Air bag recommendations

[james quinn]

Looking to put airbags on my 2013 f150 and know next to nothing about them. Any product recommendations or stay aways would be appreciated. Ideally the install would involve setting the parts on the ground next to the truck and waving a magic beer ..er, wand...and it would be done

[Glazier]

I had Firestone on my last truck, and now have Air Lift on my current truck. Pick your poison, they all work. The installation is pretty basic on both sets I mentioned. I do have an onboard compressor with the bags on my truck now, wireless remote.


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[Cate&Rob]

Hi Jim,

I also went with the Airlift bags and onboard compressor (which I installed myself)
The Airlift bags go directly under the frame (replacing the jounce bumpers) so this looked (to me) to be stronger than the Firestone system that bolts to the side of the frame . . . although the Firestone system is probably easier to install.
For F150, the airbag kit with internal jounce bumpers is PN 88200. The Wireless One compressor kit is PN 25870.

The installation was a full day of crawling around under the truck . . . so not quite as simple as what you are looking for .
I had to trim the left side Airlift attachment bracket to the axle because it would not quite fit as intended.
The wiring harness for the compressor was poor quality with the main relay not functional from new. So, I had to rebuild that before installation.
Two of the air line fittings had small leaks . . . but these parts are easily available.
The installation instructions are great, with actual pictures of the exact vehicle being worked on.

System has been working flawlessly for about a year now.

Rob

[james quinn]

Hi Jim,

I also went with the Airlift bags and onboard compressor (which I installed myself)
The Airlift bags go directly under the frame (replacing the jounce bumpers) so this looked (to me) to be stronger than the Firestone system that bolts to the side of the frame . . . although the Firestone system is probably easier to install.
For F150, the airbag kit with internal jounce bumpers is PN 88200. The Wireless One compressor kit is PN 25870.

The installation was a full day of crawling around under the truck . . . so not quite as simple as what you are looking for .
I had to trim the left side Airlift attachment bracket to the axle because it would not quite fit as intended.
The wiring harness for the compressor was poor quality with the main relay not functional from new. So, I had to rebuild that before installation.
Two of the air line fittings had small leaks . . . but these parts are easily available.
The installation instructions are great, with actual pictures of the exact vehicle being worked on.

System has been working flawlessly for about a year now.

Rob

Rob,

With all the fixes u had to do with your "new" system it should be called the Roblift !

[steve gravelle]

We have used an Air Lift system, the heavier bags with internal bump stops, and hard-wired onboard compressor with gauge unit in the left corner of the dash which also has buttons to increase or decrease pressure, run about 50 psi towing, 10 psi unloaded. No leaks, no issues, bags made by Goodyear. Highly recommend!

[JCR GD]

I have Air-lift w/ on board compressor and gauge in cab w/ remote. Installed myself (pretty much a full day as mentioned above.) No issues, works great.

FYI - Last truck I started with the manual inflation w/ air hose. Soon realized there are times when I wanted to increase or decrease pressure on the fly. (especially finding initial setup sweet spot for ride quality)

[HODRLODR]

I have Firestone Bags, had them on Two trucks no problems. I agree with JCR GD on board compressor is a must

[DKRITTER]

Firestone or Airlift are the 2 leading companies. I have had them on my last 3 trucks and love them. I would strongly recommend the compressor as it allows you to adjust at the flick of a button.

I installed mine by myself and it's not real technical but it does require several hours of grunting and growning underneath the truck.

Last truck I just paid a guy to do it, oh so much simpler and I'm supporting the economy.

[TxSkull]

I use Hellwig.

[IDwanderers]

As Glazier stated, they all work. I have Hellwig bags and I am very pleased. I almost bought the complete Hellwig system that includes the compressor and tank. I discovered that I could purchase the components separately much cheaper. I got a VIAIR compressor and tank and plumbed it independently. This allows me the ability to air up other things as well as the airbags. I admit it is not as easy as "a touch of a button" for the air bags but having an airhose with 100 psi pressure for filling other things is fantastic.

As stated above, installation is a lot of work. Nothing really difficult, just takes time.