I am looking at the Firestone Ride Rite Air bag system and I can't decide which kit to get. It depends on whether I want to leave the overload springs on or off. I have heard that some people like to take them off because it improves the ride unloaded plus you don't need them with the air bags. Would it be better to leave them for backup(safety) though just in case there was a problem with the bags? What should I do?

 

You know that is a very good question.
I installed some Firestones on a 3500 with overloads a few weeks ago and noticed that if the truck were to come down on the overloads that the bottom bolts holding the bags would slack up considerably. In fact if you kept tightening the bolts you could suck the overloads and regular leafs closer together. It just didn't seem right.

About a week later working on another truck with Firestones and overloads noticed the bags were in cockeyed. On closer inspection found all four of the bolts holding the bags to the leafs were broken and the crossbars missing. I assume this was caused by the bolts going from slack to slamming tight over and over. The bags had about 80k on them and may have broken the bolts in the first 10 miles as far as I know. The owner had no complaints though and hadn't even noticed they were crooked.

Don't know what advice to give you, just my observations.

 

If the overloads are not touching, they will not affect the ride, they are just sitting there. Overloads should be left on of if you haul a camper or carry very heavy loads in the truck bed, after all, that is why they are there. Air bags are designed to help level the load, not lift the weight off the overloads. And I find air bags improperly installed that do what Infidel described. It is because the lower mounting bracket is only supposed to be clamped to the overload spring with the small spacer, not clamped all the way around the overloads and the main leaf pack. Otherwise it pulls the overloads towards the main leaf pack and away from the overload end contact points, to where the overloads will never do anything!

 

My 01 has a single leaf over load. I left it on figuring that if I ever lost air for some reason I had it to fall on. Because the airbag maintains the original ride height the over loads doesn't make contact while I am driving.

 

I have been using Airlift bags for years and have had no problems with them at all. The first thing I do when installing them is ditch the factory overloads.....there is no need for them once you have airbags. If airbags were so unreliable that they needed back up springs to support the load, they wouldn't be on big trucks. The bags are designed to carry a lot of weight - much more than what a factory overloads can deal with. FWIW, overloads that don't touch their stops when the truck is stationary and without a load, almost always slam into the stops when driving down a rough road - even when the truck is empty. Everytime I have removed overloads and replaced them with bags, the empty ride of the truck has improved. I use my 3500 to haul a 11.5' slide-in camper that weighs just over 4000 lbs wet and tow my Jeep on a tandem axle trailer......this combo is heavy and puts a lot of load on the rear axle......the overloads did a very poor job of keeping the rear level and the handling was very poor - it was obvious the spring rate was not high enough. Once the bags were installed, they could be adjusted to provide the perfect amount of load support and easily leveled the truck.......I have never looked back.

 

Bill I looked at doing it the way you describe, it seemed like the small spacer would get pinched in-between the the main and overload leafs when you hit a bump if clamped only to the overloads. This would either make for a very rough ride or bend the overloads.
It's sounding to me like removing the overloads is the way to go.

 

What CTD nut said I second it,use my truck,have a roll back on it thrue the over loads away,glad I did.-
Have had air bags on my semi and trailors for yrs......blown 2 in gajillion miles

 

I'm in the same situation with Firestone kits 2071 and 2220. My stock spring pack has gotten the crap worked out of it and now they sag. I need some height out of the rear so the overloads dont slap over bumps and I need them for hauling a gooseneck. 2071 is for without overloads and mounts on top of the leaf pack. The 2220 is for factory overloads and offsets between the frame and leafs, at least in the instructions.

2220 Install - http://www.firestoneindustrial.com/p...0/rrin2220.pdf

2071 Install - http://www.firestoneindustrial.com/p...)/rrin2071.pdf

The install pictures tell the story. The 2071 looks more sturdy being right on top of the pack. Although having the airbag under the frame would take stress of the shear force of the bolts, but you have to remove the bump stop. One other thing, if you look closely to the 2071 kit's instructions it states below figure A "Fit's with or without overloads". Main thing for me is that I dont want to remove the overloads and my greatest concern would be which is going to be stronger, hold more weight reliably, more beneficial, etc. Engineers?...

-Dustin-

 

I had the same thoughts and I have left my overloads on. I haul a slide in camper and generally set-up the air bags with about 3/4 of inch of space between the overloads contacting the pad blocks just enough ussually to level the truck. The benefit that I get is increased sway control.

I can tell when the overloads make contact as I can hear them complaining a little. I notice it most only at slow speeds. Like creeping down a rough dirt road or pulling on / off the highway / street. I am sure there are other times when they are making contact such as cornering or roller coaster highways etc...

Jim