Bad experience - What air bags work well for the Gladiator?

[Overland-2021]

Hi,

I'm having trouble with getting the right airbags to work and wonder if others have had a different (better) experience.
I purchased the Firestone 4148 from truckspring.com - great customer service.
The instructions were flat out wrong - took almost 2hrs trying to stuff that tough bag through the first spring - thats what they say to do. Took 20mins to take the shock and control arm off and pull the spring - bag slid right in.
Put it all back together an filled to 70 psi. The air bags do not fill the spring against the spacers - almost 3ins too short.
And the top connection - which you can't get to once installed - leaked. That's on me as I probable didn't crank the cap tight enough.
Left it overnight and found at zero psi there was more than 4in space and the lower spacer could be taken out easily by hand - meaning it would bounce out if I ever lost pressure on the road. I contacted a mechanic friend who told me that at zero pressure there should be no more than 1/2" open space.

I let Nick at truckspring.com know (with measurements and pictures) and he contacted Firestone - who told me they were the right ones and, well, basically... too bad.
Photos show the huge gap so obviously I can't leave it this way.
The money is not the issue - I just need to get this right.
Any help would be appreciated.

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[Josh00333]

Personally, I would look at sumo springs vs air bags.

 

[Overland-2021]

I pressed for an answer from firestone and the answer I get -

"These bags are not designed to expand vertically, they expand horizontally and fill in the gaps between the coils, restricting the coils ability to compress. The bottom rubber puck is there to protect the bag if it does manage to work its way toward the bottom of the coil."

I am certainly willing to admit when I'm wrong... but this doesn't seem right to me.
I'm not an engineer, but how do you apply almost 1000lbs lift by pushing on the sides of the springs?
I would love to hear from someone who got these to work...

 

[Overland-2021]

Thanks Josh...

Do the Sumo springs provide lift?
Or are the basically better bumpers?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I pressed for an answer from firestone and the answer I get -

"These bags are not designed to expand vertically, they expand horizontally and fill in the gaps between the coils, restricting the coils ability to compress. The bottom rubber puck is there to protect the bag if it does manage to work its way toward the bottom of the coil."

I am certainly willing to admit when I'm wrong... but this doesn't seem right to me.
I'm not an engineer, but how do you apply almost 1000lbs lift by pushing on the sides of the springs?
I would love to hear from someone who got these to work...

There is vertical lift when the bags are pumped up. I also asked if I was going to obtain lift when bags are air up and was told NO. They are simply full of it because I’ve installed bags on 3 vehicles, my first was coil spring bags in my 2015 RAV4 which got 1.5” of lift when aired up. My second vehicle which followed was the 2017 Tacoma with frame mounted bag which got 2” of lift at 60lbs air and now I’ve installed the Air Ride 1000 into my 2021 Gladiator Rubi coils and I got 1” lift at 10lbs air.

 

[Josh00333]

We'll no and yes. Do air bags add "lift"? no. Air bags are not lift kits. They are not billed, sold, meant or designed that way.

You don't buy air bags to add lift for bigger tiers, well at least you should not.

Air bags are there to offer suspension support for loads. Usually installed on the rear. They add resistance via air pressure to the rear end to be more stable under load.

Now yes, you can "air" them up and it will push your axle down, but it's not a "lift" kit. Running around with 60 psi in your air bags as a 2" lift kit would be like sticking a block of wood in your springs and calling it lifted, and would ride abought the same.

Now air them and add the load they are intended to carry, and lvl the rig back out from the squat associated with the load.

 

[Josh00333]

They are not meant to add lift. They are meant for load support like air bags are.

Are you trying to lift your rig with air bags?

That's not the purpose of them, you need spacers or a lift kit.

Thanks Josh...

Do the Sumo springs provide lift?
Or are the basically better bumpers?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

We'll no and yes. Do air bags add "lift"? no. Air bags are not lift kits. They are not billed, sold, meant or designed that way.

You don't buy air bags to add lift for bigger tiers, well at least you should not.

Air bags are there to offer suspension support for loads. Usually installed on the rear. They add resistance via air pressure to the rear end to be more stable under load.

Now yes, you can "air" them up and it will push your axle down, but it's not a "lift" kit. Running around with 60 psi in your air bags as a 2" lift kit would be like sticking a block of wood in your springs and calling it lifted, and would ride abought the same.

Now air them and add the load they are intended to carry, and lvl the rig back out from the squat associated with the load.

Ya, no. My purpose for having 60lbs in the bags or what ever lbs was not to obtain lift. It was to stay level when I added the weight. I get your point that air bags are for load, not for lift but lift does happen when air goes in.

 

[Mtpisgah]

I put Airlift Ram 1500 in my Mojave after adding an AluCab canopy camper, steal bumpers and other heavy stuff. It helped keep it from going through the travel as much and did lift it some. The sag was still much and still went through the travel too much, so a 2.5” lift was installed the next week. I left the bags in as insurance and it rides much better now.

And I am pretty sure the bags did not fill all of the OEM coils height.

 

[Whittlesey01]

Wh

I put Airlift Ram 1500 in my Mojave after adding an AluCab canopy camper, steal bumpers and other heavy stuff. It helped keep it from going through the travel as much and did lift it some. The sag was still much and still went through the travel too much, so a 2.5” lift was installed the next week. I left the bags in as insurance and it rides much better now.

And I am pretty sure the bags did not fill all of the OEM coils height.

Did you have to mod the airbag system? I have a Mojave also, looking for a little help when loaded. I pull an expedition trailer and I’ll get a vangaurd rear bumper, but want something to keep me level. I bought the timbren system which should be enough. I am curious about ur process of getting those in Incase these timbrens don’t work

 

[Stitchedupseats]

I used the airlift kit. Worked great. Everything fit well and no issues. Drives better and rides better

 

[Mtpisgah]

Not sure what you mean by modding the air bags. Just out them in, add the spacer on top, run the lines and pump.

Even with the lift, they were just dropped in the coils.

The three pictures are before the coils, with the coils inflated too much for comfort (35psi), and the lift with coils inflated to around 20psi.

 

[Radio Guy]

I used the airlift kit. Worked great. Everything fit well and no issues. Drives better and rides better

What exact model, compressor and readout did you get? Where did you mount the compressor?

 

[Mtpisgah]

What exact model, compressor and readout did you get? Where did you mount the compressor?

There is no compressor. You run the air lines to the rear bumper or fuel fill area and you have two Schrader valves there You can use a bike pump or air compressor to fill them. Be careful with an air compressor though, it goes fast

 

[Riccochet]

As stated, these bags are not designed to "lift". They operate the same as Air Lift 1000 bags. They expand outwards putting pressure on the coils to restrict compression under load. They're also not designed to fill the entire length of the coil spring.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that these bags do work. I've had the Air Lift 1000's on both of my Ram 1500's and my Gladiator. They 100% reduce sag under load.

As for them leaking, you'll need to check your connections are properly seated and clamped. Mine will hold 5-10 PSI for normal driving, and 30-35 PSI for towing/hauling.

If you want air bags that provide lift you'll need bags that mount between the axle and frame.

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