I've tried to post pictures but I'm a computer tech idiot. It's no drill on my 03 but I don't know about yours. They replaced my rubber bumps. The lower bracket sat 3/4" above the axle tube so it would clear the left brake cylinder line. I bent the brake line out of the way and cut right at 1/2" off of each side of the bracket which put it down against the tube. Lowes sells 2' pieces of PVC. I used 3" with glued endcaps. Then I drilled/tapped the sides of the caps (where the material is double thick) and used 1/4"MIP x 3/8" hose barbs and short air hoses to connect each end of the tank to a bag. One more drilled/tapped hole in one end of the tank for the air connection. I've tried both ways and I never saw a need to have seperate air lines to the bags. I hose clamped the tank crosswise to a x-member, above the axle. I didn't cut the ends completely off the bottom OLs. I have about 3" sticking out in front and behind the spacer blocks. I hope this helps. Craig

 

Unfortunately they were all outside mounts 2002 earlier, which requires drilling.

 

Oh sorry, I forgot I had wandered away from the 4th gen forum

 

NO... it's more like, FORTUNATELY you can put them where you want them on a C-channel frame! I had the airlift drill kit on my 97 and I'd take the drill kit over the bolt-on kit ANY day! I wouldn't have had to fuss with travel with the bolt-on kit on my 03 cuz of their inherent limits. The frame is harder than Chinese arithmetic and two cobalt bits (one pilot and one full size) is the best money you can spend, for that. Craig

 

After using my timbrens for the past 6-8 months, I have decided to upgrade to the AirLift system.. The fact that my axle rested on the timbrens made my ride unbearable over time. I found I disliked driving my truck... they do work great for towing, but I use my truck to get back and forth to work and its just not comfortable.

 

I havent been keeping anyone updated on my Timbren experience but I wasnt completely happy with my ride conditions when towing my 5th wheel. I actually contacted Timbren and worked closely with them through pictures and measurements unloaded and loaded, and with that information they were able to better tune a Timbren spring better suited for what I needed. I'm now using one thats nothing like what comes in the kit for my truck and I really like it. Maybe if I think about it, I'll get the camera out and take some pictures so I can show you what I mean. Point I'm getting at is, I have been watching and reading many airbag threads and I've come to the conclusion that airbags are not as "simple" as everyone tries to make them out to be. They can be convoluted, unreliable, hard to fit properly, need added lines and compressors for convenience, and.....still.....not ride well unloaded. I dont care to invest hundreds of dollars and drill my frame only to find this out. I have $200 invested in my Timbrens and I can change them out or remove them completely.....and they work.

 

Glad you found something you like, I'm hoping I have better success with the AirLift bags. For what it's worth, the airlift kit is no-drill... I'll post my experience again, after the conversion.

Please take some pics of the system you ended up with, it would be helpful to understand what timbren system you finally found that worked.

 

I have a neighbor with the twin to my truck and he has Airlift no-drill and they are single bellows. I never looked at them til last week. I'd much rather have my FS bags with double bellows. I thought they were all the same bag design except for how the ends were put on... not! Craig

 

this is the AirLift loadlifter 5000 kit I installed last night and today, is this what you mean by double belows?

 

Different applications use different bag styles.

 

Saw your links on your signature and just scored myself a $50 rebate... I only thought the complete systems were eligible, not just the airbags themselves..

thanks AirLift!

 

I do not want to change topic away from some of your great points, but since I started this thread I thought I would update and I chose Timbrens. I found a brand new set on C-List for really cheap and had to pull the trigger. My first choice was air bags but I could not pass up this deal. I am so thankful for all your input, being a new diesel owner, I would have been lost on so many things.

 

I just had the airlift 5000s - like pdogg above-- put on. With the 5 psi I really couldn't tell a difference although I tried hard to. I put on sulastic shakles afterwards and that made a big difference. I also have bilsteins and traction bars as well.

 

The Timbrens are cool if you're loaded up all the time like a tool truck. I haul around a truck camper and I prefer air bags because I can adjust the forward/rear bias of the entire truck with the camper on there. The trick is to use the least possible amount of air pressure to achieve the desired ride height.

 

As an update, I did my first towing trip with the Airbags. I originally tried 35PSI and it was too low, and checked the manual, and I realized I should be at around 50PSI for my setup.. wow what a difference. Real nice ride, and I don't hate my truck anymore in-town when unloaded..