Air suspention system to make our 30' Thor RV Ford 450 ride smoother

[okin4]

Who has good advice of a very good Air suspention system - brand and model if possible.

I would like to make our RV Thor Four Winds 28Z (30' long and GVWR 14,500 lbs.) on a Ford 450


1. ride smoother and
2. to pump the rear up in case of more ground clearance needed in the back (rear bumper mount and ditch problem).


I woud like to controll it from the cap and it to be as comfortable as possible.


I would like to have a qualified garage to put it under our RV to be sure tah it will work fine and for a long time. (I have the feeling it would be not possible to do it yourself without heavy equipment - right?)


Thank you very much.

[Tskadberg]

My understanding is you generally need to swap out the leaf springs to achieve these results. There is such a system but I don’t recall the brand.
They put in less stiff springs so the load gets put on the airbags.


If your leaf springs are currently overloaded then you may not need to swap them out to get what you are after.

[Rockwood27]

AirLift has airbags for the rear to supplement the leaf springs. I don't know how much they will "improve" the ride. I don't know if airbags are available for the front suspension.

https://www.airliftcompany.com/vehic...r-duty/2015/#l

Also, check out SD Truck Springs.

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index...825&x=115&y=15

[Gumpster808]

If you want to really improve the ride you should look at liquid springs.

We had them installed on the rear of our old E450 and the ride, handling, etc was night and day different in a good way. Automatically compensated for wind from passing semis as well. With the fluid instead of air it responds almost instantly to compensate.

Not inexpensive but was well worth it to us. When we had it done it was about 10k for the rear.

There is a big write up on here I posted after the install and we put some miles on it.

It is adjustable as well when going less than 10 mph to either raise or lower the rear for driveway entry etc.

[Tombsy]

My rig came with Firestone air bags and I added the Airlift Wireless One compressor with a wireless control that clips to the visor.
It makes it easy to try different pressures.

[chboone]

Kelderman Air Ride Suspension is an option.
https://kelderman.com/shop/?find=201...sid=wqZMHJx63R

[okin4]

Originally Posted by Tskadberg

My understanding is you generally need to swap out the leaf springs to achieve these results. There is such a system but I don’t recall the brand.
They put in less stiff springs so the load gets put on the airbags.


If your leaf springs are currently overloaded then you may not need to swap them out to get what you are after.

I understand that the air-bags will be installed additionally; not in exchange for the mechanical springs. No, our RV is not overloaded; its more about comfort of ride and back clearance.

[okin4]

Originally Posted by Rockwood27

AirLift has airbags for the rear to supplement the leaf springs. I don't know how much they will "improve" the ride. I don't know if airbags are available for the front suspension.

https://www.airliftcompany.com/vehic...r-duty/2015/#l

Also, check out SD Truck Springs.

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index...825&x=115&y=15

Thanks a lot, I am not sure that I need anything in the front. It seem to be a problem of the rear only (old time way of a suspension). I will look at your links.

[okin4]

Originally Posted by Tombsy

My rig came with Firestone air bags and I added the Airlift Wireless One compressor with a wireless control that clips to the visor.
It makes it easy to try different pressures.

Thank you - this sounds like DIY. Was it?
I can not image to put the rubber bags in the rear between the axle and the frame myself - how without a lift?
How come the compressor is not needed to start with - since you say you added the compressor. Isn't them compressor part of the whole set up?

[Gumpster808]

The Firestone Rite Ride air bags that were in ours had fill connections in a compartment.

They couldn’t be changed on the road unless stopped and you hooked a compressor to the fill.

They never seemed to make a difference on the overall ride but did help with different loading in the coach at different pressures.

[Tombsy]

Originally Posted by okin4

Thank you - this sounds like DIY. Was it?
I can not image to put the rubber bags in the rear between the axle and the frame myself - how without a lift?
How come the compressor is not needed to start with - since you say you added the compressor. Isn't them compressor part of the whole set up?

Originally Posted by okin4

Thank you - this sounds like DIY. Was it?
I can not image to put the rubber bags in the rear between the axle and the frame myself - how without a lift?
How come the compressor is not needed to start with - since you say you added the compressor. Isn't them compressor part of the whole set up?

My airbags were already installed and they filled with connections in the storage compartment the same as Gumpster mentioned.
The compressor install I did myself, it’s pretty small I installed everything on a mounting board and put it in the end of a compartment.
There is some wiring involved and tapping into the air lines, I left the original fill connections in place as well.

[SergioP]

Rite I installed Firestone Ride air bags on my 99 Tioga. No lift was needed, it bolts on between the frame and the leaf springs or axle I don’t remember. It might have helped the sway some as the E350 didn’t have a rear sway bar. The ride was more dependent on tire pressure than air bag pressure.

My Forester came with them, I just use them to level the rv side to side. The fill valves are in a compartment on each side behind the rear wheels. Usually run about 50psi on one side with a little less on the higher side of the rv. The ride doesn’t change, still firm, firmer if I put 100psi in them.

[pauldub]

I think Kelderman or Liquidsprings are the only options that will do what you want. Simple air bags essentially increase spring rate and are only helpful if you are overloaded and hitting the axle bump stops too frequently.

[Tskadberg]

Originally Posted by okin4

I understand that the air-bags will be installed additionally; not in exchange for the mechanical springs. No, our RV is not overloaded; its more about comfort of ride and back clearance.

Sorry I wasn’t clear. The Kelderman system was what I was thinking about. It installs lower spring rate springs and adds airbags. This can improve ride smoothness. If you don’t change the leafs then little can be done for a smooth ride. As nothing can make the springs more smooth, the stiff lead springs are the weakest link on the ruff ride. Airbags may help with the bigger bangs on the road. But I’d just add Sumo springs.