I'm considering adding rear air springs to my '99 Toyota 4Runner to level the 4x4 when towing our 2003 Coleman Santa Fe pop-up camper. I'm mainly concerned about the coil springs rubbing holes in the air bags over time. This is my wife's kid taxi so no plans for mudding or any rough off-road (although we do live down a 1/4 mile gravel drive).
I'd like to hear from other's experiences with these air springs. What brand they used, how long the bags last, that sort of thing.
Nice looking system but at $2500 just slight out of my budget for this project (by a factor of about 5). I'm also not thrilled with relying totally on air for my suspension. A failure of the system would leave your truck riding on its axles. I would rather keep the original coil springs and add an adjustable helper system.
I dont know if you'll find a setup like that (that's not totally custom). If you are looking for a setup that you can adjust for a heavy load, then you might check out something like this: http://www.jksmfg.com/acos.htm
Basically, you can adjust the lower end down and get up to a couple more inches of lift.
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Curiosity killed Schrodinger's cat.....or did it?
Thanks Jeremy, this one is definitely in my budget and it sounds like a good idea (not sure how easy it would be to adjust once the threads get full of road grime). But looks like its strickly a Jeep product and/or requires welding it in place.
I was thinking more along the lines of this - http://www.airliftcompany.com/outbackspecial.htm - (which still requires cutting off the original rubber bumper inside the coil spring {and my wife isn't exactly thrilled with that idea, I can just imagine what she'd say to welding ACOS on}).
I was hoping to touch base with other folks who had used these to get an idea on how long they last. The air bladders don't look too beefy but what can I expect for a couple of hundred bucks.
Thanks Jeremy, this one is definitely in my budget and it sound like a good idea. But looks like its strickly a Jeep product and/or requires welding it in place.
I was thinking more along the lines of this - http://www.airliftcompany.com/outbackspecial.htm - (which still requires cutting off the original rubber bumper inside the coil spring {and my wife isn't exactly thrilled with that idea, I can just imagine what she'd say to welding ACOS on}).
I was hoping to touch base with other folks who had used these to get an idea on how long they last. The air bladders don't look too beefy but what can I expect for a couple of hundred bucks.
I have the Airlift on my 4Runner and have been fairly happy with it. It certainly gets the job done and allows a heavy load to be carried without rear sag. The onboard compressor works quickly and and the release valve allows fast bleed downs.
You can always keep the air pressure to a minimum to keep the ride as soft as possible. When the bags are near medium to max inflation, they certainly increase the spring rate and degrade the ride to a significant degree. Still, I've never been too happy with the ride quality of my 4Runner, especially since I came from car-like '95 Pathfinder.
I did have two problems with the Airlift. The supplied air bags were supposedly correct but they kept on chafing the inner coils and then leaking. I replaced the bags twice and was charged by the installer for R/R each time. Airlift finally, on the third attempt, sent me two slightly thinner (diameter) bags <edit: not taller when deflated but taller when inflated> designed for another vehicle and this solved the problem.
Airlift warrantees the bags for life but does not cover labor. My bag failures occurred within four to six months of install after each install. I felt that this was an unacceptably high and accelerated failure rate and thought it unreasonable that I had to beta test their product at my expense. Despite documentation, phone calls and letters asking Airlift to cover the costs of labor, they denied reimbursement. I thought this was incredibly poor customer "service" and was amazed that they wouldn't adequately deal with this issue. It's not like I had a leaking bag two years after they were installed.
Since Airlift finally supplied me with the correct bags, I have had no leakage issues.
On another note, my system is supposed to have a sensor that maintains a minimum of 5 lbs of pressure in the bags. This feature no longer works, but it's not a big deal to me.
That said, I have an Airlift system waiting to be installed in the Sequoia. I'm acutally not really sure I'll need it, even with the towing. I'm going to have to hook the car and trailer up, load it with my stuff and see how much it drops.
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Mark
'02 Toyota Sequoia
'99 Toyota 4Runner
'95 Porsche 911/993
Last edited by MarkInBaltimore; 01-20-2004 at 06:05 PM.
My wife just asked if you also pulled a pop-up with your 4Runner. If so, do you have noticed any problems with trailer sway? If so, do you use anything control the sway?
Sorry, I never kept or never knew the part number.
Correction on my post after checking my old notes: the new bags were not taller, just thinner. Because they are thinner, when they inflated, they did raise the rear maybe 1/2". Uninflated, they were supposedly the same height as the original ones that kept on leaking. Sorry for the confusion.
I have had the Airlift system on my 4Runner since January of 2001. No, I don't trailer a pop-up; I pull a 900 lb Trailex aluminum trailer with a 3000 lb rear-engined Porsche and about 350 lbs of tires and wheels on the tire rack. I also have a Tekonsha Prodigy and electric brakes.
I've never had a problem with sway. The Trailex is set up perfectly for a rear-engined car, and I've pulled the rig at over 80 mph. (To others, please, no flames about the speed.) My 4Runner was a barely adequate tow vehicle for my needs. It got the job done, but just barely. I know a guy at the track who has an auto 4Runner that he was towing a 2000lb trailer and a 2500 lb car plus another 350 in wheels, and he had no problems for his short pulls.
From what I was told, you can use the brake controller to tap the trailer brakes to settle any sway. At least for my aluminum trailer, you can't use a sway hitch since the stresses would torque the metal.
Hope this all helps!
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Mark
'02 Toyota Sequoia
'99 Toyota 4Runner
'95 Porsche 911/993
Perhaps I'm overly concerned about this 4Runner/pop-up camper combination.
I've towed heavy double-axle trailers before, both with and without electric brakes, without troubles (even a fully loaded double-axle two horse trailer w/o electric brakes using a CJ5 as the tow vehicle [what can I say, I was young and indestructible]). I've towed light single-axle trailers before too, but have always used a leaf sprung rear-end with a good-sized V8 tow vehicle (even that CJ had a V8 and leaf springs) and never noticed any squat before.
The 4Runner, with it's V6 and coil rear-end, kind of spooked me [that's what living past forty will do to a guy] when she squatted so low with this medium sized (2500 lb) single-axle trailer.
Was talking to an AirLift tech and could be you got the wrong kit to begin with...
"The kit for the previous 4 runner ('90-'95) has slightly larger diameter bags than the '96-'02 models. The correct Outback Special for the '96-'02 models is 65743. The '90-'95 models use 65734. It seems that is it easy for dealers to get a little dyslexic when it comes to looking up the correct kit. I wish the part numbers were not so similar, as this would cut down on the mix-ups."
Ya, my CJ5 was (note past tense) the same year as yours. I bought her around the mid-80's. Wanted something I could drive in the woods, roll a few times, and drive out and nobody would notice any difference in the Jeep.
Could be you got mine now. Black w/ white rag top, broken left windshield hinge, bent brake backing plate on the right front wheel (made stopping fun as you never knew if that brake was going to grab or not), crumpled tailgate, right seat eaten by my horse (never store grain in a rag top where the horse can get at it), three or four black stearing-wheel covers wrapped around 1/2" foam like you would black electrical tape on the stearing wheel, and if I recall right, Sears brand black lock-outs on the front, and of course BIG tires.
Man, I loved that Jeep. (I cried when I was forced to sell her.)
Last edited by David_T (MO); 01-21-2004 at 10:41 AM.
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