Airbag suspension on Mazda BT50

[bikmad]

I have just built a slide on camper for my tray ute and are thinking about
putting airbags on the rear. I can get some on ebay made by a crowd called Boss Suspension for $495 which sound pretty good. Others I have looked at are Firestone which are about $825. Does anyone know if the firestone are any bedtter, or have any experience with the Boss ones.
Thanks

[chunks]

Will the slide on camper be on the ute all the time, or will you be taking it off when not in use?

I have fitted a few of the Firestone airbags and they are pretty good quality, but a bit dear as you said. Not sure what the boss ones are like sorry.

[shortyq]

airide suspension supplys,melbourne

ps 1 r in the spelling

go the slam bags!

[PJ.zook]

airide suspension supplys,melbourne

ps 1 r in the spelling

go the slam bags!

To translate:



I would recommend giving a company called Airide Suspension Supplies in Melbourne a call.

Airide is spelt correctly as above, with one 'r' not two.

I wholeheartedly support airbag suspension, both a full adjustable air suspension system like one would see late at night on a vehicle from the western suburbs, and the one you are actually enquiring about, which is the load assist airbags that combine with youre regular suspension to deal with extra weight.

[BOGAN V8]

Stay away from the Boss ones have fitted a few that the customer bought of EBAY & they keep coming back with leaks and brackets bending, bags blowing out..

Go the firestone or the ones TJM sell at least if you have a waranty with those ones you can get it sorted with no dramas. But you wont have any fitted 100s of firestone/TJM ones......

[ajsr]

seems to me that if your cutomers are blowing a LOAD ASSIST bag that prehaps those customers are overloading that original suspension and load assist bags a tad.
Ive got the fleabay bags(2years now) and there is no way without dramaticly (2times)overloading the vehicle that you could blow the bag or bend a bracket that is really only designed to comlplement YOUR ORIGINAL suspension.
and I dont go easy on my vehicle it regularly carries 1/2 tonne in the back with a 2.8 tonne cherry picker and trailer as well.
just my 2c
ps they are on a 4.0 v6 courier so a similar vehicle to your bt50 and they made it sooo much better with a decend load on.

[bikmad]

Hey thanks all for the quick response. The slide on camper is only going to be fitted on weekends when I go away to camp draft competitions and had my horses in a float behind the car. I was thinking about getting the leaf springs boosted up a bit, or getting an extra leaf put in but everyone tells me the ride will be too rough when I dont have a load on.
Just about finished building the slide on today. The hardest part was putting the bloody carpet in today. What a prick of a job. Am really looking forward to trying it out. After spending over 10 grand to build the thing it should be good.

[dank]

I've found with any airbag kit that after initial fitment of a "load assist" kit is that all brackets and sealing surfaces need to be re-torqued after the initial bedding in of the whole system as it settles down.

most people don't do this who self fit, then complain about 1-2months later that their bags are leaking etc. Normally they retighten and everything is fine.

A user also has to understand as ajsr said it is an assistant to your leaf suspension setup with a purpose to maintain ride height and improve handling with heavy loads in the rear of the vehicle. Standard porcedure is to load up the vehicle with everything you want to carry and then inflate the airbags JUST enough to maintain standard ride height of your vehicle. this will mean that your suspension system is still carrying its rated load but assisted by the airbags. In normal use there shouldn't be any bracket bending at all. this indicates to me that the user has over-inflated the bags and/or exceeded the manufacturers specifications.

[CWBYUP]

ps they are on a 4.0 v6 courier so a similar vehicle to your bt50 and they made it sooo much better with a decend load on.

Has nothing to do with the bags at all, It has to do with your couier will have better suspension from the factory than most new cars.

The lastest utes, DC and SC with leaf rear suspension are all crap. I have yet to see a ute that can carry half of the rated claim.

Reason - Vehicle manurfactures want there cars to ride nice so you buy them.

Nick

[red t ute]

Ive had a set of firestone air bags split and crack on sidewalls.
They were fitted to a 79 turbo ute it had about 750kg on it all the time.
They had 50000km on the bags when they cracked.
They got replaced under warranty.
Id buy the boss air bags could't be any worse then the firestone.

[micktroopster]

can you fit airbags on the front??