F150 With Airbags Guide: Finding F150 Air Bag Kits
There are plenty of companies that make air bags for suspensions. Probably the most famous would be Air Lift and they sell through authorized dealers including some vendors at Amazon Marketplace. These products should be found near you with ease.
To learn more about this product, just continue to read our article. It explores the topic to make sure you get the best information available. This information should help you make a great purchase decision. Finding good airbag suspension help is not that difficult.
F150 With Airbags: Are They Worth It?
This will depend on who you talk to. Some people have put the wrong size on their F-150s and have stated their truck rode like a brick. Others put the proper size on their trucks and found that their ride greatly improved.
Not everyone will be satisfied with this product even if they match the right size to their truck. Just keep in mind that installing these air bag suspension models does not increase your cargo capacity. They just help you ride better.
There are a few benefits to installing this air bags on your suspension:
1. Improved overall ride quality- the ride is important and these products help smooth out your ride especially going over bumps, etc.
2. Improves towing- while these air bags do not increase the amount of weight you can haul or tow, they do make towing heavier loads a lot easier. They should help keep your truck from squatting.
3. Help center your headlights- when hauling tough and heavy loads, your headlights can be pointed in the wrong direction. The air bags help level your truck so your headlights hit the road where they are supposed to.
4. Help your tires to wear evenly- this is an added benefit as tire wear can cause you to replace individual tires sooner than you have planned
5. Helps braking & steering- when you remove the squat, you can brake a lot easier and steer better. Plus, they help prevent trailer sway when your tow vehicle and trailer are aligned correctly.
6. Adjustable- you can add or release air when your load gets heavy or lighter. You can adjust after you drop off a heavy load or before you take a heavy load on.
Finding Air Bags For F150
The first place to look, if you are an online shopper, would be Amazon. That marketplace has a variety of brands selling different air bags systems for your F-150 and other vehicles. If you like the protection Amazon provides when making a purchase and after receiving a product, then this outlet is for you.
Air Lift has a wide dealer network it uses to market their popular air bag systems. You can find a dealer near you by using their dealer locator web page. In a test search, we found 17 dealers in the Boise-Nampa area.
There are many other outlets that sell truck parts and accessories that carry these products. Some carry more than one brand to make your comparison shopping time easier.
The key to finding a good set of these air bag suspension products is to know your model of F-150 and its year. These air bag systems are designed for different models and years so do not just pick one and buy it.
Make sure they are made for your specific F150. Some companies go back to 2004 so most modern truck owners will not be left out of using this nice product.
F150 Air Bag Kit With Compressor
At the Air Lift website, we did not see any air bag systems that came with a compressor. However, that does not mean you cannot buy a compressor to use with their systems. Air Lift sells the compressors separately from the air bags.
These compressors are sold with the ability to use the remote control or a special App. You can read all about them on that company's website. On another truck's parts and accessories website, we did not see any compressors sold with the air bags.
They had a wide variety of products to choose from including all the Air Lift systems. You can view their product line up at this link. There may be a company that puts the two products together but they did not appear in any of our searches.
Talk to your local dealers to see what can be put together for you. The cost may go up but it may be well worth having the compressor along for the ride.
F150 Air Bags For Towing
This topic will provide a variety of opinions. Many owners will say that air bags do not help with sway. They are not designed to cure or hinder that problem according to them.
They feel that if you want help with sway, you should go with a weight distribution hitch instead. But when you are towing heavy loads and do not want to endure a drive with the squat taking place, you may find that these air bags will solve that problem.
These products are designed to help lift your truck higher so your vehicle can level out. This benefit makes sure your headlights are pointing where they should, you have no squat, and you can brake and steer a lot better.
The different air bag levels help you tow different loads. Some of these air bags are designed to handle between 2000 and 5000 pounds with some models going a bit higher. That may help with towing as your truck won’t be struggling to make it down the road.
Your line of sight may be back to normal as well. With a level truck, you should not have any problems seeing anything on the road ahead of you. What also helps with towing are those air bags with jounce control or bumpers.
This internal foam part helps keep your truck from bottoming out saving you from some towing risks that can occur when that happens.
Some Air Bag Criteria To Consider
When you are out shopping for new air bags for your suspension, there are a couple of things to consider. The first will be ‘How much weight will you be towing or hauling’.
You do not want to go to the higher levels of air bags if you are not going to be towing or hauling heavy weights. Some air bag systems can go to 5000 pounds and others will only support 2000 pounds.
Make sure to match the air bags to your towing or hauling needs. The second criterion to consider will be your budget. At Amazon, these devices are going from roughly $250 to over $300 without the compressor.
We need to mention that fact because, with an air compressor, those prices can jump from $1000 to almost $4000 approx., depending on where you buy this system. There may be a lot of brands making these air bag suspension systems but they are not going to be cheap.
Using The Air Compressor
Some of these kits come with a line kit. These line kits, one for each air bag, are designed to allow you to put your inflation valve where it is most convenient for you. Many people place these valves on their bumper.
However, when you buy a system or kit that comes with an onboard compressor, you do not have to work as hard nor place the inflation valves in a convenient spot. The compressor mounts between the two air bags under your vehicle.
Then when you need to inflate one side or the other, or both, then all you have to do is flip a switch and the compressor handles the inflation. No more getting out of your truck to handle this duty.
This is the better system when you are frequently towing and hauling different loads. It makes your work a little lighter.
Types Of Air Bag Systems
There are two types of air bag systems you can buy. The first is for heavy-duty towers or those who tow frequently. This option is called air bag helper springs and they are made to handle a lot of heavy work.
The second air bag system you can buy is for those who infrequently tow or just tow light loads like a small boat. This system is called the coil-style air springs.
Some Additional Words
Not everyone likes these air bags. They do not like the ride they provide or they do not think they are worth the money. Whether they are worth it or not is up to you to decide.
They do seem to provide lots of extra towing and driving benefits so they are worth checking out. Some people love them as they provide what those owners are looking for.
