves, if that makes sense?

quite right. it changes where the load points are on the chassi. if you put to much pressure in the bags it puts all the load from the two mounting points to a single mounting point and in a aera that is not designed for it.
 
Hopfeully I've done the right thing then with my 08 D22 STR, have just ordered a pair of BOSS Bellows type bolt on air bags as I am a tradie, have a steel H/D tray on the back plus 2x 1500mm high sided boxes fully loaded aswell as ladders and stock about 400kgs roughly which is all on during the week then all comes off (except tray obviously) on weekends...........Air Bags were recommended by a few people and 4WD shops locally ???? Have I gone down the right path ????

bad move in my book.
D22, first thing i would be doing is fixing those weak rear springs. that would elimenate the need for airbags or even load springs.
with the double cab you have to be carefull on how the vechile is loaded. keep most of the weight hard up against the cab.

to give you some idea, i had a good 1.5 ton on the back the other day (single cab) and still had an inch before hitting the bump stops.
 
Hi all,

I'm researching a suspension lift for the new toy and a number of suppliers have recommended i go the way of airbags and new shocks in the rear instead of new raised leafs because i tow a 1T camper trailer on long trips two or tree times a year.

Mate I find that our new D40 STX petrol auto has only done 300km so far and rides low at the rear with just 200/300kgs of gear in the back let alone with anything hanging off the tow bar. We ant to get ours level but maintain original springs/ride and we do a lot of towing of our 200kg van that'll put 250kgs of tow ball weight on it and although we'll be using a 250kg WDH to compensate.

I've just ordered the red Poly air bags (have used them on all our vehicles for years, last being 1999 R50 Pathfinder with no dramas, with 18-22psi lifted loaded Pathy by 30-50mm before van hooked up) I'll be fitting them next week and going away with the van for a couple of days, so I'll let you know how they go. Will be staying with existing shocks as suspension travel is original, just have more support. As for cracking chassis while using air bags my guess is either overloading or using too much pressure.

I've also ordered a set of the variable height rear shackles from PRG Products in the US they should be here in a week or so and will allow me to raise the rear by 25mm, 37mm or 50mm, I intend to use them initially only to raise rear by 25mm and remain with existing shocks, this will give the air bags more room/air to work in. I can try higher lifts if required, but dont want to have to fork our for longer shocks/brake hoses etc at this stage. This set up will get decent test in June as we head up towing the van to Cape York via central Qld.

cya
Graham
 
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I fitted the Old Man Emu 2" lift kit a little while ago and ive got to say i wish i had done it the moment i purchased it. These manufacturers blow me away, they already put springs in the thing to start with so how much more expensive would it be to sell them raised and stronger. As i have stated earlier i tow a 2.5 tonne boat behind me, with standard suspension i felt the ute was the passenger, now with kit boat is definately the passenger. This is also combined with taking all our camping gear and bikes etc away as well.
Also found going away up around Buller over easter the extra clearance meant no scraping (bear in mind i wasnt climbing rocks or trying to set any records but some tracks werent novice).
Peter
 
Have fitted the red bag PolyAir springs to our D40, cost was just the $250 I paid for the bags (got them at special trade price from Repco, they normally retail them for $319) I fitted them myself, pretty simple job. I'll post some photo's of how I mounted them when I can get around to it, as I fitted them slightly different to the norm as I put them just behind the axle between the 2 bump stops. the norm is just in front of the axle.

Have used these type of red bags on many coil spring vehicles previously, but this is first time have fitted them to leaf sprung vehicle. Early days yet as I try them out, but as the bags are a lot shorter than the ones fitted to my coil sprung vehicles I've found that they need much less air to inflate and whereas 12psi in this leaf sprung vehicle (with 250 odd kgs in tray) lifts it 40mm the coil sprung vehicles needed over 20psi to gain this with similar weight in vehicle to raise them bu this amount. Too much air makes the ride in the D40 too harsh in the rear. Hooked the van up today and towed it 150km down to Anglesea for a couple of days, with the 12psi in the bags it rode well, with 2 passengers 300kg odd in the rear and 250kg ball weight.

cya
Graham
 
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