Air bags on f53 chasis

[Edward_75]

I finaly finished install of air bags, Kelderman on front and Firestone on rear of f53. Went for a spin but was not up to what I was hoping for. It did help the ride some but not enough to justife the cost in my opion. I will keep playing with the pressure to see if it can inprove the ride. Happy camping to all.

[Edward_75]

Thanks to all who responed and happy and safe travels.

[MustangGT]

spend a little more and get the polyurethane type. Replace the fronts too while you're at it. my rears were obviously trashed, the fronts were OK, but dry. that's a quick and cheap improvement.

[John_Joey]

Edward 75 wrote:
...I did notice that I need bushings on rear sway bar which I will replace soon...

You'll get a bigger bang for your buck there. With good bushings and the airbags you shouldn't get pushed around much from passing semi's.

[koda55]

Deleted double post

[koda55]

After playing with the pressure in my air bags on our 2004 f53 22.000lb
chassis I found for me the best ride was at 65 in the rear and 25 in the front. Had Bilstein shocks front and rear.

[MustangGT]

Maybe this will give you a little idea of pressures:
I have a 34', 17K pound F53 gasser with kitchen and gen on curb side. I have OE sway bars front and rear, firestone bags all 4 corners and a home-made trac-bar in rear. The installers labelled my bags at 60# drivers side, 70# front curb side and 95# rear curb (gens location). I think they simply placed the RV on a level surface and eye-balled it.
I'd like to soften the ride in rear with another pair of bags so they'd run at half current pressure. The right rear bag is almost max'ed and rock hard.

[rgatijnet1]

I have front and rear air bags on my Workhorse chassis and what works the best is to adjust the pressures for the conditions. High winds on a SMOOTH road, means much higher pressure, like 80 psi or more. This eliminates tail wag and side sway and makes it a lot easier to drive in high winds. Smooth road no winds is at 30 psi or so. Rough roads no wind 50 psi to help absorb the jolts.
My air bags help absorb the impact of large bumps since the resistance increases as the axle deflects. When I want a smoother ride on a smooth road with no wind, I go with 30 psi front and rear. This is enough to help minimize sway and also enough to help absorb road joints. I do have the Koni FSD shocks which are not gas charged so they are not fighting the air bag pressure.
I realize that mine is not the Ford chassis but some things may be similar as far as air bags go.

[cybrfalcon]

Can't help you with pressure on the front since you swapped in the Kelderman but I ran my rear bags at 55# for my last trip and it helped a lot. I am still trying to dial in the pressure that gives the best results for me. Note that I have a 22K chassis.

[Edward_75]

Cybrfalcon, yes I changed springs and also Changed shocks fron Konai to Monroes. Thanks for reply.

[Edward_75]

I have anti sway front and rear, also steer safe on front. I did notice that I need bushings on rear sway bar which I will replace soon. WyoTravler, thanks for reply.

[cybrfalcon]

Did you also swap out the front leaf spring when you added the Kelderman air bag?

[WyoTraveler]

Edward 75 wrote:
I finaly finished install of air bags, Kelderman on front and Firestone on rear of f53. Went for a spin but was not up to what I was hoping for. It did help the ride some but not enough to justife the cost in my opion. I will keep playing with the pressure to see if it can inprove the ride. Happy camping to all.

What else do you have installed. Anti sway, rear trak bar or steering control?