air ride in winter in the midwest can it be done?

[chevy49]

anyone know if I can get away with air ride in the winter in Indiana?

[BR3W CITY]

I drove a FBSS 3-linked S10 for a couple winters up here in WI. Our winters are a bit more bitter, and way saltier. Can it be done? Yes. Should it be? Well, probably not.

the problems I ran into;
All relays have to be the weather sealed ones or put in weather tight boxes. Relays get wet and freeze, or get salty and corrode. Same goes for all the wiring on the valves, it needs to be the higher end fully-sealed stuff (semi truck style), or put somewhere that it isn't exposed.

The bags themselves are like tires, they don't care what kind of weather they are in, BUT they will be a tiny bit stiffer or softer if its very cold or very hot. You shouldn't have an issue with the bags, but be wary of the metal cups or plates, as those areas are prime for moisture buildup and corrosion. Gotta keep an eye on the fittings on the bags if water can sit around them.

If you have to channel/tub/hollow/drill any major parts of the body or cab, you need to weatherseal them and grommet any openings. Moisture can and will get in everywhere.

Run shocks, and make them good. Air ride is bouncy, and thats bad in winter.

Oh and the last thing is make sure any wiring you buy is high quality. Cheap non-auto rated wires can get brittle with cold temps and vibrations. Brittle wires mean bad grounds or bad supplies, and weird stuff happens.


Like I said I've done it but I don't really love the idea. I had 4 relays freeze or corrode and break wires back in the day. The sealed compressors didn't care but drew a bit more amperage in the cold, my EDC hated life as it ran on SAE 50.

[DaddyOh]

That's good info....you hit a few things I would not have realized that would be effected....good stuff