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Air Bags for Trucks, Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 with WirelessAIR Kit 72000

Truck manufactures have all stretched the rear leaf springs on trucks. Ford for 2008, added another eight inches to the rear leafs of their Super Duties. So now our ¾ and one tons ride like ½ tons, but they can also sag with maximum payloads and tongue weights. Imagine your headlights pointing ahead when your truck is loaded and at not tree tops. Important to remember, adding accessories to your trucks suspension does not increase your factory GVWR, axle weight rating or payload. The goal is enhancing what you have for maximum load stability.

Instant adjustability is the advantage. Being able to remotely stiffen the rear suspension under a load, does improve stability and eases control. Over-the-road semi-trucks have proved that air bags are reliable. Eighteen wheelers can have air bags on the tractor, trailer, cab and seats. Our 4 and 6 wheelers can use help with air, especially at maximum payload and trailer weight. What caught my attention with Air Lifts’ new wireless air bags remote control. I worry about leaking air lines and the usual culprit is the air lines going all the way to the front of the cab with the flexing between cab and bed and the lines going thru the fire wall into the gauge and control switch. Air Lifts eliminated those problems with a remote manifold hosed to the compressor back in or under the bed and controlled by the remote control on your visor next to your garage door opener. When you’re showing off to your friends or hooking up your trailer hitch, you can walk around your truck with the remote. The WirelessAIR (Advanced Integrated Remote) Kit comes with a compressor, manifold, wiring harness and wireless digital controller.

Just like air bags on a semi-truck, you can change truck position. drop air to release gooseneck or 5th wheel or increase air to attach to trailer coupler. Having the ability to change air pressure in the bags side to side, is and advantage. It’s not always easy getting loads and slide-in campers balanced. Then there’s the wonderful side winds than can irritate you all day driving across most Western states.

Bellows (air bags) are manufactured similar to tires with layers of rubber and cords. Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 bellows are rated to support 5000 lbs at maximum 100 psi. The bellow brackets attach to the axle housing, spring stack and joist bumpers for a solid installation. Factory jounce bumpers (axle to frame bottom stop) were hard to take out, The embedded bolt stripped out of the rubber on my 70k mile test truck, (vice grips needed). Bottom bracket slides over jounce bumper strike plate. Bellow top bracket is the only hard part of the installation. You have to align two bolts that you can’t see, they go thru the bracket, roll plate and bellows. If they were pointed bolts it would help align it all.

I wired the air compressor to the trailer harness to be on only with the ignition key on.  Zip ties come in the kit to keep emergency brake cables, wiring harness and differential breather hose away from the bellows. Fifteen amp in line fuse for the wire that connects to the battery, one amp barrel fuse to the ignition side wire. Install manual has handy templates for drilling holes to match the compressor and manifold. There’s a process of the joining wireless manifold and remote controller with a magnet so it’s unique to your truck and not your neighbors.

Digital wireless remote controller, shows air pressure in each bellow and facilitates manual and automatic adjustments. Two memory buttons in remote controller for your favorite settings like loaded and empty. Buttons for controlling air pressure settings and independent air bag control. The controller automatically keeps the air pressure you set. The controller can program and control two axles.

Removing jounce bumper from frame, I stripped the bolt out of the rubber	bottom bracket sitting on stock jounce bumper strike plate, as I sized up the pieces to see where they fit.	Bottom bracket can be tightened to roll plate and bellow before attaching to truck	Roll plate on top of bellows, these are the bolt holes and air line connection under the top bracket
Top bracket would be easy if you could put it all together first instead of….	…on the truck frame above your head. The top bracket is loose here as I align the frame spacer, bracket,	Gooseneck hitch brackets attached to the truck frame and are not in the way for attaching the top air bag bracket.

On Ford, Air Lift attaches to jounce bumper strike plate instead of leaf springs, so you can add overload springs such as SuperSprings for supporting the large slide-in truck campers. While the Ford application is unique mounting the air bag inside the frame instead of on top of the leaf springs as with Dodge and GM. Mounting the air bags outside on top of the leaf springs, makes the brackets more accessible. But the Ford application leaves the springs open for other options. With the air bag brackets inside the frame, the top bracket is not easy to install. The bracket and frame spacer need to be attached first before the bellow

The kit comes with insulated hose for running air lines near exhaust and a stainless steel shield which fit my three inch aFe aftermarket exhaust.  Manifold wireless control attaches with a hose directly to the compressor. The compressor is small and fast. Each air bag side connects to the manifold separately so you can inflate or deflate individually.  I left extra air line attached so I can repair any holes. I used the manual air valves that came with the Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 in case all fails, to air up at a gas station. The air lines are sweet, cut the air lines straight, just push-to-connect in the fitting.

After installed, it worked so easy, the compressor is fast, two presets buttons on the remote controller for empty and loaded. Adjustable air on the go, remote control from my visor or walking around. Lifetime warranty

For more info on air bags:   https://www.airliftcompany.com/products/air-springs/loadlifter-5000-ultimate