Rear suspension air bags (air lift or firestone) ??

[cre10]

Are bags on big trucks isolated?

 

[Topkicker]

My old setup on an 06 C-4500. Kelderman rear bags. Compressor w chuck at the rear. Separate valves. One for each bag. If you look closely, the air chuck is beside the left tail light. The air filler valves are above the taillights.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Are bags on big trucks isolated?

Your obviously asking because you know the answer. OTR trucks that are pulling a trailer are not a problem due to the load being generally centered over the rear axles. The problems comes into serious play with dump trucks that can be loaded unevenly and require air bags to be inflated to different levels of pressure to level the truck. If you have ever seen a truck leaning hard going down a straight road, they don't have isolated bags.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Are bags on big trucks isolated?

Your obviously asking because you know the answer. OTR trucks that are pulling a trailer are not a problem due to the load being generally centered over the rear axles. The problems comes into serious play with dump trucks that can be loaded unevenly and require air bags to be inflated to different levels of pressure to level the truck. If you have ever seen a truck leaning hard going down a straight road, they don't have isolated bags.

 

[cre10]

Well I haul with a gooseneck and my tractors and hay are pretty evenly loaded side to side and over the axles.

 

[mikehaugen]

Never received any negative comments from the folks who thought it was wrong to use the two valves verses one tee.

I don't remember anyone saying it was wrong to isolate the bags, just that it was easier to use a tee. Easier does not necessarily mean better, in fact I am of the mindset that easier is usually cheating... a "hack" job if you will. I have no experience with airbags, so I can't say that one is definitely better than the other, but it does make more sense in my mind to have them separate. If the kit came with fittings to isolate them and the instructions said to do so, I don't see why you wouldn't.

 

[cre10]

 

[cre10]

 

[cre10]

Mine are done like the second photo. I did that in case I ever had a compressor failure I could still air them up conventionally.

 

[KubotainNH]

I have Airlifts on my van. I like them and did not use the T for reasons mentioned, that's what my research showed. I can air both up in a couple mins using a small bicycle pump. One added thing I like about this arrangement, if I have a leak it's narrowed down quite a bit.