[ds53652]

FYI guys. I just spoke to Firestone. Even though their website says use kit 2071 for 2011 F250/350 for diesels without an in-bed hitch, they are now saying use kit 2535 instead (even though the site says 2535 is for same truck but with an in-bed hitch).

 

[klhansen]

Very nice video. :thumbsup:

I think it deserves being stickied to the top of the forum.

 

[skew12]

Great video.

 

[kereams]

My kit was the 2535, guess that explains why I dis not see the issues you did.

 

[John Hagen]

Well, I just ATTEMPTED to install the Airlift Loadlifter 5000 onto my 2011 F350 6.7. What a disaster. The kit (57396) is a POS in my opinion. The quality of the bags themselves are awesome, but the way they mount/install is ridiculous, and in my opinion, impossible.

1. On the drivers side, the top bracket is darn near impossible to install due to the wiring harnesses, the mount for the DEF tank and some other lines.
2. On the passenger side, there's no way to tighten one of the bolts that attaches the top of the airbag to the top side bracket.
3. Per the instructions, you have to literally bang off a large piece of the bottom mounts with a hammer. The instructions say you may have to use a grinder to cut it off (which I had to do on both lower mounts).
4. The instructions just plain suck, bigtime.

After I ran into issue #2 above, I said screw this and backed everything out and returned the truck to factory. I'll be returning this kit through amazon and ordering the Riderite kit.

I went with the Airlift kit because the bags look to be a lot better quality than the Riderite bags. And I figured since I was going to use the Airlift 72000 Wireless kit, I might as well keep it all in the family so to speak, one throat to choke, etc, etc. But man, extremely poor design of the mounting mechanisims with the Airlift bag kit.

So fair warning if anyone is considering going with an all Airlift system. I'd very strongly recommend going with the combo of Airlift Wireless 72000 and the Riderite bag kit, like Epic did.

Now patiently waiting on my Riderite bag kit....

+1 on the issues with the Airlift install. I ended up sending my Airlift bags back and installed the Ride-Rite. The install was very smooth. The 72000 wireless is awesome!

John

 

[Bounty_Hunter]

After some extensive thought and research on my own, I called Brad at AirLift. We discussed my concerns and I was informed that there were some design changes in the 57396 kit as well as the 72000 wireless kit. After more discussion I was invited to stop by at my convenience. I did so the following week and was given a tour of the facilities. I learned that most, if not all of the components in all of their products are made in the USA, which is a plus as far as I'm concerned.

During my visit I spoke to their engineer on this system and learned what some of the improvements in the kits were. The brackets in the 57396 kit have been redesigned so it is not necessary to remove the welded on piece of the lower brackets, and I believe the left upper bracket has also undergone some modification.

The 72000 wireless kit has also undergone some design changes. There is no longer a need to join the controller, as it has been joined during production. Additionally, there is only one wire (14ga. I believe) that needs to be run to the front of the vehicle. This wire runs to a key on source in the power distribution box and is fused with a 15A spade type fuse. The wire that runs to the battery has been eliminated.

This information along with the $100 rebate and the fact that this is a Michigan company helped me greatly in my decision to purchase these kits. The best deal that I found was online at Advance Auto. They had pretty much the same prices as other online sellers with a 15% discount and a $50 rebate

More to follow on the installation.

Regards,
BH

 

[Bounty_Hunter]

After some thought I decided to have the install done. I did some searching for someone who had some experience installing the AirLift kits. I found someone who, although it was not their main focus, had more than the necessary experience, who agreed to do the install. I was allowed in the shop to monitor the install, which incidentally took about 3.5 hours including both kits (57396 and 72000).

One of the first things I noticed that may present problems, was the orientation of the bags on the lower brackets. There are various options, but on this application the bags mount toward the rear of the newly designed brackets. This kit is a relatively snug fit, and there is only enough room for them to fit this way. The upper brackets went in without a problem. Once the lower brackets and bags were properly oriented, they also fit as designed. There was no need to modify the brake lines. The left side slid between the lines and the axle and the right side slid over the lines. Care needs to be taken when tightening the long bolts to the lower axle housing bracket to avoid the brake and ABS line. One thing I noticed is that is imperative is to tighten the brackets in the order that is described in the instructions. There was no real problem getting to any of the bolts on this install. The whole install was done with common hand tools, with the exception of a cordless drill and a 3/8 impact (only used to run down the nylock nuts on the long carriage bolts). All of the fasteners were tightened by hand.

The wireless 72000 kit was mounted above the spare tire mount as others have described. This kit has also been updated. There is no longer any need to Join the controller with the manifold, as it has been done in production. The connection direct to the battery has been eliminated. There is only one wire (14ga.) that needs to be connected to a key on source. This was connected to the same point as others have pointed out in the power distribution box under the hood on the left side of the engine compartment. The intake for the compressor was routed along with the wire to a spot under the hood where it should remain dry.

The whole install went very smooth and took only about 3.5 hours from about 8:30 untill noon. So far all that I have done is play with some of the settings. I havent had an occasion yet to try it out under a load, but I willl keep everyone posted.

Regards,
BH

 

[EpicCowlick]

Hey BH. Great write-up. That would have been neat to go to the factory and talk to those folks. It sounds like several of the issues with the bags have been resolved including elimination of the 1.5 amp barrel fuse. It's great that they have only a single line running to the fuse box instead of two (I wondered why they didn't do that in the first place)! I got a good look at my buddy's install and it looks like it's good quality and should last the life of the truck. He likes them but hated the installation. I told him he'd get over that soon.

So far my Firestone's are working great but I absolutely love the AirLift 72000 system.

 

[DKR]

I have a new 2012 F250 with about a 800lb box in the bed that can weigh up to 1500lbs. I had this in a 2009 F250 with Firestone RideRite air bags.

I went down the other day and bought the Airlift system for it (rebate) and I ended up taking it back this morning. The largest challenge was that at current ride height which was a little over an inch lower than stock the air bag was completely compressed. I actually had to raise the truck to just get the bag in. I returned them due to the fact that I would only have about an inch of down travel with the Airlift system installed.

I called and spoke to the folks at Airlift this morning and they said this was normal. I just did not feel comfortable with this.

 

[cdooguy]

So maybe I. Missed it some where but where did you get the power from exactly in the fuse box? Is there a owner connect acc power source under the hood?

 

[EpicCowlick]

So maybe I. Missed it some where but where did you get the power from exactly in the fuse box? Is there a owner connect acc power source under the hood?

Yes, watch the video again. There's a part where the fuse box is shown and which plugs can be used for power. There are several switched sources that are available. The front half of the fuse box is "always on" and the back half is switched.

I will confess that the way I connected is probably a bit ******* but it does work and hasn't ever given a problem. There are probably specific fasteners out there to accomplish exactly the same thing without any ******* flair.