does anyone have experience of heavy duty air bag rear suspension on a COE? i`m building a king cab 46 chevy COE ramp truck car hauler and will be carrying loads up to 6,000 pounds.
I have a 54 Chevy COE on air. Weighs about 10,000#. Rides well and goes up and down. What would you like know?
What brand and size bags and pump did you use? also some info on how you located your axle would be cool. i`ve done plenty of fab work but never on something this heavy or capable of carrying such a big payload. thanks man.
I used "Slam Specialties" bags with 2 Viair compressors and two 5 gallon tanks. Depending on your weight you could always go to semi truck stuff, but it will be more difficult to package. Also depending on your demand you could go to a engine driven aircompressor. I used the leaf springs to locate the axle with a bunch removed and hung the bags off the rear of the axle. You could go to a 4 link if you wanted. You will have to determine a GVW first as that will help determine your choices. I think my front bags are the biggest Slam makes and I run 130 psi in them to be able to lift the front with my diesel. There are many controllers out there with "Air ride Specialties" being near the top in price. I used Dakota Digital controller as it matched my gauges. My truck rides very well with what I installed
This might help, calling these guys. There tech support. Give him your weights & measurements & what you expect the truck to handle. They may be able to give you some good advice. They also have good tech videos & vehicle performance on race tracks videos, on YouTube. I don't know if you can get to big of bags on back? Find a set of Semi truck trailer air bags for your back bags? http://www.ridetech.com/ I just saw today on Craigslist in Medford Oregon, probably what you may be wanting. A complete setup with what looked like A very heavy duty bag setup. There is two Air compressors, air tank, valves & lots of heavy airlines & fittings. It was listed for $900. I believe I only found it in General sales, not in automotive/parts sales. I've been watching for air ride suspension parts.
If you run a tandem axle instead of a dually, don't forget to have a separate controller for the rear axle. If you get on uneven ground, you won't have enough traction to move. Voice of experience!
thanks a lot guys, i appreciate ALL the input, many heads are better than one. i am using an isuzu NPR COE frame as its got a 7 inch narrower rear track than a ford or chevy dually. but things are pretty tight around the rear axle because of that. i have to say the isuzu NPR is a nicely built truck, just very underpowered for what i am doing so i am putting a mid mount dodge 5.9 ***mins diesel and automatic in it that i got out of a `93 dually i bought and junked. anyone out there used an NPR frame under an old COE cab? thanks again.
I'm running a GMC w4500 (same as isuzu npr) and I have yet to figure out how to do air ride. There is a company that I was looking at called autoflex ( http://www.autoflexsuspensions.com/shop/ ) and I talked to them and they said they could make it for me....almost 4K I think. They would have to use smaller bags like on a 1 ton to make it fit due to the tight area we have to work with. I know someone that cut thier springs off at the axle and made thair own set up but have not seen it yet. He has been using it for years. I have been too busy lately to really investigate it. And No the npr is not a p30 ch***is....it is its own animal that is really good for the old narrow trucks if you want to retain the ability to use it as a heavy truck.
Buggy, how wide are the NPR frame rails? My P-30 is 28" between rails, 34" outside, & 7-1/2" tall rails. I was told they were the same rails as the NPR, but didn't know for sure. My 1939 COE frame rails were identical to my P30. I sat my cab over the front & it fit perfectly. Steering & all. My 39 cab perch would had bolted right up to this frame. The steering would had aligned right up also if I were to use my cab perch. But me wanting my cab in the weeds are creating a new set of problems I will be dealing with.
Frames are 34" wide like most all big trucks. The axles are narrower than a p30 ch***is. As far as getting it low and in the weeds......you are better off using a smaller truck ch***is but then you cant use it as a truck......
I would really like to see some pictures of someone that has cut off the rear of the springs and went air bag that way
If I ever get the chance to get to where the truck is that I know of I will take some pictures....unless I go for broke and just do it. The truck I need to look at is over 2 hours away.
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