Thread: Airbags - Polyair or Firestone?

Resident party pooper here...

Silly question but... Have you thought about not carrying quite so much gear instead???

M

A while back Firestone had a problem where they had to stop using the glue they were using (same design as the Polyair) and when they changed glue they had some failures (where the valve is) and more recently they changed the design completely and it looks good. My brother sells and fits both, but recommends the new firestone.

Cheers

Originally Posted by camel_landy

Resident party pooper here...

Silly question but... Have you thought about not carrying quite so much gear instead???

M

I dont actually carry that much gear, but on a Simmo trip you carry more fuel and water than normal. I could run the car without the bags without major sagging, but the bag will just help with the comfort and reduce the bouncing...

Angus

how do air bags stop bouncing?

Maybe stop you bottoming out on the bump stops

Originally Posted by McDisco

I dont actually carry that much gear, but on a Simmo trip you carry more fuel and water than normal. I could run the car without the bags without major sagging, but the bag will just help with the comfort and reduce the bouncing...

Angus

Cool...

I don't want to sound like someone teaching their grandmother to suck eggs but a lot of people are not aware that all vehicles have weight limits. The springs are designed to absorb movement but if they can't or are made too stiff then the forces end up being absorbed by components not designed for it like the chassis, etc...

The airbags will transmit more load into the chassis through the mountings (same goes for stiffer springs) and I'm fairly sure that there's enough tolerance to be able to take it. However, be careful coz you may not know that you've overdone it until it's too late.

Excessive weight is probably your vehicles biggest enemy when it comes to mechanical failures, etc...

/SOAPBOX OFF

M

Well the thing with having helper airbags is you can have soft springs for better articulation with an empty truck and add air when you need to carry that occasional heavy load.

Originally Posted by Lucy

I bought Firestone airbags for my D2 from Michigan Truckspring 3 weeks ago, ordered on a monday, arrived the following monday, $152 Australian.

Started on the left side, took the wheel off, and used spring compressors to remove spring etc, 25 minutes work. On the right side I just jacked the chassis up to open the spring, jammed the bag through the coils - easy as - 5 minutes! The whole exercise took about an hour including the drive to Bunnings to buy a drill bit in the right size. Just made the holes a little bigger on either side of the out riggers behind the bumper to fit the inflation points (so no new holes). The only thing not in the kit was something to protect the bottom of the airbag from the bolt heads holding the lower spring seat to the axle casing. Cut up one of the wife's nylon chopping boards and used silicon windscreen sealer to hold in place - no worries.

Hi Lucy, when your ordered from the states did you have to advise customes or pay any tarrif, or is it a staright order and delivery by post.
Cheers Allan

Straight order over the net, arrived by post. No tarriff/customs problem as under the threshold (which I think is $1000 in value). The whole transaction was easy as. May be a bit dearer at the moment though, with current exchange rates. No problems with the bags either, makes towing our Jayco camper trailer much more comfortable.