In-Coil Airbags

Question

I apologize in advance for the long-winded question...

Looking for feedback from anyone that has run the in-coil style supplemental airbags, such as the Load Lifter 1000 series from Air Lift. I recently installed a set on the rear of my 2019 Ram 1500 pickup, and I'm not getting any actual leveling capacity out of them? The truck sags just as much with the bags as it did without them? They are supposedly rated at 2,100lbs of capacity at 50psi, so I would certainly expect them to handle the ~650lbs of tongue weight from my trailer, but they just don't seem to do anything in the way of leveling at all?

With all of that said, I was reading some information on the Air Lift website about how these types of air bags actually function, and it sounds as if they are intended to balloon out between the coil windings and physically prevent the spring from compressing. This leads me to believe that the bags need to be inflated PRIOR to loading? I'm not seeing that written anywhere, and in fact the user manual states "...when increasing load, adjust air pressure to maintain normal ride height..."

So here is the question: for those of you running this type of airbag, are you filling them up before loading?

grit_dog · Answer

You're correct on how they work.  Does not make sense that this did not work.  Are you certain the bags are large enough diameter?

brant_c · Answer

Try inflating the air bags without load.  You should feel or see the truck raise when inflating.  If that does not work then check for leaks.

carringb · Answer

They work for me. I have them them in the front coils, and the van goes up and down when they are inflated with a load. I generally fill them up after loading, but sometimes I leave them inflated between loads and it doesn't make a difference that I can tell. Beware that adding the load after initial inflation will make psi go up. So don't start at 50 psi. Maybe start at 25 psi, add the hitch weight, then check the current pressure.

twzmyjp · Answer

Thanks for the feedback so far. I have tested them several times and they inflate and hold 50psi just fine, no leaks. They are snug in the coils, so I'm relatively confident the diameter is correct. With that said, there is about 3/8" of vertical free play in them with the truck unloaded at ride height?

Several rounds of testing with various weights, and empty, have confirmed there is never any gain in height when adding air pressure. To that point, as I mentioned before, the truck will sag about 1/2" with 140lbs of water softener salt in the bed with the bags at 50spi??

carringb · Answer

There should be no vertical free-play unloaded/deflated. The include some plastic "pucks" to take up the space. With too much slack, they'll build pressure without support weight. They need to be compressed when deflated to really work imo.

FWIW - I can lift my front end about 1.5" with them. My unloaded front axle weight is 3,500 pound and 5,000 pounds with a full load, so that's probably even more than your rear axle.

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In-Coil Airbags

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