air bag reliability

[TIM86]

I have been racking my brain trying to decide whether to go with bags or not. My concern is reliability and longeviity. Has anyone had issues with dry rotting or just flat out failure? I'm only looking to put a schrader valve kit on for now. I won't be dropping it super low. Just enough to close the wheel well gap and possibly airing up for the occasional trailer pull. Any input will be appreciated. Here's a picture of my truck to show what I'm talking about. (2.5" in the front and 2 leafs taken out)


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[thrtsxchambers]

About the only time you will have a failure is if the bag is not installed properly and is rubbing on something. I have been running the same bags on my truck for about 4 years and know of some having them for 7 or 8 years and some show some where from dry rotting but nothing major. I do know of 1 person that has a 57 chevy truck with bags in the rear and believe it or not the same bags have been on it for 15 years but it stays in a garage so that may help.

[Square_78]

Air bags are used on all sorts of big commercial vehicles that run up hundreds of thousands of extreme duty mileage. They are very reliable. As chambers said, proper installation is key.

[Rubble]

Yeah,like the other 2 posts the biggest thing with airbags is not rubbing on anything.I run highway trucks for 20 years and can count the times on one hand I had an airbag replaced.Pretty reliable.....
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[3r!c84]

qestion ! got morep pics of the truck with the camaro wheels? what adapter did you have to use and how do they fit? please more pics been thinking of doing this for a while

[andrewmp6]

If its installed right and no corners cut it will last a long time,You do have some up keep like cleaning the valves every so often emptying the water traps and draining the air tank.And in the winter when it gets blew freezing you need to put airline anti freeze in the system.Those rims are aftermarket just google iroc rims they make them up to a 22 or bigger.

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by Square_78

Air bags are used on all sorts of big commercial vehicles that run up hundreds of thousands of extreme duty mileage. They are very reliable. As chambers said, proper installation is key.

I have a large truck and trailer all air ride, even the sleeper is on air bags. They were both bought new in late 2005(6.5yrs old), about 6 months ago I had to replace my sleeper bags from dry rotting, the bags on the drive axles are still in good shape but my trailer bag are starting to tear from dry rotting. Im sure the bags on the big trucks are made out of the same type of material as the bagges for air ride kits as they look very similar in constrution. FYI-the small bags on the slepper and trailer that went bad are made by firestone if you are wondering.

[andrewmp6]

But those bags was 7 years old and being a semi its seen a lot of cold and snow i bet.

[S10Fan]

I'd reconsider using schrader valves unless you will always be near an air source. If you were to develop a leak out on the highway, how would you air up? You could buy a single compressor to handle 2 bags and add to your system later. Or really, you could run a 4 bag system on a single compressor if you didn't play with it constantly.

I had a situation 3 years ago where a rear bag developed a leak 6 hours from home. It wasn't a major leak but I was loosing about 15 lbs an hour. Fortunately all I had to do was hit the fill switch every so often and keep the bag pressure up. The leak was coming from the bottom threaded insert on the bag. A schrader valve only setup would have been a real mess.

[motornut]

A friends van is lowered for his chair
they used to do it air bags with onboard compresser
when the bags would slow leak the onboard got it home
when a blow out, the van drops down,bangin the bump stops,on board never stops
they would get replaced after 2 years,drivin year round

a newer design, now a chain pulls the body down to the axle,no bags

[thrtsxchambers]

Ive been running a single compressor with no issues for a few years now. as long as the bag is not rubbing and does not get in a bind aired up or deflated you should have no issues for a long time. If you just want bags for minor adjustment for a good stance then one compressor and a 150psi pressure switch will work fine with a 5 or 8 gallon tank. Most compressors are capable of 200psi+ so running 150 will have less strain on it and last longer.

[N2TRUX]

As mentioned air suspension is as reliable as its install. If your just looking for rear bags on Schraders, you should never have a worry. I do no recommend running front bags on Schraders. If you do get a leak, it can leave you stranded.

[Edahall]

My 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII has air bags on all 4 corners and I had to replace one of them due to dry rot several months ago. So basically, it lasted 15 years.

[made2drag]

rubbing causes bags to blow and sitting in the sun will make them dry rot. if you spray son-of-a-gun on the bags to keep them moist from time to time...this will extend their life if they happen to be in the sun all the time. bags will last 20 years if you dont neglect them. i had a s10 that had bags front and rear since 2004. front bags looked new still and rear bags which were in the sun, had dry rotted but were still being used. if i had owned the truck the whole time and sprayed son-of-a-gun on them they would still be in great shape

[LostMy65]

Is there a lotion or spray that you can put on the bags to keep the rubber soft and protected from drying and cracking?

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Is there a lotion or spray that you can put on the bags to keep the rubber soft and protected from drying and cracking?

Check late night TV from say, 2-6 AM.......LOL

Sorry couldn't help myself.

While rebuilding my lower control arms this past weekend I decided I'm going to replace my bags over the winter. The bags look OK, but replacement every 3-4 years would be easy, cheap, and give piece of mind. Plus, I'd have a couple spares if a problem arose.

[LostMy65]

So, what might we use to keep our bags from drying out - as a result, giving them longer life?
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[Stew_Magoo]

Originally Posted by Edahall

My 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII has air bags on all 4 corners and I had to replace one of them due to dry rot several months ago. So basically, it lasted 15 years.

I'd say most Lincoln air bags last 10-15 years from what I've seen as a mechanic (And a Lincoln guy.) We get about the same life span on heavy equipment where I work now. I wouldn't hesitate to put them on a truck, even here in Wisconsin with all the salt we use. Make sure there is no movement of the air lines to prevent rub through. And I'd keep a few feet of plastic air hose, a utility knife and a few ALKON connectors in the truck because **** happens and those things can be hard to find sometimes and will keep you from getting stranded.

[KQQL IT]

Originally Posted by J Knight

I have a large truck and trailer all air ride, even the sleeper is on air bags. They were both bought new in late 2005(6.5yrs old), about 6 months ago I had to replace my sleeper bags from dry rotting, the bags on the drive axles are still in good shape but my trailer bag are starting to tear from dry rotting. Im sure the bags on the big trucks are made out of the same type of material as the bagges for air ride kits as they look very similar in constrution. FYI-the small bags on the slepper and trailer that went bad are made by firestone if you are wondering.

Me too. 600k on 10 air bags. Replaced two so far. On my current ride.

14 years in air ride diesel trucks and maybe replaced 6-7 total.
Which is equal to 1.5 million miles.
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[made2drag]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

So, what might we use to keep our bags from drying out - as a result, giving them longer life?
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same tire dressing or protectant you need to use on your tires
son-of-a-gun
armour all
tire dressing
anything that is made to absorb into tires to moisten the rubber will work
id say once every oil change as a good way to keep the schedule

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

Me too. 600k on 10 air bags. Replaced two so far. On my current ride.

14 years in air ride diesel trucks and maybe replaced 6-7 total.
Which is equal to 1.5 million miles.
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I've changed 3 trailer bags so far. Every nite when I park the truck my trailer bags auto deflate where as my truck stays inflated. My truck bags are fine but I think leaving them deflated puts a creace or fold in the bags that create a week spot wich is where the three trailer bags have blown. Might considered keeping at least enough air in the bags to puff them out a little.
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[superwade57]

on a pick up youd almost certainly see no problems, remember semis use bags thats 80k lbs of constant strain twist drag and lie jknight said most are deflated daily at least once. i had a set of helper bags on a truck that used them for several years then sat in the weeds for 10 years then i pulled them off and used them on a different truck hauling my car trailer and bobcat trailer and the only problem i had was a very slow leak. id say on a pick up youd see more years out of the bags than the truck. ps i work as a semi mechanic about half the year i maintain our fleet 12 semis at work.

[made2drag]

Originally Posted by J Knight

I've changed 3 trailer bags so far. Every nite when I park the truck my trailer bags auto deflate where as my truck stays inflated. My truck bags are fine but I think leaving them deflated puts a creace or fold in the bags that create a week spot wich is where the three trailer bags have blown. Might considered keeping at least enough air in the bags to puff them out a little.
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good point! and not only is that true but they should never hang over extended ....like when someone were to jack up a truck to work on brakes or something and have the wheels off the ground for more than a couple mins. the bags cant handle being over extended and stretched. if you have any work on the truck on a lift (that lifts it up using just the frame)....make sure your truck is aired up when they lift it...that should help some

[made2drag]

Originally Posted by superwade57

on a pick up youd almost certainly see no problems, remember semis use bags thats 80k lbs of constant strain twist drag and lie jknight said most are deflated daily at least once. i had a set of helper bags on a truck that used them for several years then sat in the weeds for 10 years then i pulled them off and used them on a different truck hauling my car trailer and bobcat trailer and the only problem i had was a very slow leak. id say on a pick up youd see more years out of the bags than the truck. ps i work as a semi mechanic about half the year i maintain our fleet 12 semis at work.

agree!

[canadian 4x4]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

So, what might we use to keep our bags from drying out - as a result, giving them longer life?
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there is a product called 303 can get it at walmart i believe. it is a UV protector, we use it on inflatable boats all the time. i have never used it on bags. but it should work fine, check the label incase.