I am going to look at a bagged chevy truck for my daily driver. Yes it has AC. I have never had a bagged vehicle (but always wanted one) so clue me in on what I should look for, stay away from and ask please...
neatly wired, plumbed. Check for any scuffs on the bagsor airlines, this will be due to rubbing or a ****py instal. Cycle the whole truck, listen for suspension binding, leaks any thing that doesnt sound right, if it has electronic solenoid dump/fill valves make sure they dont stick open/closed so if you flip a switch in short bursts the valves should respond just as quickly. Any well installed set-up should have 1 compressor for every 3 gallons of storage, if it has any less than this there is a good chance that the pumps have been overworked, this is really important especially on a daily driver, Ive got 2 giant compressors on my toyota and only 6 gallons of air and it works perfectly. check for excessive s****e/drag marks, they can destroy a ch***is. ummmmm......... shocks??? are the 4 corners uf the truck valved separately?? ex front back and side to side?? With just front to back the air will flow from bag to bag and you will get stupid amounts of body roll, if ive missed anything please fill in the blanks...
All good advice, but I think this is more personal preference than an absolute: I've seen many single compressor systems that work fine. Bryan
thats a pretty damn good cover of it rite there..check to make sure its dot airline, see what brand of valves, bags, compressors hes running. check the tire wear on the front tires, yes they will wear a little faster due to the camber and possible caster changes the truck sees through the suspensions articulation but if the rite components were used the wear won't be nearly as bad. also check to see what fittings he used, home depot fittings will leak...finally does it have dropped spindles? control arms? and how is the rear done, 4 link? 2 link?
thanks for the input...how do I tell the cheap fittings from the good ones? It already sounds a bit sketchy as the guy who has it now took it in on trade for a lifted golf cart...anyway I know its a four link but I dont know if the spindles are lowered. Find out more in the morning. The current owner did say he loses some air on the front (so I am thinking front and rear) over night but just a little. How big a deal is it to put valves at each corner since its already been plumbed?
I wouldn't stress about sticky valves or even just the one compressor deal.... that **** is EASY and fairly cheap to replace/add on... the most important things are how all the new suspension brackets/mounts are welded and placed. Much tougher to fix that ****. actually watch the movement in everything as he raises and lowers it a few times to see if anything might be binding or rubbing or even flexing, you don't want something where the bag mounts are visibly moving from the stress. Another hint... really think about if it's already as low as you'll ever want to go with it. The time and effort to drop it another 3 inches or whatever might very well be simpler to do from a stock truck depending on how everything is set up already. All that said, I bought my F150 already bagged, and while I would have done things a lot different now that I know what's good/bad, you can't beat the value of a used bagged vehicle. DON'T overpay for it, the market is extremely limited on a seller's side and you can buy them really freakin cheap.... check out www.mautofied.com and compare what your looking at to some of those rides... there's some good deals to be had fo sho... ***uming your talking about newer vehicles....
oh, forgot another thing.... don't do this in traffic, but raise and lower the front while moving to see if the steering geometry is off or not... you don't want something that pulls drastically to one side when you bump the front up or down a little. it's something that could be fixed depending on what they changed, but it sux to deal with on a daily basis and wears tires pretty bad too....
This is awesome...thanks jmn444. Priceless info. I should of clarified that my daily driver means it gets used on the weekends as I travel by plane weekly. You all have given me a great deal of info to look for. thanks again.
EROCK, HERES WHAT TO LOOK FOR ....... ANOTHER TRUCK ! NOT TRYIN TO BE AN ***HOLE, BUT ALL IN ALL, ANY AIR RIDE SYSTEM I HAVE EVER SEEN FOR SALE IS A MESS... THATS WHY ITS FOR SALE. JUST MY OPINION, BUT ID LOOK FOR A NICE 'OL TRUCK THAT HASENT BEEN HACKED ON & JUST DO A LOWERING JOB ON IT, YA KNOW..... DROPPED SPINDLE & SPRINGS, SHOCKS, ANY REBUILD THE FRONT SUSPENSION NEEDS.... JUST BUILD A NICE TRUCK. BUT THEN, I HATE AIR RIDE CARS .... ILL TELL YA WHAT THOUGH ... IF THE AIR RIDE SYSTEM BLOWS A LINE OR BAG & 70mph AND YER KID IS IN THE CAR WITH YA .... YOULL FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT AIR RIDE AS I DO !!
if it's set up right it won't be a safety hazard if a line or bag blows at 70mph. if it's set up to drag, that's a different story. I a believer that it should roll freely with no air in the system, and at least turn enough to pull off the road. you can be pretty fukin low and still fit that bill. I can't put my hand under my frame, but it drives layed out pretty damn good except for 90 degree turns...
A SEMI TRUCK IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY....... THEY DONT USE THE AIR SYSTEM TO ADJUST THE RIDE HIGHT THE WAY GUYS WITH AN AIR RIDE SYSTEM ON THERE CARS DO. TRUCK USE AIR RIDE TO ADJUST SUSPENSION DEPENDING ON THERE LOAD. EVER NOTICE THE GIANT LEAF SPRINGS THAT SEMI'S HAVE ALSO ?? EVER NOTICE THE "LACK" OF SPRINGS YOU BAGGERS HAVE ON YER RIDES ?? IT IS STUPID TO TRY AND JUSTIFY AN AIR ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION ON SOME BAGGED CUSTOM CAR ....... TO THE AIR RIDE SYSTEM ON A SEMI !! MOST AIR SYSTEMS ON YOUR BAGGED CARS ARE POORLY INSTALLED ON SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER INTENDED FOR BAGS AND HAS A LACK OF SAFETY EQUIPMENT IN CASE OF A BLOW OUT OR FAILED BAG. IF A SEMI BLOWS A BAG,, THE ****ER DONT DROP ON THE GROUND, THEY HAVE AIR LOCKS THAT WONT EFFECT ALL THE OTHER BAGS..... SEMIS WERE DESIGNED FOR THIS.. NO COMPARISON.
DE SOTO, Ur prolly right, but I am still young and dumb enough to look at it. I was thinkin that this thing is changing hands cause there is something wrong with it... Does blowin baggs actually happen? I heard that this is a real rarity...usually u lose a valve or fitting. You only live once and I have always wanted a bagged truck. I dont think you can get the ride and still get it as low as they sit... We will see...thanks again to all.
A Bag Fail Isnt Real Likely, But It Can Happen...... Mostly What Will Happen Is Upon Installation They Dont Leave Room For Movement Or Flex & The Bag Will Get Damaged By A Fix Parts Of The Suspension. My Buddy John Lost 2 On The Rear Of His '56 Lincoln, Had It Redone And It Ripped The Brackets Right Offf The Frame.... There Was A Post On Th H.a.m.b. About That One. I Also Saw A Caddy In Paso A Few Years Ago Driving Down Spring Street And A Fron Bag Blew For Whatever Reason. Dude Almost Took Out A Few Parked Cars Before He Got It Stopped.... Had No Control When The Bag Blew. These Custom & Hot Rods Are Dangerous Enough Already, Why Add The Eliment Of Sudden Loss Of Control To The Mix?
Good stuff, my son and I am getting ready to bag his 56 Chevy and I have been wondering the basics of the entire systems and what they require. This thread is better than asking the people who sell them( unless they are HAMBers)about the what to buy.
Lincolns have had airride for years. I have seen a lot of them that HAVE failed, i.e., sitting in a driveway with one end or other sagging way down, but never one wrecked because of it. If you are worried about it, modify it so it doesn't "lay frame", and it should be safe if it does fail. I am using an airride system on my car, too, but the bump stops will keep it a couple inches off the ground in case of failure. Then I won't lose control, and can limp it home, or at least off the street.
well, maybe you can point out the giant leaf spring on this one for me... sure looks like a two link w/a bag to me. just because something is kinda new doesn't mean its unsafe or "bad". ever hear of a $15 check valve? wow, $60 to keep the bags independent of one another... that's a big hurdle to jump,eh? you're more likely to blow a tire than a bag...
I SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO EVEN POST ANYTHING ON AIR RIDE .. ALL THE BAGGERS ALWAYS HAVE A REASON TO SAY THAT THE BAGS ARE BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE EVER PUT ON AN AUTOMOBILE. YOU GUY KEEP ON BAGGIN, BUT WHEN SOMEONE JUST P***ES YOU BY WHILE YER BROKE DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY, IT WILL PROLLY BE ME IN MY DROPPED '55 F~100 (solid axle & leafs as original) OR MY HEMI POWERED SPORT COUPE, OR MY SLAMMED '61 DODGE..... OR MAYBE ILL BE IN MY DAUGHTERS LOWERED '62 FALCON... ASK THE DUDE WHO WAS STRANDED ON THE 101 ON THE WAY TO PASO LAST YAER IN THE YELLOW '64 CHEVY PICK UP ABOUT LOSIN A BAG.. AND JUST FOR THE RECORD...... HOW LONG DID THEM LINCOLNS HAVE AIR RIDE ???? AND DO THEY STILL COME WITH AIR RIDE ??
I realize they were junk, I just don't think bags are especially dangerous unless the frame hits the ground when the bags are deflated...
Again thanks to everyone for their input...didnt want this to be a baggs v suspension thread. I have a lot of great stuff to check this thing out. One of the reasons I am into this truck because it is bagged. I will see if they did a good job. Ur prolly right...it may be a h***le in the end...but what truck isnt? Thats the fun part...right? Fixn **** that goes ari...
Most hot rods are some sort of h***le. Toyondabishis always work perfectly, and aren't they exciting and fun?
^^^ no **** about the h***le... i bet a lot more rides are on the side of the road for engine troubles than for suspension problems... so what's the big deal? If your really concerned w/ safety and reliability that much then the custom world really isn't for you.
I agree that there really isn't a comparison between the two, but the air ride system on a semi isn't typically used in conjunction with leaf springs. At least not in the rear. It is a replacement for leaf spring suspension with the bags acting as springs, just like in a bagged p***enger car or light truck. Some front suspensions do use a single leaf spring in addition to air bags, however.
A car can break down for any reason. If your going to p*** on a car for a daily driver because it's bagged then I'd p*** on ANY old car for a daily driver. Most rides out there break because there OLD, not from shoddy work. It can happen, but thats pretty rare if you look the job over. My wife and four kids are riding with me in my bagged '61, so I know that the setup, system, and job was done right on mine.
1low...thanks for testimony I was worried about that a bit. anyway to tell ****py fittings from good ones? and does the Dot approved line say Dot approved?
If your really concerned w/ safety and reliability that much then the custom world really isn't for you.[/quote] I HAVE BEEN DRIVING LOWERED CUSTOM CARS SINCE I GOT MY LICENSE. I HAVE A MILD~CUSTOM '61 DODGE & '62 FALCON & '55 CHOPPED TOP F~100 RIGHT NOW. AND YES, I HAVE BROKE DOWN ... BUT NEVER FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR OR SO ... AND NEVER STUCK CUS MY FRAME WAS PLANTED TO THE GROUND. AND SAFETY ISNT MY REAL CONCERN, HELL, I DRIVE A MODEL A SPORT COUPE WITH A FULL RACE HEMI ON THE HIGHWAYS. BUT AS I SIAD BEFORE .... THERE IS NO REASONING WITH THE BAGGER CREW CUS Y'ALL HAVE YER MINDS SET THAT BAGS ARE THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD... THAT IS ALL !!!!!
yes, dot line will say dot approved on it..if they are pushlok style fittings you will be fine, its kinda hard to tell good fittings from bad ones once they are installed..but go to home depot and look at there fittings to get an idea of what they look like, then look at suicidedoors.com to see what there fittings look like..
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