Half ton tow vehicle air bags or Roadactive Suspension ? Firestone or Airlift ?

[Tideline77]

Thought I would reach out to the group to get opinions

 

Planning to add Firestone, Airlift or RAS to our F150 to decrease squat and improve ride quality/ driving experience 

I was dialed in on the Air Lift air bags until I read about the RAS Roadactive suspension that doesn’t use air bags and is lower cost 

 

for some odd reason I cannot paste the web pages for the 3 products and the search function drives me to drinking

 

any feedback is appreciated 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 10:41 PM by Tideline77

[topgun2]

Is THIS the link to Road Active Suspension you were looking for?

Bill

[Tideline77]

15 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Is THIS the link to Road Active Suspension you were looking for?

Bill

Yes, that is the website I attempted to paste in the OP

 

[Mike and Carol]

@Tideline77, to paste a link into a post:  copy the link, then in the compose box look at the icons at the top.  You will see what looks like some chain links in the second group after the B I  U  S.  Click it and then paste the link into the top box named URL.  The box under that (link text) gives you the option to provide a description instead of the URL, like what Bill did in his post.  He typed in THIS in the link text box which takes you to the URL he pasted.  Hope this helps.  Mike

[Tideline77]

This F150 product I was asking for input from the mass mind of the Oliver herd

From everything I read and researched about this product it helps reduces suspension sway and squat along with improving traction

 

 

 

 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

any feedback is appreciated 

My suggestion is that you join a Ford F150 forum to ask this question where there is specific towing expertise for your truck.

That’s what I do for my TV. I’m a member of the Cummins Forum and the wealth of their experience is amazing.

On a Ford truck forum you can certainly read the experiences of many F150 owners that have installed and used all of the aftermarket suspension helpers that you are considering.

Best wishes an hope this helps!

[rideandfly]

Installed two sets of Firestone rear differential airbags on two pickups and three sets of Timbren suspension enhancement systems on three pickups, all for towing.

Currently running Timbren SES on the rear differential our current Ollie TV, a 2024  F-150 5.0L.

My main reason to use them is to reduce rear end sag when towing trailers.

I like airbags because they are adjustable depending on load. Still have Firestone airbags on one pickup with about 10 years of service. They leak a little, so check pressure weekly when towing with that pickup.

Timbren are lower cost and easy to install. It also depends on how much load you carry in the pickup bed when not towing with the Timbren system. My F-150 still has about 3/4" air gap between the rear differential pad and Timbren rubber blocks giving a nice ride when Ollie is not attached with our normal camping gear loaded in the pickup bed. The Timbren system gives a firm ride when the differential pad is contacting the rubber load blocks with Ollie connected.

Original Ford rear differential jounce blocks:

Here's a photo of the Timbren SES load block with air gap between the block & differential pad when Ollie is not connected with camping gear in F-150 pickup bed. With another brand pickup I had with Ollie disconnected and camping gear loaded in the pickup bed, there was still enough load for the Timbren load block to contact the differential pad which gave a firm ride, not desirable. In that case airbags would be better than the Timbren SES system.

Edited Saturday at 02:45 AM by rideandfly

[Ronbrink]

I installed an Air Lift system on both my former Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 and current GMC Savana 2500 TVs for the primary purpose of reducing squat when fully loaded and trailering. The system will also compensate for uneven weight distribution in the TV cargo bay from side-to-side. The remote control for the onboard air pump is a great feature for ease of adjustment, based on situational needs; in general, 25psi for daily driving and 35psi when trailering with the Silverado. I will determine like settings for the newer Savana with more use. The trailering psi provides for the optimum ball height specified by Oliver, 23.5” as I recall. It is important to wire these systems to operate only in the keyed ignition ON position, since pressures are affected by temperature variances and minor seepage overtime; otherwise the starter battery could be compromised! As a bonus to this system, when dumping the waste tanks the front of the Oliver can be lifted to speedup the process and ensure a complete dump. There have been times when this is necessary due to poorly designed dump stations or an awkward approach. It is a fact that airbags will not increase vehicle load or tow capacities, but based on my experiences they do improve overall handling, especially when towing. That said, I never felt the need for the Anderson WDH. You can pan below to view my post titled ‘2019 GMC Savana 2500 Cargo Van’ and dated October 24, 2024, wherein there is some discussion on the Air Lift install. 

Edited Saturday at 01:52 PM by Ronbrink

[Rivernerd]

I installed the Airlift Loadlifter 5000 system on our 2019 Tundra two years ago.  It effectively reduced both squat and "jounce" when towing our Elite II, and added cornering stability.  Our air bags rely on a manual air pump, which I prefer.  It only takes me a couple of pumps with a bicycle pump to raise each spring to the 25 PSI level we prefer when towing.  I was already carrying a bicycle pump for my mountain bike.  I always carry a tire pressure gauge, so measuring the PSI of the airbags is easy.  

I cannot compare to the Firestone or RAS Roadactive systems, as I have no experience with either.  But it appears to me that the RAS Roadactive system is not adjustable.  We like being able to reduce pressure with our Air Lift system when not towing, then raise it again when towing. 

For what it's worth, the RAS Roadactive system presently costs $589 for our Tundra vs. $379 (with rebate) for the Airlift Loadlifter 5000.  Given our positive experience so far, I would again choose the Airlift Loadlifter 5000 because it works well, for a significantly lower price.

Edited Saturday at 03:57 PM by Rivernerd

[Geronimo John]

More that a few of our owners with F-150's use the Firestone Air Bags and Bilstein 5100's on the rear shocks.  

I have 18,000 miles on mine and wish I had upgraded earlier.

GJ

[Ronbrink]

10 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

More that a few of our owners with F-150's use the Firestone Air Bags and Bilstein 5100's on the rear shocks.

This GMC Savana 2500 conversion van owner is getting ready to have Bilstein 4600’s installed front and rear. I wished the 5100 Series was offered for my make and model. I plan to have a shop install the front shocks due to the heavy coil springs, given a quote of $180; I can manage the rear installs. 

[dewdev]

 

I use the Timbren suspension systems on my 2024 Ram 1500 Larame as it was a lot less expensive than the air bags. Additionally, you need to check the air bag pressure often as they will loose pessure over time.

 

[Ronbrink]

1 hour ago, dewdev said:

Additionally, you need to check the air bag pressure often as they will loose pessure over time.

True that, but not very much! Added benefit of the on-board air pump: each time the ignition is turned ON a few seconds of inflation is initiated to bring the bags up to the set pressure. Regardless of whether the vehicle is a daily driver or infrequently used, when the ignition is engaged the lost pressure is immediately restored. However, if wired to a constant 12V circuit and left unattended for a period of time the starter battery will be drained and possibly damaged in time. No bueno!

[MAX Burner]

@Tideline77:   We installed the AirLift system on our Tundra a couple years ago and it's been operating as designed ever since.  No squat, good ride either towing, hauling, or normal daily driving.  Looking into the onboard inflation upgrade -- we're just carrying a bicycle pump for now.... No biggie.  The AirLift price point was about the same at the advertised RAS cost, FYI.