Ordered Airlift 1000HD's

[Damion]

Should be here monday or so. Ive read great things about the regular 1000 bags so the HD should be a little better. I also like that the hose barb on the bags is threaded ( I know another possible leak source ) which should make putting the hose on the bag a bit easier.

Im thinking id like to find a way to get the schrader valve in the cab under the back seat. It'll be more convenient to get at, out of the weather and theres a 12v plug on the back of the console for a small compressor. Im going to use the T fitting and fill both bags at once. I usually only tow my utility trailer and having the ramboxes, I can't really get the load in the bed too one sided anyway.

Anyone know of a body plug under the rear seat area I can bring the air line through?

Ill try to snap a few pics once their installed if I can remember.

 

[bryce88]

I've been thinking about picking up these bags too. I've never seen someone put the valve in the cabin though, I'd be interested in seeing how you end up doing it. The best place I've seen (for me) is to put the Schrader valve is in with the gas cap.

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[Damion]

I've been thinking about picking up these bags too. I've never seen someone put the valve in the cabin though, I'd be interested in seeing how you end up doing it. The best place I've seen (for me) is to put the Schrader valve is in with the gas cap.

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I like being different with weird things like that. Just having the valve inside will keep it out of the elements while being easily accessible. If putting it in the cab is too much of a task my next option would be inside one of my ramboxes, but having it there wouldn’t be as close to a 12v outlet as in the cab unless I also install a 12v plug in the rambox as well.

We will see what I come up with

 

[b-rock]

Just ordered the exact same bags this morning. They should be here Wednesday. Haven't made any decisions on the Schrader valve location either, but don't it will be an exotic location like yours. Likely near the rear license plate.

Interested to see what you end up doing though.

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[bryce88]

I like being different with weird things like that. Just having the valve inside will keep it out of the elements while being easily accessible. If putting it in the cab is too much of a task my next option would be inside one of my ramboxes, but having it there wouldn’t be as close to a 12v outlet as in the cab unless I also install a 12v plug in the rambox as well.

We will see what I come up with

Having a 12v plug and the Schrader valve in the rambox together would be pretty slick. Then you just keep your little compressor in there as well. No weather issues either.

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[crash68]

I use one of these for my TLC airbags:
Fineed Portable Air Compressor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019FIERRO/
No 12V outlet needed and you can use the inflater tube to let all the air out before trying to unhitch the trailer.

 

[Damion]

Well the bags didn’t show today, not that it matters much it’ll be the weekend before I can do the install anyway.

I did however crawl under my truck tonight and found where I’m going to run the air lines into the rear of the cab. There’s a plastic body plug about 5” ahead and 6” to the center of both rearmost back seat bolts. They can’t be seen from inside because they are under the thin black carpet that is under the seat and also under the factory sound deadening.

There’s access holes from under neath to get to the plugs. So looks like I’ll be running each line forward to their respective sides, through the plastic body plugs then make the T connection behind the back seat and run the schrader valve to the front or side of the outermost seat bracket, held by a bracket that I’ll have to fab up.

Will update again once the bags show up and I can really see what I’ve got to work with.

 

[406shark]

If I can make a suggestion?

I just installed these same bags about a week and a half ago... I just pulled the springs out and installed the bags. It probably took me less time to do it that way instead of trying to shove the folded bags between the coils. YMMV





Jeff

 

[Damion]

If I can make a suggestion?

I just installed these same bags about a week and a half ago... I just pulled the springs out and installed the bags. It probably took me less time to do it that way instead of trying to shove the folded bags between the coils. YMMV





Jeff

I’ve thought about which route I’m going to take in regards to installing the bags themselves. I’ll see what it looks like when I get there and how much trouble I have rolling the bags up how I want to get them.

On a side note I picked up the kit today. Probably will put them in this weekend weather permitting.

 

[b-rock]

Got my bags last night and due to bad weather Friday and Saturday, my weekend just got freed up. I may be doing my install Saturday or Sunday. Think I am gonna try to zip tie the bags and insert them that way. Looks pretty simple that way.

2017 Lonestar CC Brilliant Black Pearl

 

[Damion]

Well got the bags installed tonight. Thanks to being plastered with undercoating I wore half of it.

The bags went in fine, the drivers spring I was able to feed it between the coils and up but the passenger side spring had a tighter wind and I couldn’t for the life of me get the bag to even start. So unhook shock and swaybar on that side and pull the spring. I’m assuming the two sides have different spring rates due to the gas tank.

Running the lines went as planned, got the lines run into the cab into the t fitting and out to a single schrader valve which I made a mount for and resides next to the passenger seat bracket.

I got finished too late to take any pictures of the setup but I’ll try to snap a few tomorrow and see if I can’t figure out how to post em up.

I’ve currently got 33lbs of air in them doing the initial leak down test. According to the book a 2-5 lb loss on initial airup is normal. I’ll re check in the morning before I leave the house and then again when I get to work ( about 10kms drive ). See how the pressure holds.

 

[b-rock]

Well got the bags installed tonight. Thanks to being plastered with undercoating I wore half of it.

The bags went in fine, the drivers spring I was able to feed it between the coils and up but the passenger side spring had a tighter wind and I couldn’t for the life of me get the bag to even start. So unhook shock and swaybar on that side and pull the spring. I’m assuming the two sides have different spring rates due to the gas tank.

Running the lines went as planned, got the lines run into the cab into the t fitting and out to a single schrader valve which I made a mount for and resides next to the passenger seat bracket.

I got finished too late to take any pictures of the setup but I’ll try to snap a few tomorrow and see if I can’t figure out how to post em up.

I’ve currently got 33lbs of air in them doing the initial leak down test. According to the book a 2-5 lb loss on initial airup is normal. I’ll re check in the morning before I leave the house and then again when I get to work ( about 10kms drive ). See how the pressure holds.

Congrats on getting the job done like you wanted.

When feeding the through the coil, did you have it zip tied or just 'hot dog bun rolled'?

2017 Lonestar CC Brilliant Black Pearl

 

[Damion]

The Hd bags are too thick to hotdog roll. I tried and had them tied with a 3/8 wide ziptie. They broke the zip ties. So I just kept feeding them into the coils guiding it in as I went. The passenger side I had to take the coil out to get the bag in

 

[TigreST]

Just had a very dated thought on the idea of "air assist" systems in a general sense. I'll date myself here for sure. Remember back in the day when "air shocks" were sort of an easy bolt on mod to get your wider tires to clear the fender wells on your Camaro, Duster, Mustang..etc? The basic install, in a air line sense, was to tee the air supply lines to the shocks together and have a single Schrader valve as the fill point, as the Airlift bag install suggests. At some point someone (Hot Rod magazine?) pointed out that this was not the ideal install because as your machine leaned outboard during cornering, and the weight of the body transferred to the outside of the turn, the outboard shock would/might in effect pump it's air into the inside shock thus raising the inside of the car causing even more outboard body lean angle. The cure was to install two separate air lines to keep the shocks air supplies independent of one another, ergo no more "pumping action". I never needed to run airshocks on my 72 big block Chevelle SS, but this thinking has always been intrenched in my mind over the years.

As a sort of plan for a 2" inch drop in the rear of my "18" Sport 4x4 the idea of Airlift bags (to assist with possible high load adjustments) brings these old thoughts back to the surface. If and when it happens I will most likely run either..a)two separate supply lines and a Schrader valve for each, or b) a single supply Schrader valve which Tee's into the two lines, with one of the lines having a isolation valve that I could close to segregate the airbags from each other. I like the b) best...then both bags run at the same pressure during the fill/adjustment cycle.

This may be over kill thinking perhaps, but it might also allow the sway bar to work better as it will not have to "possibly" try to counter act the tendency of the outside (of the corner) bag pumping it's air to the inside (of the corner) bag,

What say the unwashed masses?


T.

 

[Damion]

I used to run air shocks on my blazer I had. Did the job.

If you can find a ball valve to fit the airline it would be a great idea. I’d likely do it to mine as well but the airline airlift uses is a weird size at 1/4 od. May be hard to find hardware that size

 

[bryce88]

Just had a very dated thought on the idea of "air assist" systems in a general sense. I'll date myself here for sure. Remember back in the day when "air shocks" were sort of an easy bolt on mod to get your wider tires to clear the fender wells on your Camaro, Duster, Mustang..etc? The basic install, in a air line sense, was to tee the air supply lines to the shocks together and have a single Schrader valve as the fill point, as the Airlift bag install suggests. At some point someone (Hot Rod magazine?) pointed out that this was not the ideal install because as your machine leaned outboard during cornering, and the weight of the body transferred to the outside of the turn, the outboard shock would/might in effect pump it's air into the inside shock thus raising the inside of the car causing even more outboard body lean angle. The cure was to install two separate air lines to keep the shocks air supplies independent of one another, ergo no more "pumping action". I never needed to run airshocks on my 72 big block Chevelle SS, but this thinking has always been intrenched in my mind over the years.

As a sort of plan for a 2" inch drop in the rear of my "18" Sport 4x4 the idea of Airlift bags (to assist with possible high load adjustments) brings these old thoughts back to the surface. If and when it happens I will most likely run either..a)two separate supply lines and a Schrader valve for each, or b) a single supply Schrader valve which Tee's into the two lines, with one of the lines having a isolation valve that I could close to segregate the airbags from each other. I like the b) best...then both bags run at the same pressure during the fill/adjustment cycle.

This may be over kill thinking perhaps, but it might also allow the sway bar to work better as it will not have to "possibly" try to counter act the tendency of the outside (of the corner) bag pumping it's air to the inside (of the corner) bag,

What say the unwashed masses?


T.

I think the effect you're describing might be drastically lessened in this type of "in coil" air bag. Here's my thinking: these bags only serve to stiffen the coil springs you already have by wedging themselves between the coils, meaning that any body roll you'd have when cornering would actually be lessened by having the bags in place and inflated, thereby preventing the coil springs from compressing as much as they would without the bags. I see what you're saying about the bag on the inside of the corner being inflated by the bag on the outside of the corner, but because the the bag is effectively stiffening the coil spring it seems that the effect would be lesser than it would in an application where you're replacing springs with airbags. That, in combination with the purpose of these bags being towing/hauling meaning that you're probably not (or shouldn't be) taking hard corners while towing or hauling, like you would in a track car. So, for me the safety of having a single Schrader valve outweighs any potential benefits you're describing. By safety I'm referring to the idea that if one bag fails they both deflate and the truck stays level.

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[TigreST]

I used to run air shocks on my blazer I had. Did the job.

If you can find a ball valve to fit the airline it would be a great idea. I’d likely do it to mine as well but the airline airlift uses is a weird size at 1/4 od. May be hard to find hardware that size

The simple fix would be "plan a) run two separate lines and Schrader valves" then I guess.

I have access to industrial air line instrumentation tubing bits and pieces at work (oil refinery) which might be brought into play here. It might only required a "duel fill manifold" unit, something that is only in place during the fill cycle, to get equal/balanced bag pressures. Heck..even a simiply female Schrader to female Schrader connector line would allow for separate lines, once the bags are filled, to be connected to balance the bag pressure to each other.

Ha,...maybe I'm over thinking this. To separate lines and a good pressure gauge should work and be done with it.

T.

 

[TigreST]

I think the effect you're describing might be drastically lessened in this type of "in coil" air bag. Here's my thinking: these bags only serve to stiffen the coil springs you already have by wedging themselves between the coils, meaning that any body roll you'd have when cornering would actually be lessened by having the bags in place and inflated, thereby preventing the coil springs from compressing as much as they would without the bags. I see what you're saying about the bag on the inside of the corner being inflated by the bag on the outside of the corner, but because the the bag is effectively stiffening the coil spring it seems that the effect would be lesser than it would in an application where you're replacing springs with airbags. That, in combination with the purpose of these bags being towing/hauling meaning that you're probably not (or shouldn't be) taking hard corners while towing or hauling, like you would in a track car. So, for me the safety of having a single Schrader valve outweighs any potential benefits you're describing. By safety I'm referring to the idea that if one bag fails they both deflate and the truck stays level.

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Very well put! As I stated,..I'm thinking to much. But...with separate lines,..at least you'd know which bag failed!

T.

 

[406shark]

Well got the bags installed tonight. Thanks to being plastered with undercoating I wore half of it.

The bags went in fine, the drivers spring I was able to feed it between the coils and up but the passenger side spring had a tighter wind and I couldn’t for the life of me get the bag to even start. So unhook shock and swaybar on that side and pull the spring. I’m assuming the two sides have different spring rates due to the gas tank.

Running the lines went as planned, got the lines run into the cab into the t fitting and out to a single schrader valve which I made a mount for and resides next to the passenger seat bracket.

I got finished too late to take any pictures of the setup but I’ll try to snap a few tomorrow and see if I can’t figure out how to post em up.

I’ve currently got 33lbs of air in them doing the initial leak down test. According to the book a 2-5 lb loss on initial airup is normal. I’ll re check in the morning before I leave the house and then again when I get to work ( about 10kms drive ). See how the pressure holds.

Congratulations!

My drivers side coil spring had more tension than the passenger side did. I had to pry one the drivers coil, where the passenger side I was able to just yank it out. I attributed it to the fuel tank weight difference.


Mine doesn't drop even 1 pound. Love them so far, but I haven't been able to tow with them yet. I do like how they work when hauling an extra 500-600 pounds in the bed so far.




Jeff

 

[Damion]

I haven't used them to carry any load yet but I can tell the difference when they have 33lbs of air in them, rides like a 3/4 ton truck.

Got a chance to snap a couple pics, see if this works.....

This Shows how I mounted the Schrader valve in the cab next to the back seat, I had the little plastic enclosure left over from a previous project. Works great for this application.


This is where the air line comes into the cab under the back seat. The object in the foreground is the back edge of the fold flat floor.


This is where the line comes into the cab from below. Thats the rearmost body mount at the bottom of the pic. Both sides are mirrored of each other. The T fitting is behind the drivers side rear seat.

I also covered all the lines outside of the cab with wire loom to prevent any chafing or cutting etc a bit.