i had air bags on my pickup since 2008 when i bought it. i had them plumbed in with the valve stems that come with the kit. they are cheap, simple, and work fine if you want to drag a compressor with you everywhere. i was flat out sick of messing with the compressor all the time.
i checked into various setups with a compressor, most of which had an big gauge you had to mount someplace inside the cab, run air lines inside the cab, etc... alot of clutter and more crap hanging off of my dash that i dont want.
i then found the wireless air command from firestone. it was exactly the opposite of the setup i just explained. there is nothing inside the cab except the small remote control, which is about the size of a deck of cards. no wires, no airlines, NOTHING. its a little harder on the checkbook compared some other styles, but it is worth it in my opinion. you can throw the remote in the center console when not in use...out of sight, out of mind.
the install is very basic, but does take some time (especially if you dont want wires hanging all over). there are alot of wires, but it is all basic stuff. just need to find a way to hide all those damn wires!
IF YOU INSTALL IT UNDER THE HOOD LIKE I DID...............make sure you purchase extra air line. the amount that comes with the air bags is not long enough to make two runs from the rear axle to the front of the vehicle. etrailer.com sells extra firestone air line. im sure you can get the stuff at any truck/trailer repair shop, but i live out in the boonies and couldnt find any close to home. i was ordering stuff from etrailer anyways...
ANOTHER INSTALL TIP....if you look at my first pic, notice the black box with all the wires coming out of it. this is obviously the main "brain" of the controller. there is no antenna to receive the signal from the remote. thus, the deeper you bury this box in the location you chose, the worse reception it will get. i like the nice, clean install i did on the kit, but i hate the reception. it works 100% of the time from inside the cab, but if i get out and stand by tailgate to start hooking a trailer up, it will not work. it stops working about the time i get by the gas filler door on the bedside. not a BIG problem, but i would have definitely thought about mounting it someplace else had i known this before i installed it.
i have ran the wireless air command for about 8 months now, and am extremely happy with it except for a couple things.
1. firestone recommends running at least 5 lbs in the bags at all times. it is nearly impossible to get the bags to deflate this low. they always hang between 8-11 lbs unless you deflate them with a load on the rear of the pickup. (if you deflate them with a trailer hooked up, the weight of the trailer will help deflate them all the way to 5 lbs, then the valve closes and keeps them at 5-6 lbs.) most people probably wouldnt care, but it just bugs me. the naked eye cannot see a difference in height of the rear end (but it still bothers me)
2. if you set the controller to fill the bags to 40 psi, the compressor will stop running BEFORE it actually gets to 40. thus you end up with 35-38 lbs in the bags (and 90% of the time not equal pressure between the two). for example, one will have 35 and the other will have 39. i have just gotten used to inflating 5 psi more than the setpoint and it usually ends up close to what i want. once again....is this a big deal? probably not... i am just anal about dumb stuff like this.
you can "T" both bags together and run them off of one port on the controller (the controller is capable of running 4 bags, 2 front and 2 rear). i dont like the idea of running the bags together as 1 because of body roll. i cant help but think that when you turn, the outside bag will see more weight and the inside will see less, thus pushing air from one bag to another.
i checked into various setups with a compressor, most of which had an big gauge you had to mount someplace inside the cab, run air lines inside the cab, etc... alot of clutter and more crap hanging off of my dash that i dont want.
i then found the wireless air command from firestone. it was exactly the opposite of the setup i just explained. there is nothing inside the cab except the small remote control, which is about the size of a deck of cards. no wires, no airlines, NOTHING. its a little harder on the checkbook compared some other styles, but it is worth it in my opinion. you can throw the remote in the center console when not in use...out of sight, out of mind.
the install is very basic, but does take some time (especially if you dont want wires hanging all over). there are alot of wires, but it is all basic stuff. just need to find a way to hide all those damn wires!
IF YOU INSTALL IT UNDER THE HOOD LIKE I DID...............make sure you purchase extra air line. the amount that comes with the air bags is not long enough to make two runs from the rear axle to the front of the vehicle. etrailer.com sells extra firestone air line. im sure you can get the stuff at any truck/trailer repair shop, but i live out in the boonies and couldnt find any close to home. i was ordering stuff from etrailer anyways...
ANOTHER INSTALL TIP....if you look at my first pic, notice the black box with all the wires coming out of it. this is obviously the main "brain" of the controller. there is no antenna to receive the signal from the remote. thus, the deeper you bury this box in the location you chose, the worse reception it will get. i like the nice, clean install i did on the kit, but i hate the reception. it works 100% of the time from inside the cab, but if i get out and stand by tailgate to start hooking a trailer up, it will not work. it stops working about the time i get by the gas filler door on the bedside. not a BIG problem, but i would have definitely thought about mounting it someplace else had i known this before i installed it.
i have ran the wireless air command for about 8 months now, and am extremely happy with it except for a couple things.
1. firestone recommends running at least 5 lbs in the bags at all times. it is nearly impossible to get the bags to deflate this low. they always hang between 8-11 lbs unless you deflate them with a load on the rear of the pickup. (if you deflate them with a trailer hooked up, the weight of the trailer will help deflate them all the way to 5 lbs, then the valve closes and keeps them at 5-6 lbs.) most people probably wouldnt care, but it just bugs me. the naked eye cannot see a difference in height of the rear end (but it still bothers me)
2. if you set the controller to fill the bags to 40 psi, the compressor will stop running BEFORE it actually gets to 40. thus you end up with 35-38 lbs in the bags (and 90% of the time not equal pressure between the two). for example, one will have 35 and the other will have 39. i have just gotten used to inflating 5 psi more than the setpoint and it usually ends up close to what i want. once again....is this a big deal? probably not... i am just anal about dumb stuff like this.
you can "T" both bags together and run them off of one port on the controller (the controller is capable of running 4 bags, 2 front and 2 rear). i dont like the idea of running the bags together as 1 because of body roll. i cant help but think that when you turn, the outside bag will see more weight and the inside will see less, thus pushing air from one bag to another.
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