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Kyle
Guest
So I am putting a LWB rangie together for personal use and I really dig the air spring setup for many many reasons. Anyone gotten creative with the air setup ?
Kyle
Kyle
what do you mean, creative?
get rid of the control unit, route the hoses somewhere so you could access them easily, and put shraeder valves.
LWB for personal use is something I dig, too. a '95 at that.
OTOH... you could use the valve unit, and rig your own electric controls for it. Use the existing up/down buttons, and you could use the mirror joystick to level off the truck.
get rid of the control unit, route the hoses somewhere so you could access them easily, and put shraeder valves.
LWB for personal use is something I dig, too. a '95 at that.
OTOH... you could use the valve unit, and rig your own electric controls for it. Use the existing up/down buttons, and you could use the mirror joystick to level off the truck.
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Kyle
Guest
No No , I mean for lift and longevity. I can make spacers I guess , but if a bag dies it will drop on the larger size tire and piss me off. Then its long bump stops but that is just the easy dumb ass way around it...
I don't think there's a dumb ass way around it; the way to build in some redundancy is to stack two shorter air springs. Check http://www.ride-rite.com/Ride-Rite.htm for options.
Two are less likely to die at the same time.
actually, you can use a shorter spring as an "overload" spring, halfway up the trailing links.
Two are less likely to die at the same time.
actually, you can use a shorter spring as an "overload" spring, halfway up the trailing links.
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Kyle
Guest
The second one is something I had thought about. I could doa spring perch on the arm just like Fox bodied Fords. Although , I would need a redundant air supply system as well.
Kyle
Kyle
well, redundant air supply is simple - either another air pump (can use one from Cadillacs), or 5lb CO2 tank. The overload air springs are pretty wide (about 5.5" in dia), so they would only need about 100psi to restore the stock height.
But - these trailing arms were never meant to take a side load in the middle, so it would have to be a very gentle ride back home.
yet another approach - take the least-stiff coil springs that you can find, and put bags inside. You could even use stock air setup to level off the truck.
But - these trailing arms were never meant to take a side load in the middle, so it would have to be a very gentle ride back home.
yet another approach - take the least-stiff coil springs that you can find, and put bags inside. You could even use stock air setup to level off the truck.
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Kyle
Guest
The arms that I make are 2" OD 3/8 wall Peter , I think they can handle it just fine. The issue with that setup is clutter...
J
JMyerz
Guest
Check out the air bag kits available for jeeps, you could easily adapt their ideas into a solid setup.
Justin
Justin
holy shit, those are some heavy-ass tubes.
In that case, you could run hydraulic cylinders between the framerails and whichever point on the arm you like. If you have one pressurized, you'll be left with the tire to absorb the bumps - but it'll take much less space than an airbag, and you have all hydraulic pressure you want on tap. Easier to mount, too, and it can be mounted at an angle.
In that case, you could run hydraulic cylinders between the framerails and whichever point on the arm you like. If you have one pressurized, you'll be left with the tire to absorb the bumps - but it'll take much less space than an airbag, and you have all hydraulic pressure you want on tap. Easier to mount, too, and it can be mounted at an angle.
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Kyle
Guest
Now see , thats what I am looking for , that aint a bad idea actually , but I would need a ram that floats at each wheel... Its also fairly compact
yes. the rams are tiny, compared to air springs.
I started thinking of a super-beefed-up Bilstein shock - with a longer compressed N2 section, and an external tube press-fitted over it. At the end of the shock stroke, the piston hits the floating piston separating N2 from fluid; if you pumped about 1000 psi in it instead of ~100-200, you could use it to jack up the corner. I would not trust the 14mm rods of stock-application shocks to support a corner, maybe 18mm should be okay.
I started thinking of a super-beefed-up Bilstein shock - with a longer compressed N2 section, and an external tube press-fitted over it. At the end of the shock stroke, the piston hits the floating piston separating N2 from fluid; if you pumped about 1000 psi in it instead of ~100-200, you could use it to jack up the corner. I would not trust the 14mm rods of stock-application shocks to support a corner, maybe 18mm should be okay.
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Kyle
Guest
Yeah , I think that is the ticket and they would be just hanging there doing nothing if all went well.. Its light and uncomplicated... Just an axtra shock at each corner basically
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Kyle
Guest
Kyle said:
Yeah, you'll dig it for awhile, then you'll dig a hole for it
I just saw that the newer genuine P38 replacement bladders are 3" longer than the originals - looked like they might fit the Classic end plugs too...
BTW, I still have my whole '93 EAS in the garage (minus one rear bag) if you need any extra parts
SC
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Kyle
Guest
Well I have two EAS setups and 8 bags so I am covered I think . But there has to be a way to make it reliable. I think that its just so easy to swap it out for springs that people jsut take that path. For the kind of travel and wheeling we have planned for this one it definately would serve us better then springs if its reliable/redundant..
Kyle
. But there has to be a way to make it reliable. I think that its just so easy to swap it out for springs that people jsut take that path. For the kind of travel and wheeling we have planned for this one it definately would serve us better then springs if its reliable/redundant..Kyle
well until I bought the disco I was looking for a 94-95 LWB.
my plan was to pitch the factory air system and go with firestone air bags at the corners.
they are cheap available and come in alot of sizes. plus if you used the same size at all four corners the 1 spare would cover you.
another cool feature would be a four way air valve that would allow you to adjust height/articulation at each corner.
how cool would it be to just add 4" of lift on the left side for a off camber section on command
the firestone bags have faired very well in mud trucks for decades here in the midwest and reside under millions of heavy trucks. They will hold up just fine in a LWB or disco.
Thom
my plan was to pitch the factory air system and go with firestone air bags at the corners.
they are cheap available and come in alot of sizes. plus if you used the same size at all four corners the 1 spare would cover you.
another cool feature would be a four way air valve that would allow you to adjust height/articulation at each corner.
how cool would it be to just add 4" of lift on the left side for a off camber section on command
the firestone bags have faired very well in mud trucks for decades here in the midwest and reside under millions of heavy trucks. They will hold up just fine in a LWB or disco.
Thom
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Kyle
Guest
I think slade messed with the firestone bags in a rangie . Its damn nice to load that bitch till the bumper is about to drag and then watch it come right back... Damn nice indeed... We got a 3/4 ton Suburban to tow the Whaler with. I have the trailer setup for alot of tongue weight because it will tow much better if you have a truck that can handle the weight. When the boat is hooked to the Burban the truck sags just a little in the ass. When its hooked to the LWB the truck pumps right back to where it was before I hooked it up.
The new P38 bag doesnt sound bad either. Whatever I go with it has to be longer for some lift. The issue is bag failure or system failure. If I am running a 265 on the truck and I have a bag or system failure , I got issues , big issues..
Kyle
The new P38 bag doesnt sound bad either. Whatever I go with it has to be longer for some lift. The issue is bag failure or system failure. If I am running a 265 on the truck and I have a bag or system failure , I got issues , big issues..
Kyle
Kyle said:Well I have two EAS setups and 8 bags so I am covered I think
Kyle
It's not just the ease of swapping in some springs, it was initially the cost of new parts - now there are quite a lot of used parts around - but, it'll still be a challenge to make the Classic compressor and valve block reliable. If you build in a manual override with schraeder valves and keep the powertank handy, that might get you home without riding the bump-stops. Keep in mind also, if your alternator goes out, you're going down like a Whitehouse intern. Or, just carry four OME springs in the 1650
Don't get me wrong, I loved my EAS - I just wanted one less thing to worry about. The way it leveled out when loaded was awesome and I especially enjoyed pulling up next to Cherokees at the light and rising above them
One day I'll get another LWB and keep the EAS working.Peter, I saw the longer bags at a friend's house this weekend (I was trading parts for welding services
) and he put them side by side with an old air bag - should be interesting to see the results on his P38.SC
