Hellwig Big Wig bags leaking

[WjColdWater]

I recently installed these bags on my F-150. No compressor and individual fill lines at the rear of the truck. The lines and fittings are fine but both bags have slow leaks. The driver side leaks top and bottom at the mounting plate rubber connections. The passenger side leaks at the bottom plate rubber connection. I’ve sent Hellwig pics and they will warranty the bags but no labor!Not happy about getting stuck on the labor. Also the bags are on back order going on three weeks. Expecting delivery next week. Hellwig offered to send new lines and fittings. I’m wondering how common this type of leak occurs on all bag brands? And do other brands offer better compensation for this type of product defect. I can’t believe that the quality control measures allowed these to leave the factory. Comments welcomed.
Wayne

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

This seems to be a hit or miss across all the brands. I had AirLift on my Dodge for 20 years, not one problem. The AirLifts on my Chevy have a very slow leak driver’s side. Disappointed to hear about the labor issue. Were they installed by a dealer or in your driveway? Seems to me that if they were dealer installed somebody would cover the labor if within the warranty period. Good luck.

 

[WjColdWater]

I had a local shop install I furnished the kit. There are no dealers close to my location. I would have installed myself but was on amend from hip surgery. I will change out the bags myself when they arrive. If the second set leak they are going back for a refund. I asked a local spring shop if they sold and installed bags. His response was no they have to many issues getting payed for warranty labor. I will update when the new bags are installed.

 

[trikebubble]

I've had no issues whatsoever from the Firestone airbags (with Daystar cradles) on my Tundra. Going on 3 years and 40K km, including heading up The Dempster, and multiple off road excursions in all 4 seasons up here in BC. I use the airbags to help fine tune the camper leveling, and will also adjust pressure in the airbags depending on the added weight I may be carrying.

 

[WjColdWater]

I've had no issues whatsoever from the Firestone airbags (with Daystar cradles) on my Tundra. Going on 3 years and 40K km, including heading up The Dempster, and multiple off road excursions in all 4 seasons up here in BC. I use the airbags to help fine tune the camper leveling, and will also adjust pressure in the airbags depending on the added weight I may be carrying.

May change to Firestone if the Hellwigs don’t work out.

 

[57Pan]

I had a brand new firestone airbag with a pin hole in it. Sealed it up using Stans no tube bicycle sealant. It worked great. I had bought my Firestone airbags thru Amazon, and they replaced everything no problem, but I still had to change it out myself. Being that I was the one who did the original install.

 

[moveinon]

I have had two sets of Firestone air bags on two different trucks. I changed the airlines to standard commercial lines so all is not quite stock. But I have not had a single leak in 200,000 plus miles of use with them. Install was easy, just did it myself both times. The first set carried a lot of weight over some very rough roads so have been pretty impressed with them.

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi WjColdWater

I have had a very slow small leak on passenger side with our hellwig bags searched and searched, redid the air lines ( removed cut line back and reinstalled) finally called manufacturer they sent me a new one. Sorry to hear of your troubles I think they are a good product, like that they operate at low pressure. Don't get discouraged, air springs are used a lot in the commercial side of the world. Out of curiosity what pressures are you setting them at?
Warranty labor is a tuff market, manufacturers are constantly trying to protect themselves from companies quick to blame the product. Our Suburban water heater had a bad board. I went to several of Suburban distributors which they provided the name to me. Each one wanted me to pay for the repair and the contact Suburban for the out of pocket expense. Not gunna happen!!! Calling Suburban back and explaining what their distributors were doing might have helped. Kinda hard for them to fight me when I had names dates time and the name of the person who helped me. One guy even provided me a quote on their letter head. Finally got Suburban to send a board after I sent the faulty one to them.

Russ

 

[WjColdWater]

Hi WjColdWater
I have had a very slow small leak on passenger side with our hellwig bags searched and searched, redid the air lines ( removed cut line back and reinstalled) finally called manufacturer they sent me a new one. Sorry to hear of your troubles I think they are a good product, like that they operate at low pressure. Don't get discouraged, air springs are used a lot in the commercial side of the world. Out of curiosity what pressures are you setting them at?
Warranty labor is a tuff market, manufacturers are constantly trying to protect themselves from companies quick to blame the product. Our Suburban water heater had a bad board. I went to several of Suburban distributors which they provided the name to me. Each one wanted me to pay for the repair and the contact Suburban for the out of pocket expense. Not gunna happen!!! Calling Suburban back and explaining what their distributors were doing might have helped. Kinda hard for them to fight me when I had names dates time and the name of the person who helped me. One guy even provided me a quote on their letter head. Finally got Suburban to send a board after I sent the faulty one to them.
Russ

Russ, I do like the low pressure and the overall hardware on the Hellwig bags. It will work out I’m sure soon. I’m glad I can finally be able do my own projects after hip surgery. They leak slowly so I have been able to use the rig as is. Just another bump in the road to navigate. I really like how our F-150 handles the camper with them. I have the bags set to 20 psi when I’m traveling with the camper. With the E tires and bags it’s a dream to drive. My wife just drove seven hours home on a recent trip in MI. She has no problem handling the setup and has adjusted to the load. Very happy with the entire package.
Wayne

 

[Advmoto18]

Air lines are often the culprit when it comes to slow leaks. Most often, leaks are a result from lines not squarely cut and flush inside fittings. One has to ensure air lines are squarely cut. Tube cutters are the only tool to use IMO. Even then, you have to be careful not to compress the plastic tubing as you cut as this will result in out-of-square cut. Box cutters, tin snips, etc will not likely make a square cut.

 

[Machinebuilder]

Air lines are often the culprit when it comes to slow leaks. Most often, leaks are a result from lines not squarely cut and flush inside fittings. One has to ensure air lines are squarely cut. Tube cutters are the only tool to use IMO. Even then, you have to be careful not to compress the plastic tubing as you cut as this will result in out-of-square cut. Box cutters, tin snips, etc will not likely make a square cut.

I deal with pushlock air fittings alot at work, I do have a very good pair of tubing cutters.

For years I used a razorblade or box cutter, be careful and you can get it square, make sure therre are not any burrs.

What works good is a cigar cutter, mostly for trimming the end to square it up.

The OP has leaks from the bags themselves, so no amount of work on the lines will fix it.

 

[dakozicki]

I recently had a set of Hellwig Big Wigs installed on my new Dodge Power Wagon. They suck! I have been back to the shop 4 times. The plastic snap fittings on the top of the airbags leak. Hell wig sent out a new set because they said they had a bad batch and this leak too. I am going to get rid of them and go with beefier springs.

 

[WjColdWater]

I recently had a set of Hellwig Big Wigs installed on my new Dodge Power Wagon. They suck! I have been back to the shop 4 times. The plastic snap fittings on the top of the airbags leak. Hell wig sent out a new set because they said they had a bad batch and this leak too. I am going to get rid of them and go with beefier springs.

Update on Hellwig bags. After considering suspension upgrades for my 2020 F-150 I installed Hellwig 2500 lb helper springs. And love the product. After consulting with Hellwig they informed me they were discontinuing air bags from their product line up. I can understand why the bag quality was extremely poor with leaks common.