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I did it. I added air bags to my 2500 with Air Ride

Matty Rich said:
Yup. I did it. From what I’ve read, most said it’s not possible and others will probably call me crazy. But I added additional air bags to my 2500 with air ride.

There was numerous reasons why I wanted to do this. Main reason being the redundancy in case I have a failure of the OEM bag while on a trip pulling my trailer.
Other reasons to help get rid of sway and also additional support to take some load off of the OEM bags.

Most will probably chime in and say I’m overloaded if I need a second set of bags.
Per my sticker 10k GWVR, yes I’m overloaded. But not my axle or tire ratings. And I’m totally comfortable my setup.

During this project I also upgraded the front and rear shocks to Fox 2.0’s, I also changed out the front coils to Thuren +1” coils and a Thuren track bar.

The truck rides phenomenal now and tows even better.

My biggest issue prior to these modifications was sway with pulling my fifth wheel. I had previously installed a Hellwig rear sway bar. It maybe fixed 20% of my problem but also just made the ride harsh.

After reading some posts on here and other sites I realized that the issue is the location of the OEM bags on the 2500. They are installed more inward towards the centerline of the truck; not on the outside closer to the frame like leaf springs on a 3500. Again causing me lots of sway and instability.

Everything I did for the install is completely bolt on, no major modifications at all. I can probably unbolt everything in about 20 mins. It was very easy, just took some trial and error to see what worked best.

I went with AirLife 5000 Ultimate because they have internal bump stops.

I also ordered adjustable rear sensor links to make adjustability of the OEM bags easier.

Also picked up some other small hardware bits to extend the sensor mounting points away from the frame to give them clearance for the new bags.

I was able to access the air suspension control module via ALFA OBD; from there you can see data in real-time. I was looking to see how much pressure was in the OEM bags and then I’m able to compensate how much air I want in the 2nd bags without the ECU lowering pressure of the OEM bags. Make sense? Lol. The idea of this whole project is the secondary bags are there just for a little bit of extra additional support mainly to the outer parts of the axle to get rid of sway and body roll. And the secondary bags did just that.

Overall I’m extremely happy with how it came out and how the truck rides now.
But most importantly I’m more confident that I can travel without worrying about an OEM bag failure.

Attached is a pic of the setup.
Click to expand...
have a 2022 ram HD Mega and want to do the same, where did you get the adjustable rods/linkage for height sensor?
 
Kevin Ropp said:
was your truck a 1500?
Click to expand...
we put these on the 1500 eco diesel air ride to give him a mild lift to clear his new tires. i imagine the links may be the same. not sure if they would work for you, but if you can compare, it may work. they are adjustable. 10 minute install on all 4 corners of his rig.

I dont have factory air bags, nor is it auto leveling. so above is all the ideas i have to offer :)
 
Matty Rich said:
Yup. I did it. From what I’ve read, most said it’s not possible and others will probably call me crazy. But I added additional air bags to my 2500 with air ride.

There was numerous reasons why I wanted to do this. Main reason being the redundancy in case I have a failure of the OEM bag while on a trip pulling my trailer.
Other reasons to help get rid of sway and also additional support to take some load off of the OEM bags.

Most will probably chime in and say I’m overloaded if I need a second set of bags.
Per my sticker 10k GWVR, yes I’m overloaded. But not my axle or tire ratings. And I’m totally comfortable my setup.

During this project I also upgraded the front and rear shocks to Fox 2.0’s, I also changed out the front coils to Thuren +1” coils and a Thuren track bar.

The truck rides phenomenal now and tows even better.

My biggest issue prior to these modifications was sway with pulling my fifth wheel. I had previously installed a Hellwig rear sway bar. It maybe fixed 20% of my problem but also just made the ride harsh.

After reading some posts on here and other sites I realized that the issue is the location of the OEM bags on the 2500. They are installed more inward towards the centerline of the truck; not on the outside closer to the frame like leaf springs on a 3500. Again causing me lots of sway and instability.

Everything I did for the install is completely bolt on, no major modifications at all. I can probably unbolt everything in about 20 mins. It was very easy, just took some trial and error to see what worked best.

I went with AirLife 5000 Ultimate because they have internal bump stops.

I also ordered adjustable rear sensor links to make adjustability of the OEM bags easier.

Also picked up some other small hardware bits to extend the sensor mounting points away from the frame to give them clearance for the new bags.

I was able to access the air suspension control module via ALFA OBD; from there you can see data in real-time. I was looking to see how much pressure was in the OEM bags and then I’m able to compensate how much air I want in the 2nd bags without the ECU lowering pressure of the OEM bags. Make sense? Lol. The idea of this whole project is the secondary bags are there just for a little bit of extra additional support mainly to the outer parts of the axle to get rid of sway and body roll. And the secondary bags did just that.

Overall I’m extremely happy with how it came out and how the truck rides now.
But most importantly I’m more confident that I can travel without worrying about an OEM bag failure.

Attached is a pic of the setup.
Click to expand...
Do you happen to know anything about max pressure for the factory bags? I'm considering bypassing/ removing the factory compressor and hooking up a different on to be able to add more adjustment. My truck says it's overloaded with my camper, job box and drag up tank in the back and it's driving me crazy
 
downeyb said:
Do you happen to know anything about max pressure for the factory bags? I'm considering bypassing/ removing the factory compressor and hooking up a different on to be able to add more adjustment. My truck says it's overloaded with my camper, job box and drag up tank in the back and it's driving me crazy
Click to expand...
Have you measured your RAW?
 
downeyb said:
Do you happen to know anything about max pressure for the factory bags? I'm considering bypassing/ removing the factory compressor and hooking up a different on to be able to add more adjustment. My truck says it's overloaded with my camper, job box and drag up tank in the back and it's driving me crazy
Click to expand...
If its saying your overloaded you are likely over RAWR
 
AH64ID said:
Have you measured your RAW?
Click to expand...
No idea how to check that, but I know the truck should be able to carry more than what the 2500 diesels are rated for and there's no way the bags are close to capacity
 
downeyb said:
No idea how to check that, but I know the truck should be able to carry more than what the 2500 diesels are rated for and there's no way the bags are close to capacity
Click to expand...
Ultimately the axle and tires is what needs to be able to carry the weight not the air bags. Adding air bags doesn’t allow you to haul more weight.
 
Last edited:
downeyb said:
No idea how to check that, but I know the truck should be able to carry more than what the 2500 diesels are rated for and there's no way the bags are close to capacity
Click to expand...

Go to a scale.

The 2500 system is known for indicating overload about where it should, which corresponds to axle and tire ratings of a 2500.

Adding supplemental bags and knowing your actual axle weights would be far better than hacking into the OEM system.
 
Matty Rich said:
Yup. I did it. From what I’ve read, most said it’s not possible and others will probably call me crazy. But I added additional air bags to my 2500 with air ride.

There was numerous reasons why I wanted to do this. Main reason being the redundancy in case I have a failure of the OEM bag while on a trip pulling my trailer.
Other reasons to help get rid of sway and also additional support to take some load off of the OEM bags.

Most will probably chime in and say I’m overloaded if I need a second set of bags.
Per my sticker 10k GWVR, yes I’m overloaded. But not my axle or tire ratings. And I’m totally comfortable my setup.

During this project I also upgraded the front and rear shocks to Fox 2.0’s, I also changed out the front coils to Thuren +1” coils and a Thuren track bar.

The truck rides phenomenal now and tows even better.

My biggest issue prior to these modifications was sway with pulling my fifth wheel. I had previously installed a Hellwig rear sway bar. It maybe fixed 20% of my problem but also just made the ride harsh.

After reading some posts on here and other sites I realized that the issue is the location of the OEM bags on the 2500. They are installed more inward towards the centerline of the truck; not on the outside closer to the frame like leaf springs on a 3500. Again causing me lots of sway and instability.

Everything I did for the install is completely bolt on, no major modifications at all. I can probably unbolt everything in about 20 mins. It was very easy, just took some trial and error to see what worked best.

I went with AirLife 5000 Ultimate because they have internal bump stops.

I also ordered adjustable rear sensor links to make adjustability of the OEM bags easier.

Also picked up some other small hardware bits to extend the sensor mounting points away from the frame to give them clearance for the new bags.

I was able to access the air suspension control module via ALFA OBD; from there you can see data in real-time. I was looking to see how much pressure was in the OEM bags and then I’m able to compensate how much air I want in the 2nd bags without the ECU lowering pressure of the OEM bags. Make sense? Lol. The idea of this whole project is the secondary bags are there just for a little bit of extra additional support mainly to the outer parts of the axle to get rid of sway and body roll. And the secondary bags did just that.

Overall I’m extremely happy with how it came out and how the truck rides now.
But most importantly I’m more confident that I can travel without worrying about an OEM bag failure.

Attached is a pic of the setup.
Click to expand...
I've run into the same issues with my 5th wheel. Sway if bad. I've been researching for a couple of years and found your post. I'm not much of a mechanic so I could use your advice. Etrailer and AirLife both say the bags won't fit a 2020 Ram with factory Ram Air Suspension. Did you make any modifications at all or was this just follow the instructions type of a project?
 
If you looks at the pics in his early posts you will see that he spaced the height sensors off the frame and axle about a inch and a half.. That is the only mod you will need to do to mount the airbags.
 
ammdrew said:
If you looks at the pics in his early posts you will see that he spaced the height sensors off the frame and axle about a inch and a half.. That is the only mod you will need to do to mount the airbags.
Click to expand...
What would have been used to space the height sensors an inch and a half?
 
You should be able to find something like in the picks at a local hardware store. and some longer screws
 

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For those looking to do this. Here is the parts I used.

10 Pcs Stainless Steel Single Head Stud Hex Standoff Spacers Male to Female Thread 10mm 15mm 20mm 30mm 40mm M6 x M6 for PCB Hexagonal Fasteners Hardware Accessories: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

10 Pcs Stainless Steel Single Head Stud Hex Standoff Spacers Male to Female Thread 10mm 15mm 20mm 30mm 40mm M6 x M6 for PCB Hexagonal Fasteners Hardware Accessories: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com
I used the 30 mm one for the lower ball on ht sensor.

5/16th id, 1 inch spacer qty 4 for top sensor
8mm x 30 qty bolts for the top sensor.

I mounted the compressor drivers side under the door on the frame with the airlift ezmount.
 

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Tattoo said:
I've run into the same issues with my 5th wheel. Sway if bad. I've been researching for a couple of years and found your post. I'm not much of a mechanic so I could use your advice. Etrailer and AirLife both say the bags won't fit a 2020 Ram with factory Ram Air Suspension. Did you make any modifications at all or was this just follow the instructions type of a project?
Click to expand...
I took my pickup to an installer for the Air Lift 5000 and they were able to install int airbags with a couple of modifications. The sway is gone. However, the "Lower Bed Height" to load trailer only drops about 1 inch with 5 lbs of air in the bags. The ride is slightly a little stiffer with the 5 lbs of air running with an empty load.
 
I've been looking for options and found these bags from cjc off-road. Every truck I have owned I've had airbags, they all diminish the ride quality. My 2023 with a Carli 2 1/2 " suspension system rides like dream and want to keep it that way. These bags can easily be removed when not needed, the ride and dump feature are unaffected. I will be going this route. Thank you @ammdrew for the parts list.

www.cjcoffroad.com

2014-Current Ram 2500 Full Travel Rear Air Bag Kit

The ultimate airbag kit for 2014 - Current Ram 2500 trucks, the Full Travel airbag kit fulfills the dream of being able to retain FULL wheel travel and ride quality, while still running airbags for factory payload and towing capacity. No other Ram 2500 airbag kit on the market is able to claim...
www.cjcoffroad.com www.cjcoffroad.com
 
Tattoo said:
I took my pickup to an installer for the Air Lift 5000 and they were able to install int airbags with a couple of modifications. The sway is gone. However, the "Lower Bed Height" to load trailer only drops about 1 inch with 5 lbs of air in the bags. The ride is slightly a little stiffer with the 5 lbs of air running with an empty load.
Click to expand...
So the stock bump stop with spacer is 3.5 inches tall. As I measure my loadlifters completely compressed on the internal bump stop with brackets I am at 5 inches. On a stock air ride truck you are losing 1.5 inches. Daystar cradles will make that worse as they add 1 inch of height to the assembly.

I have similar results, but the actual towing is much better. Still looking for options and some of my thoughts have been.

1, A shorter bag from Airlift, or a bag without the internal bump stop.
2. Make my own cradle(similar to daystar) that would only capture the spring on the sides but would actually let the spring sit directly on the perch , flat spot on the differential. This would be fairly involved and maybe costly. I could 3d print samples until I had a workable item but it would really only give .3 more inches of travel, the thickness of the lower bracket.
3. Cut the Bumpstop upper mount off the frame and move upwards 1 inch. Costly, not easily repeatable for others.
4. Lift the truck 1 inch would would then allow plenty of room.
 
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