Not very compelling arguments against airbags. I wish you had tried compressing a coil springs or a leaf spring using only your body weight. That might have been instructive. Heavy trucks have relied on airbag suspension for decades. They are a valid alternative whether replacing steel springs or supplementing steals springs for load control. You're doing a disservice to the public by keeping this video up.

If you want a high-travel constant rate suspension for off-roading, your arguments are valid. If you want a standard height and travel suspension with rising rate compression and better sway control for variable cargo loads and freeway driving, air bags are superior.

I use airbags to help on my recovery truck and it drives 1000% better than sitting on the bump stops

I added air bag assist on my Class C and it improved the ride night and day better even at 75 psi added. No more banging on the bumpstops or sagging rear end.

Yeah. If you have 125PSI than is bad but if its normal pressure like 35PSI than in my opinion it’s awesome. I have on my Mercedes sprinter and it’s working perfectly. 👍

Also you pushing on that airbag it would feel like a 2x4. If I stick 5000 lbs on it it will bounce up and down like a ballon. A very strong bouncy ballon. It is not a "rock" like you said. It is a ballon. So how much did you charge that guy for them new leaf springs and installation? Lol business is good I’m sure cause peeps don’t want to do that type of work, I under stand.

You over inflated that bag using shop air where in the vehicle it is only filled to about 30 to 40 psi. Sure you can't compress them by pushing down on them with your hand at what 150 lbs. Vehicle is about 5000 lbs. You said you don't know all about air bags but it sounds like you know nothing about them

You are correct that you don't want to use those for lifting your rig. For towing or hauling heavy loads they are a must if you want a nice comfortable ride while driving without the extra weight. The trick with the airbags is the daystar air bag cradles so that you don't have to have your suspension connected like a limit strap. They allow the suspension to droop away from the air bag so you have full suspension travel still. So I run mine totally empty while normal driving and you can't even tell they are back there. When towing I fill them up and Van sits level and handles great.

I've specified air suspension on many articulated lorry trailers. It's essential to have self-levelling, the airbags are meant to sit in mind position at the set ride height. Then they can easily accommodate the required travel. They also give a nice smooth ride, preventing known damage to vehicle contents during delivery. Find a company that designs and make these, chat to one of their tech guys, and he'll certainly point you in the right direction, and prevent you from putting in a duff system

I have a class C Winnebago Trend and the back leaf spring in on two springs. It sits low on and when boondocking the black tank outlet is close to the ground. What do you recommend for lifting and smoothing the ride, obviously you recommend the leaf spring upgrade, how about something to support the leaf springs? Thanks for the help in advance. Ivan

the bags for lift would be used just to get you through the rough road areas... then let out most of the air/height for normal driving.

I you made a steel spacer and fitted it to your bag, to take you up to about 4" short of what height you want, and then inflate the bags around 50% , would that work ok?

Surely you only need the height for self leveling when stationary? Or tilting the vehicle(motorhome) when say emptying the grey water tank? I don't see any reason to increase the height, and therfor effect the comfort of the drive whilst moving? Or am i missing something here? In the uk, motorhomes have plenty of clearance anyway, and i doubt they need to be increased in height at all, unless they are stationary.

Top brand manufacturers like Merc and Porsche use the air suspension, I remain to be convinced this chap has superior knowledge

What about adding them to an already lifted leaf spring system for when on road. Didn't realize just how overly top heavy my B190 would be. Plus the wind can be difficult. It really seemed to do the job on road. I haven't really had a chance to do some good off-roading yet. Will once i get back west, heading now.

Gracias amigo great video+ fun💪😁

I did not watch the whole clip but airbags are mainly for the rear differential of the Ute etc when towing a caravan or trailer

As someone that's been doing air suspension since the 90s that's not the right air bag you would use a large roll Bellow on the back and eliminate the springs with a 4 or 3 link

For coil spring suspensions, can the airbags be installed underneath the coil spring? This will give it additional lift when need while at the same time the coil spring is still providing function.

I thought i saw new pickup trucks with raising lowering suspension for towing trailers

I’ve since ditched the airbags and fitted 5tonne leaf springs front and back. Much much much better in every way.

Great video, thanks a lot. I have a Mecedes Sprinter XXL, longest version, with done in air suspension at rear. Last visit in workshop for changing filters and oil was the information of the boss there, that my frame is broken left half and right side fully broken. All is because of stupid workshop did not install me some more metal sheet for security, because of less knowledge, so my bad luck. - Perhaps your advice is the better solution, stronger springs.

Airbags are good for adjusting for weight. The springs for leafs will not cover all ranges of weight in the rig.

I remember my first Adderal script. I get what you’re saying but I don’t think the average person looking for guidance gets what you’re saying. Airbags are extremely helpful and every application should unique to each vehicle depending on what you’re regularly hauling

What a nonsense! what you mean it does not compress, you just pumped it with compressed air, it is a bloody property of the air that it can be compressed ( just like a spring did't you go to school?), In fact it is working better then metal springs and it is cheaper and lighter. Have you heard about Citroen DS from 60's , only the best suspension in the world other than that it is complicity crap. There are no Buses or Trucks made without air suspension, even better! air suspension allows cheap and effective of self levelling with some simple sensors. The only Issue with air suspension fitted as extra is an incorrect design or calibration for particular car as a some part of after market thing! I have a fleet of recovery trucks all custom made all on air suspension, all brilliant, cheap and easy to repair if there is a need. I have studied pneumatics in university and I have been well impressed with it from start, to the point that I am an expert of hydro-pneumatics for 20 years - nothing even comes close to it .

I get what your saying, its a good arguement against a dedicated off roader, but being able to dial in your resistance with a heavy load such as a camper or trailer is way more important. And i can tell you, once you've unloaded that vehicle, you'll want to be able to purge your bags so your springrate goes back to normal. Hard to do that with springs.

I don't want to lift the van, I gta sienna, my girl had Walmart try to change tires... They fcked it up.. her right tire broke like 4 studs out one night..$600 later she's fine. My maine question is if I used a smaller airbag setup and put her on would that give some pressure of the suspension?

Do you have a lift kit like complete leaf pack for a 2014 ford e350 box truck ?

The air suspension bags on my Ducato RV when decompressed are about the same height as the original bump stop. I run my system at about 2.5 bar and the ride quality is very much improved when travelling. No banging or rattling as I drive over pot holes and is much more compliant than leaf springs alone. The thing is, all these “B” class RV’s are built on a chassis that was designed to carry the weight of a certain load, this weight., after conversion is very nearly at the maximum capacity of the suspension, giving little room for wheel travel. A correctly fitted and pressurised air suspension kit gives back the compliance of the vehicle with the associated benefit of a softer ride. In my opinion they are a very worthwhile modification to any class B motorhome.

They added Springs to Steel for the suspension on some of our work trucks where I were to haul heavier loads. The result of adding more Leaf to leaf springs is the ride quality is so bad you can't even hold them in the road and you can't steer them it pushes itself sideways. You cannot over are an airbag

We have air bags in our 2500 Ram Pro Master and do not like them. The rim varely clears the tire. How much does leaf springs cost to put in?

My Lincoln Town Car rear suspension is airbags from the factory. I guarantee you that it rides well and is self-leveling. I have replaced plenty of broken leaf springs in my lifetime. I will stick with the air-bag suspension on my RV. Guaranteed to ride better than leaf springs.

I think air bags if u get the right ones, are good for helpers for when you have a heavy load and you can deflate them when not needed..

Air suspension is far better for the road surface rather than steel springs

The title of this misinformation says why not to use air ride suspension. what this guy is talking about is air lift to help spring suspension. To totally different things so if you use the air lift correctly just to help the spring ride suspension it will help to dampen or absorb the rough jolts that you get from rough roads and it will help Carrie the load you’ve got on the suspension. But you don’t fill the air bags up so that they are hard as a rock.

No it shouldn't be used in place of a lift, yes they are excellent for load leveling and support on a stock suspension or lift. There's a reason tractor trailers use AIR BAGS.😉 Air bags also compress progressively like so they do act like a leafpack would, ie as they compress they resist more because you are increasing the pressure like trying to squeeze a balloon or ball. I do agree that one should have a leafpack lift that appropriately accommodates regular traveling weight. Also I'm speaking from a truck perspective, my bags aren't much taller than a bump stop, but it's possible they have too much stack on a lifted RV?

This is why I'm lifting the suspension itself and adding airbags only to adjust for extra load.

A modified leaf spring permanently jacks up your vehicle and destroys your ride quality. Leaf springs are antique technology. If you sell modified leaf springs you are obviously going to criticise air springs. A helper air spring is designed to maintain ride height and gives a more comfortable drive if operated correctly. Reputable helper air spring manufacturers recommend not putting more than 3.5 bar pressure in the system. More pressure can be put in the system to lift the vehicle when driving slowly if necessary to avoid obstacles. The best solution is to completely remove the leaf springs and install a full air suspension system from a reputable manufacturer for best results. Most modern trucks and buses run on air suspension. This video is obviously put together to protect the you tubers business.

Your analogy is wrong. If you want to lift a truck, you add a longer spring or more curved leaf spring (which is longer), not to add a stiffer spring. Same as airbag lift, you add longer bag (3 bellows), not adding more air (stiffer spring).

I think the problem lies in the fact they put a small ass bag on a very large truck.kelderman has been making air ride kits for ton trucks and it works because they use bags that have a bunch of travel and their not fighting a leaf spring.

I know you dont do Astro,s but I'm thinking of getting coil spring shocks in the back with the Timbren airbumpstops and an add a leaf kit, Do you think maybe with a rear swaybaralso ,it will help with towing my 19ft camper!???by the way when I'm done building it ,I would love to bring it down to show and maybe shoot a video ! Your a van celebrity and expert, my favorite to watch

Informative thank you. I have a 21’ 1998 born free sitting on e350. One of my airbags went bad from age and from sitting too long. Should I just leave them there, replace them, replace my leaf spring or what? If you don’t need the airbag for lift does it affect the ride? Soften the ride?

You're seeing vans with the wrong bags fitted. Nothing wrong with bag use, at all.

to be clear ur only talking about air bags as far as a lift. Because there is a legit use of airbags when towing, to keep the back of the vehicle from sagging too much.

So then now you have eliminated any camping leveling without having to jack and block wheels. Do you own an rv or camper?

are airbags fine for riding at normal ride height or airing out when parked, i’m getting it for my 95 mustang, don’t need to lift it

I think the pt on articulation is valid. Guess this air lifts are temp solutions to lift the car but not gd for off roading

So what about the airbag that is attached right next to spring on the axle I'm surprised your that naive 🤔

Thats a ballon you are holding in your hand, a baloon that suports the weight on a few tons. And you want to squeeze it with you hands, trying to demonstrate that is rigid like a stone.🤣

Imo. If you are looking for height or aesthetics in general. I would stay away from Air ride. If you are looking for improved suspension and carrying capacity. Airbags are definitely the way to go.

That was an awful lot of black shiny new springs on there that you used for your example rv. So, how much did you charge your costumer to put those on there for them? Cause I see the airbag kits for like 300$ and I can put them on myself. When I need to put my motorcycle on my hitch I need extra strength it’s an extra 500 lbs hanging on the rear end. If I put helper springs on then when I take off the bike my rv will pop up in the air and knock my wife out of the bed. I think this video is a bit miss leading. If you show me an rv that uses the 10" of travel, I show you an rv that is stuck lol

you really need to use longer brake lines or relocate the mount of the brake line as it is under a lot of tension when at full drop on that vehicle.. huge safety issue you will want to fix

Lol every one bashing this poor dude who just wanted to help and had a good point from experiance. What he means to say is Air suspension = very comfortable but only for road as offroading causes it to burst Offroad springs = not very comfortable but very durable and will not break while offroading

Makes sense now. Thanks for saving me the mistake of using those!

I am neither pro or con for air bag use on an RV or Off road vehicle. Depending upon application, air bags and or springs need to be right sized for the application. Many people ad either helper springs or air bags as supplemental support elements to their suspensions. Range of lift or travel is dependent on the spring or airbag configuration. The one you showed had a operational range of around 5 inches. Probably adequate for most situations. If you want more lift, you need an airbag set up to accommodate that additional lift. Not just over inflate one which is too short. Springs are great for simplicity of use. Install it and your done. They have a fixed range of motion and support. Air bags are more complicated but offer the opportunity to vary their capacity (or ride height) based on demand by changing the volume of supporting load carrying material contained in the bag. In this case, air. And that is their primary. Advantage.

I wish you tubers would would script and edit. Also, the point of airbag suspension is to absorb shock. Not as a poor man’s lift kit

Put just enough air in to help your spring hangers so that your suspension still works

Airbags for leveling out a heavy load=good. Airbags for any other purpose=bad (in my experience)

15 psi max. Is all I need for 1000 lbs of leveling, and I get all suspension travel.

Contacted you guys three times via phone and email for a 6” Rv lift. No response. Bummer. Ended up getting a 3” lift by new coils and rear leaf springs. Rides nice but would have rather had the added clearance, bummer

I have a F250 cargo van that I made into a travel van. I am looking for a smoother ride because I feel every bump in the road. I am not looking for height.

I have a 1993 Jayco, Ford 350. Is that to old for a lift? All the comments below support airbags, confused!

Ya no they are not for a lift kit . They are more of a bump stop or additional spring rate adder definitely not to be over inflated or they will feel like they're full of concrete. Airbags can work extremely well for the right use auxiliary air volume tanks help them stay plush as well

what about hydroshox?

Very good points.

Bag on bar coupled with air lock dual rate sway bars is better.

Insufficient analysis to dismiss airbags. No recommended alternative?

Guy took it off the vehicle and can't even remember how it goes in.. and I'm supposed to believe he knows what he's talking about?

Now are you talking about helper bags as not being good? Or were you saying a full air ride suspension is no good off road.?

Just put cups on the bottom of the bags and no more problems with limited spring travel

There's a reason why big semi trucks use air bags

Your customers are overfilling for the load they are applying. Its a helper spring not a full suspension spring. Also.. That spring may be universal and not correct for the application. But even then.. Customers are probably overfilling them because they dont understand. Just like the tires might say max 42 psi or max 75psi.. doesnt mean that is what you fill it to. My small car specs 32psi ( tire max is 44). My tires wear properly and car rides like oem intended.

On a vehicle that spends part of its life towing and the other part just driving with nothing more than it’s stock weight your argument doesn’t apply. When towing you find the sweet spot for air and they work perfectly. If it’s not articulating you are over pressurized.

Thanks you, you just sold me, I'm ordering some alcan leaf springs

This video is extremely misleading. He is throwing shade at airbags wiithout proper explanation and understanding of their function, purpose and use.

Totally shear my sprinter van chassis clean through because of air bag. Cost £5.5k to repair.

What do you recommend then ? I have airbags and yes these is true my truck rides like crap now

THE SLAM VAN 😎

Ripped 2 on a construction van never again. Add springs not that much more money and remove the worry.

👍👍👍

I think it's more for leveling not really lifting it cheating like you say

If airbags are so bad why do Mercedes and high end cars use it for a smoother ride of course

You've missed the point of rear air assist totally

No I don't agree, the whole point I thought was to pump up for off-road vehicle clearance when needed, and on completion it would be lowered ...

Man, you're pushing on it with your 200lb, do you really think it won't compress further with 1500lbs on it ?

All of the travel and measurement examples are done with the RV jacked up and the axle dangling. Really?

That’s funny that multi million dollar companies like Peterbilt or Kenworth put air suspensions there trucks that haul 80000lbs but what do they know

Man, you guys must be mind readers. I have been daydreaming about an airbag setup for a few days now. This was a great explanation. The idea of having an inch or two of on demand clearance for the occasional Forest Service road without changing highway stability really appeals to me though. Too bad it doesn't work.

Good stuff

If your towing anything, You will be a fool if you dont have airbag supination

Ha. Yeah that's why all those truck drivers are scrambling to ditch their air ride.

Well the point of them is to take stress off of The Springs in the spring Hangers On overloaded vehicles. I can send you pictures of what a K 2500 pulling a gooseneck will do to a set of Springs when you're hauling hay out of the field with them. They throw them out at break them off at the frame it is a safety device if people are putting too much air in their airbag suspensions that's because they are morons not they're doing what it is not designed to do

Sorry mate. It is a bit bullshit. I have Hilux 4x4 just fitted them. The car is rather heavy at the back. And The ride is fantastic. On the road i use 3 bar when off road i use 1.5 bar so rear axle can work fully. Its absolutely briliant. But on vehicle you just showed. Right. Absolutely useless

Dude I wish you made this video about 6 months ago I'm super unhappy after I put mine in.....

What about a smoother ride?

I have air ride on my 40 foot Thor Tuscany pusher, it rides better than any of my cars..

He always shows the worst possible airbags is his videos. Oh, in case you don't know he sells springs for a living. Lol

Use accumulator!

The real issue here is that 99% of them are done wrong for the purpose of improving ride quality. And why is this? It's because airbags were originally designed for when you're trying to support a load far greater than the vehicle was intended to be normally used for, and thus you are trying to compensate for suspension (and shocks) that are WAY underdamped for the load, by putting on an exponential spring on it to prevent bottom-outs. Not a great way to do it, (compared to stiffer springs and shocks), but when you're trying to tow a 30,000lb boat with too much tongue weight using an F350, it still certainly beats the factory suspension by a mile. However, that original installation purpose is NOT what we are looking for, as we are staying under normal loading conditions, and actually giving our shocks even more travel to do their job. We're just looking for a constant upward force, irrespective of suspension position to give the shocks a little more room to do their job, and let the factory springs do their job of increasing force throughout the travel by their reasonable amount. Therefore, when using it as a way to restore ride height under the weight of an RV vs a passenger van, or as a lift to increase ride height, each airbag needs to be connected directly to a tank at least as big as the bag. This way, as it moves upwards, instead of increasing pressure towards "infinity" as bag height goes to "zero" (not actually infinity or zero, but you get the point I hope), it increases towards a maximum of only double its original force. Double may sound like a lot, but isn't at all compared to normal leaf springs that can increase by a lot more throughout their travel as overloads engage, etc.

Just like air shocks. Anything made out of rubber will eventually fail, believe me, I know from experience :o.