Orange Airbags Inside Rear Coil Springs

[MuddyJeep810]

Hi all! I am the proud new owner of a new to me 2014 Ram 1500 Sport. Brought it home last night. While inspecting the vehicle I noticed it has what appear to be aftermarket suspension air bags inside the coil springs in the rear of the truck. I don't see a compressor or airlines running to either of the Airbags, but the passenger side is soft (no air pressure) and I can push it in easily with my hand. The drivers side feels firm and I can't push it in. The truck appears to be sitting level in the back.

Anybody happen to know what I am dealing with here? I've had a lot of modifications ony trucks over the years, but air bags is not one of them. I do pull a heavy trailer for work (approx 6000 lbs) so if they were actually beneficial to me that would be excellent. The truck does not have the factory air bag buttons on either the dash or on the key fob. I also found the original window sticker in the glove box and there was no mention of air bags, so I can only conclude that they are aftermarket. I'm just hoping to determine their purpose and whether they will help me or not.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[CalDad14]

Research "Timbrens".

That's what I believe they are.

Congrats on the "new to you" truck.

 

[cdn cj]

They look like possible airlift 1000’s.There will be an airline from the top that you can follow and find a schrader valve to add air. Sounds like yours may have separate lines for each. They can also be plumbed in with one valve.

 

[zrock]

yes their should be airlines run.. Look around the license plate for some valve stems or in the fuel door.

You don't look over a veh before buying it? trusting person you are...

 

[Wild one]

Hi all! I am the proud new owner of a new to me 2014 Ram 1500 Sport. Brought it home last night. While inspecting the vehicle I noticed it has what appear to be aftermarket suspension air bags inside the coil springs in the rear of the truck. I don't see a compressor or airlines running to either of the Airbags, but the passenger side is soft (no air pressure) and I can push it in easily with my hand. The drivers side feels firm and I can't push it in. The truck appears to be sitting level in the back.

Anybody happen to know what I am dealing with here? I've had a lot of modifications ony trucks over the years, but air bags is not one of them. I do pull a heavy trailer for work (approx 6000 lbs) so if they were actually beneficial to me that would be excellent. The truck does not have the factory air bag buttons on either the dash or on the key fob. I also found the original window sticker in the glove box and there was no mention of air bags, so I can only conclude that they are aftermarket. I'm just hoping to determine their purpose and whether they will help me or not.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Quite often if the trucks been lowered,guys will add the Air Lift bags for a Durango to help compensate for the suspension bottoming out when there's a load on the truck.Does the truck look like it's lowered on the back end.
As stated there'll be lines out of the top of the bags that should lead to either 1 or 2 schrader valves,mounted somewhere on the truck.
Besides the 2 spots Zrock posted above,another spot to look at is around the hitch area under the rear bumper

 

[indept]

If I recall correctly, they should be minimum 5 psi when truck is unloaded and max is 35 psi loaded. They don't lift an existing load. You must air them up before loading the bed. They " stiffen" the spring making it harder for the bed load to compress.

 

[MuddyJeep810]

Thanks so much for the reply guys! The dealer let me keep my wheels and tires so today when I was swapping them I actually did find air lines leading from the top of each of them to an air valve in the back of the box on each side. I inflated both to 22 psi and they both seem to be holding air! This is amazing because I tow my trailer a lot for work. On my 06 I installed helper springs because the trailer squatted the rear end so much. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm excited to tow my trailer tomorrow! Lol

Thanks again guys!

 

[MuddyJeep810]

 

[MuddyJeep810]

Well unfortunately the right air bag did deflate over night. I will have to get a bottle of soapy water to find the leak to see if it's repairable.

The good news is that with my weight distribution hitch the truck only squatted a half inch with both bags fully deflated, so I am more than happy with that.

I was reading up some on these systems and I saw that the standard method is to 'T' both bags to a single valve, this way you always have the same PSI in each bag. Is there a specific reason they would have skipped the 'T' and ran a valve on each side for each bag? It's obviously more work to do it with two valves, so I'm curious what the potential benefit could be, or the reason they might have done it this way.

 

[Wild one]

Well unfortunately the right air bag did deflate over night. I will have to get a bottle of soapy water to find the leak to see if it's repairable.

The good news is that with my weight distribution hitch the truck only squatted a half inch with both bags fully deflated, so I am more than happy with that.

I was reading up some on these systems and I saw that the standard method is to 'T' both bags to a single valve, this way you always have the same PSI in each bag. Is there a specific reason they would have skipped the 'T' and ran a valve on each side for each bag? It's obviously more work to do it with two valves, so I'm curious what the potential benefit could be, or the reason they might have done it this way.

When you use 1 fill point,when the truck leans over,it forces the air from the outside bag over to the inside bag,inflating it,and potentially causing the truck to lean even more.
My lines are run to 2 schrader valves using the licence plate bolts.

 

[Heatheroo]

I went with 2 valves on my Airlift 1000HDs as a "fail safe"..... If one bag/line develops a leak, you won't lose air to the other bag. I used the existing holes on my hitch.

 

[MuddyJeep810]

When you use 1 fill point,when the truck leans over,it forces the air from the outside bag over to the inside bag,inflating it,and potentially causing the truck to lean even more.
My lines are run to 2 schrader valves using the licence plate bolts.

Ahhh, makes perfect sense! Found something even crazier today as I was checking some things. Found a old Ford Vacuum powered air horn under the hood. Still trying to get it to work lol.

 

[Wild one]

Ahhh, makes perfect sense! Found something even crazier today as I was checking some things. Found a old Ford Vacuum powered air horn under the hood. Still trying to get it to work lol.

Good luck with the horn,lol

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

When you use 1 fill point,when the truck leans over,it forces the air from the outside bag over to the inside bag,inflating it,and potentially causing the truck to lean even more.
My lines are run to 2 schrader valves using the licence plate bolts.

Wow sexy license plate what a rack!!!

 

[rvance]

I have many miles on Airlift 1000s and I have had zero problems. I have always plumbed mine to a single valve. Why would you want one side of the truck higher than the other. The only reason is if you have an uneven load.

 

[Ranhood]

I may be too late to the party here but I have them in my '14 Big Horn and they're great! Two schrader valves are right next to my trailer receiver hitch. I fill with nitrogen to 30lbs. Tow a 23' boat and make a noticeable difference!

 

[LOFSFIRE]

I have many miles on Airlift 1000s and I have had zero problems. I have always plumbed mine to a single valve. Why would you want one side of the truck higher than the other. The only reason is if you have an uneven load.

Because as stated above you are at the mercy of one airline, which means one leak takes the whole system down. Another thing to consider is there is not a check valve between the two bags. It is possible to overload one side take a turn causing the air to shift with the load between the bags. Not worth the chance in my opinion for 5 more minutes to install a second air line.

With that said I have that same Airlift 1000’s, they work great. I do have each one with their own airline. Mine are ran to my fuel door. They are easy access and stay out of the weather. I do keep 5PSI in them at minimum. I think 30 is max PSI. When pulling the trailer 15-22 has worked fine.

You mentioned weight distribution hitch, remember the airbags are just helpers. Your weight distribution hitch should still be doing most of the work for you load. Or you will overload your rear axle. If your unsure get weighed at a scale sometime.

 

[EagleChief]

I had the Airlift 1000's and ended up blowing out a bag. DOH! I upgraded to the HD version and haven't had any issues so far. They have been worth the money as far as pulling a trailer, or adding anything heavy in the bed of the truck.

I usually keep mine between 5-7psi when unloaded and about 30psi when I need them.

 

[markabby]

Ahhh, makes perfect sense! Found something even crazier today as I was checking some things. Found a old Ford Vacuum powered air horn under the hood. Still trying to get it to work lol.

could the air horn air pump be used to inflate the shock ones? just thinking out loud here...lol...that is if the air horns don't work.

 

[62Blazer]

I have bags on mine and prefer having the two completely separate in regards to the air lines. My concern is if you have them connected by a T with one shrader is the transfer of air between them. For example if you are taking a left hand turn the right side compresses and would force air into the opposite bag, thus exaggerating the issue. However I don't see any statements or warnings on any Airlifter documentation that say you should not do that. Plus my kit came with a T fitting and not sure what else it would be meant for. You would think if plumbing them together was a huge safety issue there would be all types of warnings on the site. But as stated I just ran two separate lines. I've always inflated both sides to the same PSI, but if the load was off center you could inflate one side more than the other to make up for it. Airlifter does make a statement you can do that. For installation it really doesn't take any longer for two separate lines versus T-ing them together, and the same for adjusting the pressure. With my shop air compressor it only takes about 15 seconds to fill a bag up to 60+ psi.