I ran the small Airlift onboard compressor for a few years and then upgraded to the ViAir. The original would take the bags up to 30 psi in about 30 seconds which was quite reasonable. The ViAir would do it in 10 seconds, but the upgrade was primarily about being able to fill tires. Unless you are going to run the bags at 100 psi . . . the small compressor will do just fine.

Rob

@YODA

2019 F350 Platinum, short bed.​
Powering bags comes in 2 flavors. You can get the dedicated compressor or get a general purpose compressor. I got the latter; Viair. It goes to 200psi, pretty quick and includes a 2.5 gallon tank. I mounted compressor (on the Viair bracket) and the tank under passenger front and back seats. That means UNDER the truck. Yes its exposed to elements so I did my best to make all connections watertight. So far it works great. I installed tank with custom brackets I made. I took several 3/8" threaded rods, about 24" long and heated with propane till red then bent it into a U shape to form fit around frame. At the top of frame, bridging the ends of threaded rod, I used 1/4" steel, 1" wide with holes to let the rod pass thru. I made the bars longer to hand off to side of frame to hold the tank and compressor bracket. There is no drilling into truck. I was surprised how much room I had to work in that area despite having the powered running boards. I activate the compressor with upfitter switch and mounted an electronic pressure gauge on my A-Pillar. This means ZERO air lines into cab, only small control wires to gauge. I ran a handoff connector to back bumper so I can get air into toys, trailer tires, truck tires etc. My new trailer has 123 PSI tires so I need all the psi I can get.

As for bags, I just finished my design, just need to do the install of them. I got the AirLift DUAL controller as there is no inline check valve to prevent air from leaving one side and going to other (such as around turns). I am not sure this is required; its my choice. As my Viair is 200psi, I only run it long enough to keep air in the tank at least 100 psi so bags will have enough to work with. I installed an air handoff HERE that is fixed at 90 psi that goes to AirLift controller. Sending > 100psi over to AirLift controller is not good.

HERE is bracket to mount air handoff on back bumper. Note: I used this for my design as getting this bracket from him was not easy.
HERE is the A-Pillar custom part to hold the pressure indicator. The part I used is: OCPF-0022. It seems very expensive, and it is, but call him first. He needs to purchase the OEM part from Ford then he modifies it. If you send him your A-Pillar, it avoids that new part purchase.
HERE is the Viair kit I got.
HERE is the air pressure gauge I installed into above modified A-Pillar.

One thing I don't like about my setup is I must keep 100psi in tank at all times (at least I think so) so airlift controller will be happy. For safety, I don't like keeping the tank pressure above 10 or so PSI.

Below is my system design with parts. I did not update it yet to show the air bag handoff, but it would only really show the McMaster Car part I linked above.​

F350_Compressor_Diagram_2023-Apr4.pdf



This is certainly not cheap but really looks and works great.

Tom

Yoda The Airlift compressor in the 7400 and 25980 have almost identical specs to the Firestone 2610, so you can probably expect the same performance.

I have the Airlift compressor. I timed filling airbags from 5 psi to 30, 50 and 100 psi (unloaded truck):

From 5 psi to 30 psi: 22 seconds
From 5 psi to 50 psi: 47 seconds
From 5 psi to 100 psi: 2 minutes 25 seconds

My guess is the Firestone 2626 will be slightly quicker and has 3X the duty cycle (however, I don't think duty cycle really comes into play with just filling airbags).

If it were me, I would avoid drilling holes in the frame. It is very possible mounting the compressor without drilling holes in the frame

You can easily make your own "mounting plate" with basic materials, however a premade mounting kit is very convenient.

acoleman43 I would be with load on the truck the bags would fill faster.

My fab skills are not the greatest in metal, and pre made brackets usually either have engineering or trial and error behind their design.

You are correct and the bags fill much faster with a load on the truck. I think it takes less than 30 sec for mine to go from 5 psi to 45 psi once I load the fiver on the back.

As fas as the mounting....I did not drill holes in the frame nor did I want to. I was able to mount mine to the body underneath. Easy peasy---no special brackets or fabrication needed. That's one reason that I chose the two separate devices---much smaller footprint to mount and hide.

I just looked up the 220RK loaded weight and it came back with 8995 pounds. You SURE you need to add air bags to an F350 for that trailer?
Unlike other threads, I'm looking at the potential to save you some money Keith..lol

You sure ask the tough questions Thanks for trying to save me money

The answer is why all the questions I have asked here. On the Rally trip I was loaded a bit more than usual with a lot of weight in the truck bed. My pin weight is somewhere around 1700-1800lbs with the trailer loaded and fresh water tank filled. I have not done a cat scale. However my tractor loader will lift about 1500 lbs and it struggles to lift and move the trailer when it is totally empty. We pack extra bottled water and can goods under the bed as the pantry shelves are not strong enough - usually enough for the trip, so there was extra this time.

My truck springs were compressed about 60% but not on the overloads, Fords new spring design is soft at the top compared to my 04 which had about the same capacity. However on some rough roads I could feel the deep bounce in the rear of the truck. Headlights were a bit high too. So I am looking for a little lift in those cases to slightly level the truck and take out the deep bounce - probably in the 25 to 30 psi range on the bags from discussions here and elsewhere. I am also hoping the bags will give a little roll control. Some say yes it will and others say no - need a sway bar.

My other option there is a rear sway bar. The parts for that are between $600 and $800 for the Ford OEM one that will bolt right up, or get a Hellwig unit.. However doing that will stiffen the empty ride which is rough already.

So am I 100% convinced I need the bags - probably no. I will be looking for a deep sale to get them though if I do. Do I need the wireless control.? Probably not, but as noted here its nice to have when you need it. I may just get the bags with the manual fill and use my on board air system I will be installing to manually adjust from an AUX port. I have a few emails in about just guying the wireless manifold, but right now its tough to get the information. Airlift does not sell separately the Gen 2, even as a replacement part (not in thier system yet). I may be able to get the Firestone one. I'm keeping an eye out on Craigslist if one comes up for sale.

An Why do I need the on board air and 2.5 gallon tank?- for the air horns. I have a set of 30 year old Grover's (37" and 34" pair) that came off the roof of a big Mac truck. Ran across to many idiot drivers this trip cutting me off or distracted with thier phones.. The problem is finding room under the truck to mount them. I am test fitting one right under the passenger seat. If Allowed I'll post a write up on thier install along withe the OBA which I think will fit above the spare tire.

So as I learn more and read more I reformulate what I am thinking...and maybe I will figure this out - ya think?

Keith

I'm not about saving you money

Get the Carli Pintop or E-Venture 3.5" suspension system with the progressive leaf spring kit - and add some bags to the rear to maintain load capacity. Will smooth out your ride for you

Yoda . . . I am kind of with Scott'n'Wendy on this . . . do you really need air bags with your 5th wheel and an F350? My 303 has a pin weight of about 2000 lbs and a trailer weight between 10K and 11K. This puts the aux truck suspension springs just barely touching the spring stops at rest. I don’t have air bags or a rear sway bar and this truck is every but as stable as the HDPP F150 with air bags at 30 psi. (In hindsight I am truly amazed at how well that F150 carried the load . . . but, I digress).

I am wondering if your pin weight is actually too light ? Perhaps you are still in the “softly sprung” upper range of springs. This may seem like an “odd” suggestion . . . but, put 500 lbs of something in the bed of the truck, hook up the trailer and go for a tow to see if things are more stable.

Rob

Between you and Scott I am going to put the airbags on hold

I know others helped in this decision too - Thanks

In post 52 I had the load your talking about. I had well north of 500lbs in the truck bed with all my tools and stuff to take to the Daughter at the rally. Probably an extra 300lbs-500lbs above the pin with the can goods and water under the bed - it was pretty full. So actually the trailer was probably a little light in the hiney. I think I will probably concrete on the sway bar.. Given the buffeting I had with high cross winds in NM coming home (from a huge storm that was close to the interstate) I think the sway bar would have helped. The trailer sits a bit higher now.

I'm thinking the x factor bracing is having the trailer side motion transmitted through the hitch more as the trailer does not lean as much with the heavier springs etc It is much more stable in regular towing - so much so I forget is back there But high 90 degree cross winds seem to telegraph more to the truck. By high I would guess 40 to 50mph.or more Semis were being blown all over the road. One even looked like it lifted a tire. Lets say I made no move to try and pass in those conditions and left lots of room.

Now on to my OBA and air horns. BTW was it you that mounted yours above the spare tire?

Thanks folks for the excellent discussion on this folks

Keith

Keith, have you considered https://activesuspension.com/pages/r...4aAgjVEALw_wcB or a set of helpers?

https://www.hellwigproducts.com/prod...350+Super+Duty Don't know if you have factory contact overloads but if you do then https://www.hellwigproducts.com/our-.../?searchq=9703

I agree. Our previous coach was a 14K fifth wheel which was towed with the same 3/4 ton truck in my signature. No additional suspension modifications needed in our case.
Rich

Wow! We have never bottomed out, even with the 14k fifth wheel. I must admit that our empty ride is rather rough though. But, I will take that over issues towing a trailer.
Rich

FYI. An anti-sway bar does not create a stiffer ride. That is a wive’s tale. It will however greatly reduce your side to side roll when cornering, with or without a trailer. And no, it doesn’t have to be “high speed” cornering as another poster said. As with all info on the web, you will have to sort through the BS.
Rich

Assuming the OP is still checking this thread 3 months later, a bit of input on Timbrens. I recently bought a used 2017 ram 1500 for a tow vehicle replacing a 17 year old expedition. I was checking and adjusting my weight distribution hitch and noticed the squat without the bars hooked up was only a couple of inches or so. I was kind of surprised considering all the complaints online about squat on these trucks.

A little investigation, and I found that a previous owner had installed a set of Timbrens on it. Since the Timbrens are longer than the oem bump stops and have only about an inch of clearance, your truck will be riding on them when heavily loaded. They supposedly have a progressive spring rate. I haven't had a chance to do much driving with the trailer on this truck yet other than a couple of trips to the closest scales and a short trip down the highway. What I've noticed is loaded and on the Timbrens, the suspension feels more like a 3/4 ton to me. Also very little body roll. Unloaded, no effect. Of course, I don't have experience with this truck prior to the Timbrens, but am not sure I would have been happy with it. I imagine it would have been a more bouncy experience like the similarly coil springed Expedition it replaced.

So for the OP, if you're looking to try something, for the price it might be worthwhile to try a set of Timbrens. Easy install, and you might be able to return them and reinstall your original bump stops if you aren't happy, assuming they have a good return policy. I did call the company to find more out about mine using the # stamped on the side. Customer support was really good. Sure, they won't give you the adjustability and fine tuning a good set of air bags will, but so far I'm pretty happy with my find.