Buying a camper this week and need to know what brand of air-bags everyone prefers.

After searching around here it looks like its either Ride-Rite or Firestone.

To me it looks like the Firestone compressor system, although more expensive looks to be a much better system.

Any other thoughts?

 

they are firestone ride-rites...i love mine!

brett

 

Hey Doc,

Rusty is right, the other brand is "Air Lift".

I had Firestone's on my just traded in Chevy. They worked very well for hauling the big Lance Camper. I did have one problem though.

The left side bag had a very slow leak. I replaced the bag itself and the schrader valve to no avail. It must have been in the air line itself which is plastic. The left side air line was routed in the frame (the hardest part of the install) and crossed over to the schrader valve on the right, so I did not replace it. The leak was so slow that in a weeks time the difference was was only about 5 pounds. Camper was only in the truck for a week at a time so it was not that big of a deal.

Both guys I know have no issues with their Firestone's.

Personally I would not bother with the compressor. I think it adds to more potential leaks points. If you do go with a compressor just make sure the compressor allows for independant adjustment of the air bags. You don't want air to be able to flow from one bag to the other.

Hope this helps...

 

FWIW, I'm running the Airlift on my truck. They are OK, but after looking at the Firestone setup I wish I had gone with it. Firestone has a better mount for the axle.

 

I agree, I have airlift and the Firestones have better mounts.

 

i have the firestone bags and they have worked great. I dont have the compressor on mine you just fill them at the back like a tire. The only change i made after they were installed was I tee'd the line together so if they started leaking they would leak equally. They work really well with my 5th wheel.

 

I am installing Timbrens next week. After broken bolts and ripped steel brackets I have had enough with air bags. The air bags will still be there but just to level side to side.

 

raften

i have been thinking about the previous posts when i asked you what you did for a living. the bags are only rated for 5k lbs. im starting to think that you were subjecting them to more than they could handle.

for the person that needs help with tongue weight or maybe a fuel tank and tool box, the air bags work great. in your case the timbrens will probably be just what you need!

brett

 

LOL, i have firestones on mine, and I load up my gooseneck with 20k plus pounds and have had no reason to use them. I should of spent my money somewhere else. But my truck is still new so the leaf springs will start to give a little bit sooner or later so maybe actually I can use my bags!!!

 

I have the firestones with air compressor and love them. i would get the compressor. i got so tired of haveing to get out to comp and air them up and if i need a little more going down the road well you get it. its so nice being able to adjust on the fly!

 

Get the firestones, a good compressor, a tank, pressure switch and a leveling valve from a semi trailer and never adjust them again. Inflates when loaded deflates when empty, always rides the same height. No lines, gauges or switches to install in the cab. Install them and forget about it. Plus you then have the added benefit of a air supply for tires ect.

Tank was less than $35
Leveling valve was ~$50
pressure switch was ~$25 (150psi)
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I agree teeing them together is nice to keep the pressure the same in both bags. But with them teed one bag will increase with a like decrease in the other as you round a corner or fight a cross wind.

 

Thats a sweet setup.

 

And the compressor was around $200 ?
I will go this route in the future, but with 2 leveling valves. After many years dealing with air ride, it is a more conservative approach.

 

I installed Firestone RideRites w/ no compressor on mine. They work great and I haul a big camper on my SRW 3500. I also added 2" spacer blocks to my overload bumpstops, made a huge difference with the sway.