Nice simple rear bags.....

[cysko9]

Ive got a cool ride in the front... stock spindles. basicly, im looking for a setup in the rear that will give me close to stock height when inflated, but won't slam me to the ground when empty... any suggestions??

[TheFabShop]

You could do an over the axle setup.

[SCOTI]

If it's not a leaf suspension, why not just mount some bags where the factory coils would go?

[cysko9]

sorry, forgot to mention that this is a coil set up...

u have anything specific in mind SCOTI? what you are suggesting sounds pretty simple...

[StingRay]

How about bags in place of the coils and a set of factory rear half leaf overloads. They'd catch ya before you hit the ground.

[ShamrockCustoms]

scoti is right on the money, just remove the coils and replace with bags. simple procedure, wont require too much modification. you'll get an instant drop just from the swap too!

[SCOTI]

cysko9 sorry, forgot to mention that this is a coil set up...
u have anything specific in mind SCOTI? what you are suggesting sounds pretty simple...

Well . . .....

ShamrockCustoms..... just remove the coils and replace with bags. simple procedure, wont require too much modification. you'll get an instant drop just from the swap too!

Shamrock took the words right out of my mouth. BTW Shamrock, that crossmember sliced up nicely & will soon be joined w/my newly acquired air-ride control arms.

A couple of the Firestone 224c bags in place of the rear coils will be equivalent to a 5-6" drop @ 30-40psi. Add air to raise or let air out to drop it more (25-30psi is about as low as you can get & still drive). Those bags will handle a loaded car hauler w/o issue so they work hard too.

[cysko9]

ok, so assuming i just go with those bags...
what would i have to do with shocks/mounts, as well as my panhard bar
or other items?
also, where is the best place to get those bags?

[cysko9]

i quickly checked out the firestone site, and it appears that all they offer is bags for leafspring set ups....

[SCOTI]

Check out Airride.com or ***************** for bag pricing.

As for shock mounts, they have aftermarket brackets if your not a fabricator, or you can modify your stockers (that's what I did) to save $$. They make adjustable panhard bars which are easy to tune, or you can set the ride height & measure/modify your stocker to again save some $$ (I've done it both ways successfully).

You can start off manually filling the rear bags w/schrader valves (again, what I did) & add a comp/tank later to cut costs as well.

[cysko9]

you wouldn't by chance have pictures or anything of your modifications would you? im just really leary of changing stuff around especially b/c i don't know all that much about it... what i am really looking for is some type of set up that will just bolt on.... but i am not finding anything like that.

[GreyHoundSteve]

Thanks for all the good info on this thread guys. I have been battleing the same decision myself. I REALLY like the looks of a bagged truck and i like the idea of still being able to haul a load if i ever need too but i am also leary of the problems i could encounter with bags.

From what i gather the mods of doing what shamrock and scoti mentioned are really no more involved than doing a static drop except new cups for the bags and adding some length of hose to fill the bags but im still not sold on the realiability of air bags.

My hang up is this ..... guys with bagged trucks never drive them so data on the reliability is hard to gauge. I'd like to talk to one guy with a bagged c10 thats put 50,000+ miles on a pair of bags and see how often that person has had problems with them.

My mother had a $40k Lincoln mark 8 she bought brand new and in 70k she had replaced the complete air and bag system on her car twice. I can only imagine that you would encounter twice as many problems on a vehicle that wasnt designed for bags.

Maybe im just being a ***** but id really like to hear from a bagged truck owner who USES there truck for something other than looking pretty. Everytime i think i'm sold on bags i see someone post a bag related problem or like FCG mentioned the other day ...... "he is too scared to venture to far out on his bags". Now that guy has a CLEAN truck and if he is scared to take a trip on bags then they dont sound like something that would be right for me.

Anyone have any hard data on daily driven bagged trucks and the problems theyve encountered? Im talking ANY problems ..... leaking, popping, air pressure deflation, alighment issue, odd tire wear etc... ????

[cysko9]

greyhound, what types of setups are you looking at?

[frogsmakr]

I have been running rear bags(airlift) DAILY on my '68 since Nov 13 w/ no probs.
I'm running schrader valves to fill/deflate 'em.
Anyone else running 'em daily?

[SCOTI]

I was driving my 68beater daily & using it bi-weekly to pull an 18ft car hauler. I did this for over 3yrs w/only 2 problems: 1) the first week driving I lost one of the 'eyes' off of one of my new shocks. I went to PepBoys & swapped it out for another & no probs since. 2) I kept bending the schrader valves when trying to fill the bags in the dark (when it was hard to see). I robbed the comp, 3gal airtank, & controller from my RestoRod & there again, no probs since.

And remember, my beater has been sitting since August & still has 30psi of air pressure (but 1 of the tires did lose some air). How's that for reliability?

[GreyHoundSteve]

Thanks guys .... i needed the pep talk. I made myself and my wife a promise before i started this project and that promise was that this truck would be a daily driver and a vehicle that i wouldnt have to worry about letting my wife drive my daughter around in and i plan to stick to that.

Bagged trucks look great but it seems like ALOT of people with them are either scared to drive them or encounter one problem after the next but i supose thats why they come here for help. I guess it doesnt make much sense to see daily posts from people who are pleased with the reliability of their bags.

I'm up to my eyeballs in body work and interior right now but them comes the suspension and bags seem to be the ticket. Im 95% sold on them in the rear and it seems to be a pretty cheap mod if you dont add the compressor and tank. Eventually i would like to have them but right now im on a bit of a tight budget because i went a little nuts on the interior. Im still not sure about bagging the front yet but when the time draws closer to make a decision im sure i'll have all the info i need by then.

This board ROCKS! Thanks again guys.

[SCOTI]

GreyHoundSteve, remember.... anytime you feel like a short road trip you can check out the set-up installed on my beater.

cysko9, for my rear shock brackets: 1) I removed the u-bolts & pulled the factory shock brackets from the bottom of the trailing arms. 2) I torched the small curve on the bottoms until red hot & hammered the bottoms flat. 3) I then cooled them off, ground them nice & smooth, & switched them from side to side (drivers to pass; pass to drivers). This lowers the bottom mount about 1.5". 4) Reassemble & put the u-bolts back on & tighten everything back up.

The top mounts required a little more effort but still pretty easy. 1) Drill out the factory rivets holding the upper mount brackets to the crossmember. 2) Re-locate the upper hole as high as possible on the bracket. This will actually 'off-center' the 'new' hole vs. the factory hole that is centered in the bracket (you can look @ ECE's or Classic Perf Products shock relocation brackets to see the different location of the hole vs. stock stuff). 3) Drill new holes (center them carefully) for the upper shock bolts. 4) Trim off the 'old holes'/excess metal no longer needed, & grind them smooth. 5) Using grade 8 hardware, bolt the newly modified brackets back in place. This gives between 1-1.5" more travel (depending on how high you move the hole).

Together you can increase shock travel about 3" & use off the shelf stock length shocks. *I also used 1.5" lowering blocks to increase the amount further.

[BaggedC10]

There are plenty of people w/ bagged trucks that drive them daily. If you use quality components and the installation is done right, you will not have any problems. This means use gourmets where air line passes through the front X-member (Or frame, etc.), make sure the air springs don't make contact w/ anything, and use common sense.

If there is any doubt about air spring reliability, look no further than the tractor trailers you commonly see on the highway. All these vehicles use air springs (Convoluted and sleeve) to transport cargo.

Straight from ART's website:

"Our airsprings are made to our specs by Firestone, the world's largest airspring manufacturer. They are used on large semi-trucks, off road equipment, luxury cars, and also in industrial machinery, conveyer systems, and load stabilizers. We recently sold an airspring to replace a unit that had been in service for 17 years! (The endplate had rusted out!) Failure can happen, but it is extremely rare. We require that the vehicle have at least 2" of ground clearance when the airspring is fully deflated. This helps prevent a major problem in case of a system failure."

I worked for a professional auto detailer but recently quit. I was surprised at the number of new vehicles w/ factory air ride suspensions---Land Rover HSE, some Ford Expeditions, Mercedes Benz S500, Lexus LS430, and more!

Check out www.GMFullsize.com and www.FullsizeChevy.com. There are plenty of daily driven bagged trucks on these websites.

[cysko9]

thanks scoti, thats seems pretty straight forward. a few more questions... will the bags mount in a similar way to the frame and trainling arm like the coil did or will i have to mess around with that too... also, do you specifically recomend any type of bag from the sights you mentioned?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by cysko9

thanks scoti, thats seems pretty straight forward. a few more questions... will the bags mount in a similar way to the frame and trainling arm like the coil did or will i have to mess around with that too... also, do you specifically recomend any type of bag from the sights you mentioned?

The bags mount exactly where the coils went. Some people use 'hats' on the ends of the bags. I just drilled access holes for all the necessary bolts & the air fittings & bolted them straight in.

I believe ECE sells an air-bag kit that uses the exact bolt holes that the factory coils utilize (I'm not sure who the manufacturer is).

On my beater, I used Firestones & drilled my own holes. Back then, the bags had (2) 3/8" holes (coarse thread) on one end & (2) 3/8" X 1" studs (fine thread) on the other. The newest bags I've gotten have (2) 3/8" X 1" studs (coarse thread) on one end & (1) 3/8" (coarse thread) hole in the center of the other end. Both the bags on my beater & the newest one's I've gotten are the 224c's. My guess (from my experience) is the fine threads were a pain in the ass so they switched to all coarse thread fittings.

[MrShelley]

Check the FAQ section for the Air Bag Installation Guide I posted. It's illustrated to show how bags mount in front and rear. It should give you a good idea of how everything "fits".

[cysko9]

thanks guys, this helps...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by MrShelley

Check the FAQ section for the Air Bag Installation Guide I posted. It's illustrated to show how bags mount in front and rear. It should give you a good idea of how everything "fits".

You guys need to check the pictorial that MrShelley put together. Very nice job- Illustrated Air Bag Installation Guide

[cysko9]

just did.... i must say, thats one of the better how to's ive seen... very nice!

[cysko9]

mr shelley, could you give me the type of bags and amount it let you drop the truck? I know I asked you in that other post. but for the sake of those reading this one....