Air Bags Won't Fit - Now What? SuperSpring? MaxLoader?
Well, tried to install the Ride-Rite air bags with the B&W turnover hitch installed. I have the correct part numbers for both parts. Verified by several sources. The upper air bag mount will not work with the frame rail brackets of the B&W. A buddy that installed the air bags on his 02 with a Reese under bed setup for his 5th wheel had to tinker a little bit to get them to work. He tried to figure out a way to get the bags to fit on mine but it would take a huge amount of cutting and shimming to get them to fit and then they would not be optimum. Now the question, what do I do now? I have looked at the SuperSprings and they are supposed to be very good. Another is the MaxLoader springs. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for helping the rear when I have my 5th hooked up? The unloaded weight will be around 9k lbs. for the trailer and around 2100 lbs for the pin. Just want to have some additional support. Damn, wish those bags fit correctly!
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1997 F350 Crew Cab 4x4, AT, 4.10, drivetrain is all stock. Toyo Open Country A/T 285/65-18 10-ply on Allied Renegade wheels. Snugtop shell. TYMAR Intake. Coated H-Max DP with 4" exhaust. Donaldson resonator and Cat had to be put to sleep. Just turned 49,000 original miles!!!! Best addition-Wildman chip-(just added) Phantom II gauges. Sonnax valve w/ Tri-C springs and Royal Purple in the trans. B&W turnover with Companion 5th wheel. SuperSprings installed.
Well, tried to install the Ride-Rite air bags with the B&W turnover hitch installed. I have the correct part numbers for both parts. Verified by several sources. The upper air bag mount will not work with the frame rail brackets of the B&W. A buddy that installed the air bags on his 02 with a Reese under bed setup for his 5th wheel had to tinker a little bit to get them to work. He tried to figure out a way to get the bags to fit on mine but it would take a huge amount of cutting and shimming to get them to fit and then they would not be optimum. Now the question, what do I do now? I have looked at the SuperSprings and they are supposed to be very good. Another is the MaxLoader springs. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for helping the rear when I have my 5th hooked up? The unloaded weight will be around 9k lbs. for the trailer and around 2100 lbs for the pin. Just want to have some additional support. Damn, wish those bags fit correctly!
I had a set of SUPER SPRINGS on my 01 F-350 DRW and on my 05 F-350 DRW and loved them. I would take the SUPER SPRINGS any day or situation over the air bags. They do not change the ride when you are empty and they do not come into play until you are loaded. They gave great support and took the "squat" out when I hooked up to my heavy fifth wheel. I wish I could put a set on my 08 F-450.
Another plus to the SUPER SPRINGS vs. air bags is that there is no maintenance. No worry if you have them inflated correctly and no worry about one of them busting and deflating.
Shawn
__________________ 2008 F-450, 4 X 4 with 4.30's, auto with manual transfer case with factory cup holders. All options except sunroof and nav. Line X with Extra. 24K Draw-Tite Signature Series Fifth Wheel Hitch. 65 Gallon KSH Marine fuel/tool combo in bed. Viar 480C compressor with 8 gallon tank. Hadley Air Horns hooked up to Auto Mate alarm. PICTURES
Is that the same part number that you used?
I have a B&W Companion and Turnover ball on the truck in my siganature line. There is a difference between the 2WD and 4WD.
Mine installed without problems and I use them to tow trailers (both 5'ers and TT) for delivery all over the country and Canada. The Ride Rites work great.
BudMan
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BudMan5
"A couple of quarter sticks of dynamite can turn an otherwise dull day fun!"
2006 F350 Crew Cab 2WD DRW 98 gal Transfer Flow aux tank, Crew Cab Sleeper, Ride Rite Air Bags with Dual Air Command II compressor and tank, B&W Companion 5'er and Gooseneck, Garmin GPS, XM Radio
I have seen that many people have been able to get their air bags to work with the B&W hitch, BUT, they have all been on Super Duty trucks. My truck is a 97, old body style. So far, I have not heard from anyone making the B&W work on the old body style with air bags. If you have gotten them to work, let me know what part number you used. I am really looking at the SuperSprings. They will drop right in and according to the factory, they will add an additional 1900 lbs of carrying capacity to my truck. This would be in addition to the support from the overload springs. Lots of good things said about them also.
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1997 F350 Crew Cab 4x4, AT, 4.10, drivetrain is all stock. Toyo Open Country A/T 285/65-18 10-ply on Allied Renegade wheels. Snugtop shell. TYMAR Intake. Coated H-Max DP with 4" exhaust. Donaldson resonator and Cat had to be put to sleep. Just turned 49,000 original miles!!!! Best addition-Wildman chip-(just added) Phantom II gauges. Sonnax valve w/ Tri-C springs and Royal Purple in the trans. B&W turnover with Companion 5th wheel. SuperSprings installed.
Why not replace your stock springs with Super Duty Springs? According to the threads on the topic in the 94-97 forums you will get a better ride and better load capacity. Shouldn't need air bags or other load increasing springs for your 5ver weight. I am planning on installing SD springs on my 250.
__________________ 97 F-250 SC LB PSD. 4x4, BTS E4OD, 4:10LS. Baby Swamps, DP-Tuner F5 custom 6 program chip, 1.0 housing, SD-IC, SD-HPOP, IDM mod, HPX, Black Box ICP mod, Black Box MAP sim mod, Hypermax DP & 5" ex., Aero-Turbine, TYMAR intake, RW Turbo-Trac, Gauges, Airlift bags, Add-a-leaf, Superwinch hubs, Class V rear receiver, RBW Lil Rocker, DIY Tow hooks. Milemarker hyd. winch. Elkhorn 9VS slide-in, Nomad 24 ft. fifth/w slide, Century topper, old classic Sooner 18' 4 horse stock trailer. StarFlyte by DynaMax 6.8 V10 If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost.
Larry
For ease of installation remove the spare tire to give you more room to work
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2003, F250, Super Duty, Super Cab, 7.3, Auto, 4X4 Silver, 2" lift in front only, 46 gal fuel tank, Billet Grill, 285X75X16 BFG MT, Bilsteins, Firestone Air Rear, B&W Gooseneck, We call it the "Silver Knocker"
I've got to put a plug in here for the Maxloader. I've got a set in my Superduty and I really like them. My boss has Super Springs in his truck, so I've been able to compare both alittle. My concern is the SuperSpring mounts on top of the leaf, so will it interfere with your hitch like the airbags?? I know if you have factory overloads, the Super Springs can collapse on them and take away from what they are meant to do. I'm no pro with the SS, but I'm pretty sure they pretension your factory springs, giving you a stiffer ride from the start. I've also heard of rollers getting flattened out and needing to be replaced and I know I seen a pic online quite awhile ago where either the shackle or roller broke/came out and the Super Spring went up through the bed of the guys truck.
I guess both set ups give the same end result, but I like my Maxloaders better.
It mounts under your factory springs, so you know it won't interfere with your hitch or factory overloads. When your truck is empty, they just kinda hang there so you get a factory ride. As you load the truck, they progressively get stiffer. I also like the fact that they distribute the weight across the entire leafs instead of stressing 3 spots (2 rollers and center plate) like the SS. The Maxloader works with yoru factory springs instead of creating pretension against them w/ a SS. All in all I think the Maxloader is just a simpler system with no rollers or pivoting parts to wear out or break. Pretty fail proof IMO.
I bought mine through realtruck.com and I've been more than happy with them. I'm sure they could tell you more as I think they deal both brands. Not sure who else out there sells them. My 2.5 cents worth.....
I've got to put a plug in here for the Maxloader. I've got a set in my Superduty and I really like them. My boss has Super Springs in his truck, so I've been able to compare both alittle. My concern is the SuperSpring mounts on top of the leaf, so will it interfere with your hitch like the airbags?? I know if you have factory overloads, the Super Springs can collapse on them and take away from what they are meant to do. I'm no pro with the SS, but I'm pretty sure they pretension your factory springs, giving you a stiffer ride from the start. I've also heard of rollers getting flattened out and needing to be replaced and I know I seen a pic online quite awhile ago where either the shackle or roller broke/came out and the Super Spring went up through the bed of the guys truck.
I guess both set ups give the same end result, but I like my Maxloaders better.
It mounts under your factory springs, so you know it won't interfere with your hitch or factory overloads. When your truck is empty, they just kinda hang there so you get a factory ride. As you load the truck, they progressively get stiffer. I also like the fact that they distribute the weight across the entire leafs instead of stressing 3 spots (2 rollers and center plate) like the SS. The Maxloader works with yoru factory springs instead of creating pretension against them w/ a SS. All in all I think the Maxloader is just a simpler system with no rollers or pivoting parts to wear out or break. Pretty fail proof IMO.
I bought mine through realtruck.com and I've been more than happy with them. I'm sure they could tell you more as I think they deal both brands. Not sure who else out there sells them. My 2.5 cents worth.....
I'm no expert on SS either but they should not interfere with the hitch or ride if the are installed correctly. I suppose the rollers could flatten or break, but I have never seen this on a set that is properly installed.
Shawn
__________________ 2008 F-450, 4 X 4 with 4.30's, auto with manual transfer case with factory cup holders. All options except sunroof and nav. Line X with Extra. 24K Draw-Tite Signature Series Fifth Wheel Hitch. 65 Gallon KSH Marine fuel/tool combo in bed. Viar 480C compressor with 8 gallon tank. Hadley Air Horns hooked up to Auto Mate alarm. PICTURES
I'm no expert on SS either but they should not interfere with the hitch or ride if the are installed correctly. I suppose the rollers could flatten or break, but I have never seen this on a set that is properly installed.
Shawn
Like i said, I've never owned a set of SuperSpring, I'm just going by what I've seen of them in a few trucks. From my understanding, either you are going to have to sacrifice ride quality if you don't want the rollers touching all the time. If the rollers touch the spring, you are going to put tension on the suspenion as soon as it starts compressing. If you set the rollers so they don't touch to allow for some "play" for factory ride, I think this is how you could flatten the rollers. If you leave some slack it's very possible you are going to be able to hear the rollers rattling on the bolt. IMO, I like not having the moving parts or having to sacrifice to get a quiet yet factory ride while empty.
Ever thought about Timbrens? I got em and have been well pleased with them. Just a thought.
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99(10/98) F350 psd auto cc long bed srw 4x4, DP-TUNER, ISSPRO gauges, ccv and tc mods, tymar air filter, 4 inch straight exh., sonnax and tricum., 6.0 TC, added cab lights, lifted front end, Timbrens in the rear, King Ranch wheels
250K and counting
After reading a lot of thoughts on various solutions, I decided to go with the SuperSprings. I talked to the owner and also the rep in my area. I went with their suggestion and picked them up yesterday. Installed today, and by the way, they are very easy to install and adjust if needed. I haven't hooked up a trailer or anything yet. Only took it for a quick run around the block. It may be a little firmer but not bad. Both owner and rep said typically, they will add between 1"-2" of lift to the rear. I thought that lift would be incredibly stiff but just the short run I made, I didn't notice any extreme harshness. I will find out how it sets with a trailer this weekend. I don't have my 5th wheel yet, but my buddy said to come over and hook onto his. I may do this depending on what he is doing for Mother's Day. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I did look at the Timbrens. Had to choose one and went with the SS.
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1997 F350 Crew Cab 4x4, AT, 4.10, drivetrain is all stock. Toyo Open Country A/T 285/65-18 10-ply on Allied Renegade wheels. Snugtop shell. TYMAR Intake. Coated H-Max DP with 4" exhaust. Donaldson resonator and Cat had to be put to sleep. Just turned 49,000 original miles!!!! Best addition-Wildman chip-(just added) Phantom II gauges. Sonnax valve w/ Tri-C springs and Royal Purple in the trans. B&W turnover with Companion 5th wheel. SuperSprings installed.
I had the same problem initially trying to install air springs (forget the brand) on an 06 F250 4wd with PullRite Superglide set up under the bed rail/mounting setup .....called Firestone and they furnished dealer with correct model and set up....works like a dream and allows precise adjustment for load handling instead of just helper springs....allows me to precisely level the trailer and bed.
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2008 F-450, 4 X 4 with 4.30's, auto with manual transfer case with factory cup holders. All options except sunroof and nav. Line X with Extra. 24K Draw-Tite Signature Series Fifth Wheel Hitch. 65 Gallon KSH Marine fuel/tool combo in bed. Viar 480C compressor with 8 gallon tank. Hadley Air Horns hooked up to Auto Mate alarm.
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