I was looking into getting some air bags for my truck to level it out when carrying heavy loads in the bed. I don't really need anything real heavy duty. What air bags do you guys recommend? I've noticed that the two main brands seem to be Pacbrake and Firestone.

 

I have no experience with pacbrake brand, but have had the firestone airbags since 2002 and they are still good. and I do have some 100k miles of towing a 5th wheel toy hauler with a pin weight of 2700 lbs. If I ever have to replace them it will be another set of firestone's.

 

I have the pacbrake on mine.....Seem really good..

 

I had Air-Lift on my Ford. No issues. Good support when I tore out a line with a tire coming apart too.

 

thanks for the information guys. i appreciate the help.

does anybody happen to know if it's necessary to remove the plastic fender liners when using the Firestone or Pacbrake air bags on these trucks? i was just wondering because I kind of wanted to leave them in & still be able to install air bags.

 

I have firestone, I just cut the liners level with the bottom of the truck bed, I did this when installing a 5th wheel hitch, I dont think you can re-instal the liner without cutting it as I dont believe there is enough room, I'll have a closer look in the morning, and can take a pic if you need one. I guess you can just trim the liner enough to clear the bags.
I also installed an air tank from a semi, under the bed on the pass side, it holds 150# of air, and I have the mechanical dual controller in the cab, I did not see the need for an air compressor, would have been nice but the cost did not appeal to me, the tank was 30-40$ from a transport salvage yard, and the controller was 80$, you can air from empty to 80psi at least 6-10times, and I added a connector so that I could air up a tire if I needed to,

the ability to level you truck, no matter what the load....priceless

 

I have Firestones on all 4 of my trucks and have'nt had a problem with the bags. I have had issues with lines and fittings, but it is usually my fault...

 

thanks. i was leaning towards the firestone's since they seem to make the air bags specific for the model & year trucks. Pacbrake seems to just make universal air bags made for a lot of different model trucks.

I was hoping that that was possible to just cut the fender liners a little without actually having to take them out. I kind of like the liners in the rear fenders.

 

I've installed both the Pac and Firestone bags on a few trucks and can swear they're both made by the same company, most likely Firestone since they seem to be the most common by far.

 

I like my firestones, put them on my last 2 trucks and 0 problems. The biggest problem I've had is installing the lines and connectors at -25 and having them leak. Once things warmed up no leaks at all. Even when it got cold again.

 

i have also been humming and hawing between the two for my truck in sig. i have read thru both installation manuals for the part # applicable to my truck.
it seems both lower brackets clamp directly to the overloads if you have them, or the full pack without or removed overloads.
the firestones require a minimum of 5psi whereas the pacbrake says 10psi at all times - do you think this would equate to a rougher (empty) ride?
the pacbrake kit seems to have provisions for the rear fender liners as well.

 

I run 0 psi in mine with no issues. The reason they say 5 psi is that they do not want them bottoming out. At 5 or 10 psi empty, the ride is harsher.

 

I have the Pacbrake bags on mine and have been super impressed so far. JMO

 

same here I run mine almost zero psi when my truck is empty, it is definately harsher when cranked up with no load