Firestone Ride Rite Air Spring

[jd4010]

I have a 2004 F350 Dually w/B&W Turnover Hitch Installed and am considering the purchase of some air springs. Our 16k lb. 5er raises the front of the truck enough that I'm constantly getting high beam flashes from oncoming traffic plus I'd like to put more weight on the front wheels for safety/control of the vehicle

Got an ad today from an RV dealer that I've bought some items from and the Firestone Ride Rite 2330 is on sale for $236.00. I'm looking for a no drill application.

Has any installed one of these with a B&W hitch installed as well? Any thoughts/feedback?

[Evil Eye]

Get the bags. I have them and they TOTALLY change the way the truck drives and handles while towing. FWIW, I have a 5th wheel hitch and needed to change the frame rail brackets in order to mount the air bags. Mine was no drill (except for the nozzles) and came out great!

[jd4010]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

Get the bags. I have them and they TOTALLY change the way the truck drives and handles while towing. FWIW, I have a 5th wheel hitch and needed to change the frame rail brackets in order to mount the air bags. Mine was no drill (except for the nozzles) and came out great!

Did you purchase a compressor kit too? And if so, is it worth the additional coins?

[Heathrm]

I have the same bags installed in my truck and have had no problems with the setup. I didn't think the compressor was needed. As long as you connect everything properly and check the pressures as needed you should be ok. The real question is do you want the compressor? I am sure it would be a nice feature, but not something I needed for my application.

[Evil Eye]

I didn't get the compressor and wish that I had. Not because I need it, but because of the convenience factor. Oh and here are a couple of pics of the bags installed.

[smokersteve]

I have the Firestone Ride Right air bags. I love them. I have a 10k 5th wheel and the stability of my f-350 is much better. My system has the electric pump near the fuel pump and toggle switch with gauge in the cab.
I have an under mount for the 5th wheel hitch and there is still plenty of room for the airbags.


I modified the clamps because it pushed the bags too close together, preventing them to have proper volume to hold the weight. I was running at 50-60psi to hold stock height. So I cut the mounts in half so that the airbags space out more to hold enough air volume so that they can hold up the weight. Now I am at 30-40 at stock height.

I did this so that I do not have to use such high pressure.

That is my only complaint, but I fixed it and I still love them

[jd4010]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

I didn't get the compressor and wish that I had. Not because I need it, but because of the convenience factor. Oh and here are a couple of pics of the bags installed.

Thank you for the pics! I'm curious how these will mount for me since I have the B&W hitch installed. The plates for the hitch system run right where the air springs on the frame rail.

I'm thinking that I'lll probably go with the standard compressor too with the guages. It'll be a convienance item for sure.

Thank you all again for the info/thoughts.

[Evil Eye]

Yeah, I had to get different 5th wheel hitch brackets since the 5th wheel hitch was already installed and it went down the frame rail like you describe. Talk to the folks who you are ordering your bags from and see what they can do for you.

[StarDriver]

Originally Posted by jd4010

Did you purchase a compressor kit too? And if so, is it worth the additional coins?

Absolutely worth it, I wouldn't have air bags without it. You can adjust the pressures going down the road, if you need to get out of a tight spot and also helps in hooking and unhooking.

[S&W 460 XVR]

I have them on my 06, the kit I got was made to fit with the B&W hitch. The bags go on where the yellow suspension stops are in the pictures. I got the compressor kit with in cab controls. Adusting the height at night to satisfy oncoming traffic is why I got them.