Firestone Ride Rite and Air Control Kit

[Nosmo]

My Eagle is ready and my Tacoma is chomping at the bit, but it knows it needs support...at the rear.

Can anyone who has installed the air bags and the inflation control kit (with independent control of each side) please let me know what problems they had doing it themselves?

I've searched the threads but not found much so far, beyond recommendations of this set up,

Thanks,

Nosmo

 

[Tomas Tierra]

NOSMO,
I forget who it was on the board, but someone did it themselves and realized after, that paying a professional is the way to go. I took that advice.

I will tell you that 5 weeks after install on my truck, the mounting brackets fo rthe ride rite's are rusting at the edges. Kinda tough to take them off and coat them now. Spray on the black rustoleum. I do live at the beach where EVERYTHING RUSTS NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO..Just an fyi

TT

 

[NJTaco]

If this doesn't talk you out of doing it yourself...clicky

 

[Nosmo]

Drill free air bag kits

Thanks for the info - the drilling sounds like a nightmare!

Firestone now advertise drill-free air bag kits using existing frame holes

Anyone have experience installing one of these?

Thanks

Nosmo

 

[Quint]

Ride Rite's Easy Install

I put a pair on my 04 Nissan Frontier. They are the no-drill set. They use the existing holes of the jounce bumpers. It took a couple of hours to do the work but it really wasn't that difficult. If you don't have to drill then I think the air bags are relatively straight forward to install. I didn't get the on-demand air compressor.

 

[lqhikers]

airbig info for nosmo

you didn't mention what year tacoma,here is my input. my old posts have covered my experience with air bags on my 2002 4x4 reg cab tacoma,firestone ride-rite airbags worked great but kit was poorly designed causing frame to crack under extreme conditions,boxed in frame and everything ok,easy bolt on. new 2008 tacoma new kit brackets redesigned easy bolt on you only have to cut off bump stops.next step is what most people skip,i think it is important.first put empty truck on level surface measure height at same spot on each side at rear,write down.mount airbag kit and inflate to 5 pounds,if height is differant add air tell even write this number down this is what i would use on empty or lite loaded truck(never run with less than 5 pounds in bags.add camper only.measure height you will 90% of the time one side is more heavy than the other so when you add equipt and supplies try to even out weight by loading the lite side.after you are fully loaded air up each side till you are level don't be surprised if air pressure is up to 20 pounds or more differant on each side,if needed air up both side's to bring truck back up to the height of empty truck this way your headlights are still adjusted.as for the on board air control i would skip it unless you like gagets ,just more to leak or fail,most times there is no reason to adjust bags if above is followed keep measurements handy for reference.and i would only use firestone ride-rite airbags if you plan to do any 4x4 travel.hope this helps you,you will love the tacoma/eagle set up! (one of my posts show install on 2008 tacoma i still have not learned to reference it on post! drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"

 

[pvstoy]

When you raise the rear with the air bags you are now telling the truck that it does not need the extra braking force to the rear for the added weight.

This is what I did on two, Toyota Tundra’s. On the rear of most Toyota's is a diagonal bar from a valve to the rear diff. The bar allows the rear brakes to get more brake bias (force) to adjust for the load you put on the back. You add weight the bar moves, so then a valve opens more. Since you pump up the air bags the truck levels off and the so the valve closes as with no load. The system would not know it needs more rear braking force to stop. That's right the front brakes do more of the work.

I made an extension bracket that will extend the height where the diagonal bar attaches to the rear diff. Just a piece of flat stock steel works. Not too thick so you can use the same bolts. How much you need depends on your load and spring condition.

To find the spacer length needed: without the load (camper) on the back measure the height difference from the bar at the valve (near the frame) and the center of the round pivot at the differential. That will be you’re no load height and the brakes will work fine. Now add the load (camper) and average running weight to it. Now measure again the two reference locations. If you have air bags already you can flatten the air bags and drive around the block to settle the spring’s then measure.

You will notice the bar became flatter some. Let’s say you had a drop of two (2) inches. When you pump up your air bags to level the truck, you will want to make a spacer that you can raise the bar two (2) inches at the differential. All we are doing is keeping the bar at the same angle as before raising the rear with the bags.

This bracket works well if you have the camper on and off a lot. I can’t speak for other truck manufactures how they handle theirs; I’m just a Toyota guy.

Too much braking force on the rear with out the load will cause the rears to lock up on an icy road . The Dealer or a trusted mechanic should have pressure gauges that they can measure your brake bias and set it properly. I take no responsibility for improper brake adjustments. You should decide if you need to take action and make proper adjustments.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Patrick, thank you very much for that thoughtful and interesting post.

How about the collective wisdom of this forum, eh?

 

[erod]

i agree, very impressive, one of the main reasons i keep comin' back !

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Thanx for that post Patrick. As a Tundra owner it was very interesting. I have printed it and will take it to my 4by guru this week. I am very interested in what he will have to say.. It seems like the air bag mfg. should put some sort of warning in there re. this issue..Maybe they did, going reading..

TT

 

[DLN]

Nosmo,

I didn't have any problems installing Ride-Rite bags on my truck, drill in installation. I have to agree with lq concerning the quality of the brackets though. See "Firestone Ride-Rite vs Air-Lift" thread under Truck Mods etc. I didn't install the controller but I may in the future. I'll be very interested to see how the compressor and control panel are installed so keep us posted.

Patrick,

Great information, thanks.

 

[pvstoy]

Some better after market suspension lift systems that raise from the stock height of Toyotas also include a bracket to put the bar back to the stock angle as it was before the lift.