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BlairW's avatar
BlairW
Explorer
Aug 02, 2014

Class C airbag rear suspension help

I got a Firestone Ride Rite kit for the C, got the airbags installed ( what a pain ) and the kit also came with the onboard compressor etc. Having a hard time figuring out where to mount the compressor and related wiring/solenoids/etc. There is NO room under the hood of these things ( 05 E-350 ) which seems like the logical place to mount this stuff. Anyone else have the same or similar system?
  • I think so. But try this just to be sure.

    Start with empty air bags and the dinette seat cover in place.

    Fill the air bags.

    Pull seat cover and -carefully- determine if compressor has heated the air in the compartment. Is the compressor warm?

    Overheating risk involved if system develops a serious leak while driving. I "sure" would like an unobtrusive LED alert on the dash telling me whether or not the compressor is running. Once pumped up this system should require very little makeup air.

    I NEVER connect direct to the battery so the compressor chooses when it wants to run. A relay is ignition triggered. This allows unwanted airbag overnight pressure bleed down to be known upon starting the vehicle.
  • Yes it has a digital display for air pressure. My problem is none of the compartments on this thing have any room to mount this. May just put it under a seat in the dinette and run the hoses etc through the floor.
  • Helped a friend do exactly the same thing as the tip just above. Read the amperage of the motor, calculate feeder wire distance then size wire AWG accordingly. Dual wire gray sheath trailer brake wire works great for this.

    Do the newer Firestone compressor airbag kits have a pressure gauge?
  • We have a C or a pregnant B+, whatever you want to call it mounted on a Ford E450 chassis with the Firestone Airbags and on-board compressor. fortunately I didn't have to mount the stuff but perhaps the following will help.

    The compressor, solenoids etc. are all mounted on a separate board and the board was then mounted in the rear compartment which houses the black and gray dump valves. this keeps it out of the way and out of the weather. Air lines were run from there to the two airbags and also up to the dashboard to supply the pressure gauge and controls.

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