Looking for real world experience with Accuair lift.

[Salty Dave]

I have been looking at the Accuair dynamic lift. My other Jeeps are all spring lifts. On my first gladiator I found myself using it as it was designed to be used. After a while I installed airbags to help with the ever changing loads. In looking at the Accuair system it appears it would work perfectly for the way mine is used.

My concerns are articulation, complex control system, and durability of the components.

We travel harsh trails with rock crawling if needed, drive on the beach, drive 20 miles to town and home with no load, sometimes carry up to 1200 lbs in the bed, tow trailers, and travel in the same rig.

It has to be road and trail friendly under different load conditions.

I’m just looking for a more universal lift than I had on my last JT. Thank y’all for the advice in advance.

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[WILDHOBO]

Not mine, but the owner of a shop I trust had them on his ever so briefly. He hated them. I wasn’t a huge fan when I first saw them on a JT at a local dealer, but his opinion clinched it.

 

[Stan H]

I have been looking at the Accuair dynamic lift. My other Jeeps are all spring lifts. On my first gladiator I found myself using it as it was designed to be used. After a while I installed airbags to help with the ever changing loads. In looking at the Accuair system it appears it would work perfectly for the way mine is used.

My concerns are articulation, complex control system, and durability of the components.

We travel harsh trails with rock crawling if needed, drive on the beach, drive 20 miles to town and home with no load, sometimes carry up to 1200 lbs in the bed, tow trailers, and travel in the same rig.

It has to be road and trail friendly under different load conditions.

I’m just looking for a more universal lift than I had on my last JT. Thank y’all for the advice in advance.

I have not used but there are guys on here that have I believe in the highest setting the steering wheel will turn off center, that can cause some problems when power is needed if it decides to restrict full throttle input. ( now this is just what I read)

 

[WILDHOBO]

I have not used but there are guys on here that have I believe in the highest setting the steering wheel will turn off center, that can cause some problems when power is needed if it decides to restrict full throttle input. ( now this is just what I read)

I’ve heard that as well. There’s no way it wouldn’t do this. Unless you had some magical telescoping drag link, and track bar. It’s just a flawed idea in my opinion.

 

[Stan H]

I’ve heard that as well. There’s no way it wouldn’t do this. Unless you had some magical telescoping drag link, and track bar. It’s just a flawed idea in my opinion.

Yes in my opinion it could be feasible to have rear Airbags only at a set desired height that could be inflated a couple pounds should a heavy load be involved , Rustys off road and another make such type airbags and systems but that isnt the beall endall either.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Yes in my opinion it could be feasible to have rear Airbags only at a set desired height that could be inflated a couple pounds should a heavy load be involved , Rustys off road and another make such type airbags and systems but that isnt the beall endall either.

I’m sure it’s a great system on IFS rigs. But solid axle with track bars makes it virtually impossible to make it seamless.

 

[Dragonfly]

Wow, a lot of OPINIONS from those who have no experience with the system... There is not a single system that will be the "best" for ALL of the various needs you listed; it will require some compromises in different conditions. Springs are set for a very specific load range...resulting in a saggy or too stiff of a ride in different applications and over time wear out. Accuair is not the system for you if you are mostly focused on rock crawling...
I believe the Accuair system is best suited to overlanding (overloading) and running loaded and unloaded with the Jeep. It also allows you to run the Jeep at a lower height for hwy travel and adjust the lift as needed on the trail. Great for camping, keeping the Jeep level, self-leveling with different loads, re-connecting the front sway bar disconnects, getting the Jeep to fit in the garage, and ...!
Look at what Eddie from [Banned Site] posted on YouTube regarding the Accuair system performance in various applications on a Gladiator.
I will say that the standard Accuair shocks are not good enough and I went with the piggy-back upgraded shocks which EvolvedJeepin also went into detail about (I think you could utilize other shocks that fit the parameters of the active lift). I also upgraded both the front and rear track bars to Metalcloaks.
As far as the steering wheel being off...yes, it ever so slightly rotates as the height of the lift increases (has to because of the connected trackbar) but not to an extent to cause any issues. I run with 3.5-4" lift at level 2 and set the steering wheel centered for that height and the change in steering wheel centered as I raise or lower the lift is negligible.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I just wouldn’t trust an air system for going off road. I’ve seen Mercedes air suspensions fail. Whole dang car just drops. I sure wouldn’t want that happening 75 miles out in the desert on rough terrain. An auxiliary air system to use when hauling heavy loads? Yes. But a dedicated air system for suspension. Nah, I’m good. At least with a traditional system if a shock fails you can still ride it home on the spring. Same reason I probably won’t go with a coil over system. They’re cool and I have no doubt they give a great ride but if a mounting bolt breaks off for some reason you’re toast. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

I've been on the fence with the rear only kit for two reasons;

1) I can air down and park in the garage
2) I can air down at camp and the Mrs can actually reach things in the back

Theres two reasons why I'm still unsure;

1) I forget the username, but someone on the forums has had a lot of issues getting them to ride right with load. They stated unloaded they rode and performed good, but add weight and the rear would pogo and get really bad off road.
2) A buddy of mine has the full 4 corner kit in his gladi, and he loses all air pressure after a few hours. He's had it in shops and tested everything they can, and Accuair had tried to help but wasn't offering much in support and basically said we dont know whats going on, good luck.

These aren't faults of air suspension, it's the Accuair kits.

I've read plenty about them being a good system as well, but use cases vary a lot and most folks I see talk about them aren't running as heavy as I will be.

At least with a traditional system if a shock fails you can still ride it home on the spring.

Mercs, BMW, etc typically use air struts, so yes, bag fails and your suspension drops, but in the case of the Gladi a shock failing with an air springs is no different than if one fails with coil springs. You can still limp home on the spring, they are separate components. In fact, you'd probably be better off with air in this case, because you could increase pressure to compensate for the lost shock.

As far as other failures? If you break a coil spring on the trail you're just as screwed. You either find a new spring or jerry-rig it. Air suspension would be no different. Puncture a bag, you find a temporary spring or you jerry-rig it. But bags aren't as delicate as people seem to think. Compressor fails? Use a Morrflate or whatever you have to air up and close off the line. Lines develop a leak? You replace the line with a spare. Just like anything, components can break and you just find a way to make it work until you get off trail.

Air could also benefit with other things such as recovery and other maintenance. Dragging frame? Air up and you might get enough clearance to not need to be winched out. Need to fix something under the truck? Air up to gain more clearance and you might not need to use a jack on sketchy surfaces and risk the truck or jack slipping.

I get it, air suspension sounds scary because it's different and adds a level of uncertainty for folks who have never used it, but it's found in a lot of applications these days and used in some extreme environments. Used in on and off road racing, millions of miles worth of commercial trucking, heavy equipment and industrial...

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Yeah all that is true. I’m just not educated on it enough to trust it yet. I’m not against finding different ways to get a broken rig off the trail.id rather just not have to do it in the first place. Full air just sounds too much like Merlin’s Wizardry to me.

 

[Dragonfly]

I've been on the fence with the rear only kit for two reasons;

1) I can air down and park in the garage
2) I can air down at camp and the Mrs can actually reach things in the back

Theres two reasons why I'm still unsure;

1) I forget the username, but someone on the forums has had a lot of issues getting them to ride right with load. They stated unloaded they rode and performed good, but add weight and the rear would pogo and get really bad off road.
2) A buddy of mine has the full 4 corner kit in his gladi, and he loses all air pressure after a few hours. He's had it in shops and tested everything they can, and Accuair had tried to help but wasn't offering much in support and basically said we dont know whats going on, good luck.

These aren't faults of air suspension, it's the Accuair kits.

I've read plenty about them being a good system as well, but use cases vary a lot and most folks I see talk about them aren't running as heavy as I will be.



Mercs, BMW, etc typically use air struts, so yes, bag fails and your suspension drops, but in the case of the Gladi a shock failing with an air springs is no different than if one fails with coil springs. You can still limp home on the spring, they are separate components. In fact, you'd probably be better off with air in this case, because you could increase pressure to compensate for the lost shock.

As far as other failures? If you break a coil spring on the trail you're just as screwed. You either find a new spring or jerry-rig it. Air suspension would be no different. Puncture a bag, you find a temporary spring or you jerry-rig it. But bags aren't as delicate as people seem to think. Compressor fails? Use a Morrflate or whatever you have to air up and close off the line. Lines develop a leak? You replace the line with a spare. Just like anything, components can break and you just find a way to make it work until you get off trail.

Air could also benefit with other things such as recovery and other maintenance. Dragging frame? Air up and you might get enough clearance to not need to be winched out. Need to fix something under the truck? Air up to gain more clearance and you might not need to use a jack on sketchy surfaces and risk the truck or jack slipping.

I get it, air suspension sounds scary because it's different and adds a level of uncertainty for folks who have never used it, but it's found in a lot of applications these days and used in some extreme environments. Used in on and off road racing, millions of miles worth of commercial trucking, heavy equipment and industrial...

It has been my personal experience that Accuair has excellent customer service and support...I find it hard to accept that a customer was told to figure it out on their own. Accuair has gone above and beyond for customer support. They answer the phone and have "real" technicians to help resolve any problems. They even sent a technician to my home to help with a leak and power ground issue that was from an improper install (no fault of the product).
I also wonder if the "pogo" issue was from 1) too heavy payload "overloaded" on Load range C tires, or 2) from the weak, non-adjustable included shocks. Like I said earlier, I went with the adjustable shocks for my application.

 

[Steve@AccuAir]

Well these are all valid points. While all suspension types have their Achilles heal, there are plenty of great features they all have as well. Airing down in tight quarters, retractable side steps, and other means of assistance are all good options.

In regards to our system specifically, if a bag was to fail it can be safely driven on 3 air springs to get you out to a safe place as our manifold isolates each bag. If an air line is damaged, we use 1/4" DOT air line that can be sourced in most areas, not some proprietary air line that is made of unobtanium.

There have been some issues with people modifying the kits based on their needs which have caused issues but in those cases we've attempted to work with them for a resolution, but sometimes it just doesn't work for some people.

That being said if you have any specific quesitions please feel free to give me a call! I'm in from 8-5 Monday through Friday at 833-247-3696 ext 312 and I'd be happy to help!

 

[Dragonfly]

I have been looking at the Accuair dynamic lift. My other Jeeps are all spring lifts. On my first gladiator I found myself using it as it was designed to be used. After a while I installed airbags to help with the ever changing loads. In looking at the Accuair system it appears it would work perfectly for the way mine is used.

My concerns are articulation, complex control system, and durability of the components.

We travel harsh trails with rock crawling if needed, drive on the beach, drive 20 miles to town and home with no load, sometimes carry up to 1200 lbs in the bed, tow trailers, and travel in the same rig.

It has to be road and trail friendly under different load conditions.

I’m just looking for a more universal lift than I had on my last JT. Thank y’all for the advice in advance.

Accuair is a MOPAR Affiliated Accessory partner...Something that no one has mentioned, and it is an important consideration! What does that mean...it will not void your warranty! In fact all warranty claims can be processed through the selling dealer. Not only is this lift kit backed by Accuair, AccuAir Suspension offers a Limited 3-Year Warranty on all AccuAir-branded control system products (including controllers, touchpads, height sensors, manifolds, tanks, and accessories), but also by MOPAR. You can even have it added as an optional accessory for your ride.
https://www.mopar.com/en-us/shop/affiliated-accessories.html

 

[Salty Dave]

After the positive feedback from Dragonfly and an extensive conversation with Mark at Accuair, my order will be placed in the morning.

Thanks to everyone for the information.

 

[Steve@AccuAir]

That's great! Thank you for your business!

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