Does your camper weigh down your truck’s back end? Does your camper cause your rear suspension to sag noticeably or bottom out as you pass over pot-holes, bumps and other road hazards? Even a super duty pickup can use some extra help when hauling that extra weight. If you are noticing these types of problems, it’s possible that your rear leaf springs could use some extra help. The Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Spring Kit could be the perfect solution to these problems.
We had a 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty Pick-up in the shop that had a 2010 Palomino Maverick 8801 slip in Truck Camper. The F-350’s rear springs held the camper well enough while it was sitting in the garage. But once it hit the road the pick-up’s ride was noticeably rougher and the extra weight caused the springs to excessively bounce when rebounding from large bumps. The camper also made the pick-up much more top heavy which caused sway as it negotiated corners. The obvious solution to this problem was to support the leaf springs with a Ride-Rite Air Bag Kit from Firestone.
The Firestone 2520 – Ride-Rite Rear Air Spring Kit is the perfect answer for this situation. The addition of these air bags can help in several ways. First, it reduces the amount of sway by reducing the amount of travel in the leaf spring. By keeping the spring from collapsing the pick-up is held level through turns, even with the uneven weight distribution. Second, these air bags smooth out the ride of the pick-up by allowing the driver to adjust the inflation of the air spring. This adjustment allows the driver to specifically match the cushioning of the spring to the weight of the load.
The OEM bump stop did not properly cushion the F-350's leaf springs while the Maverick Palomino Truck Camper was in place. Nearly twice the size of the OEM bump stop, the Firestone 2520 Air Springs removed a significant amount of travel from the leaf springs. Removing this travel smooths out the ride and increases the lifetime of the leaf springs by keeping them from bottoming out over rough surfaces. By investing in the Ride-Rite Air Spring kit, this customer saved himself the cost of future repairs.
The Firestone 2520 truck suspension air bag kit fits a 2011 Ford F-250 or F-350 Super Duty pick-up trucks, 2WD or 4WD applications. These air springs are to be used on vehicles with a gasoline engine only. This kit fits trucks with factory installed 5th wheel or Gooseneck hitches.
Buy a Firestone Ride-Rite Air Spring Kit for the 2011 Ford F-350 from Truckspring.com, your source for truck suspension parts.
Firestone Ride-Rite Air Spring Kit – Rear
Buy online at Truckspring.com or call 1-800-358-4751 to order Firestone air bag kits.
Does your pick-up truck’s suspension need some extra help while pulling your trailer or hauling a heavy load? Don’t want to pay an arm and a leg to improve the quality of your ride? Then the Firestone Ride-Rite air spring kit could be the suspension enhancement option you are looking for.
We recently installed the 2525 – Firestone Ride-Rite air spring kit in a 2009 Ford F-150 4x4. The owner of the F-150 drove from Montreal, Quebec to our garage in Saginaw, Michigan. Why did he make the 613 mile (987km) drive? Because we had the best prices on parts and installation he could find. He needed extra support for his suspension while towing his camper and wanted the features that the Firestone Ride-Rite air spring can offer.
The 2525 air spring offers many advantages over traditional leaf springs. This kit employs the Firestone FIR6781 double convoluted air helper spring. These air springs (also known as air bags) use compressed air, sealed in a fabric reinforced rubber bellows which has two convolutions. The main advantage of an air spring is that it can be adjusted by adding or removing air from the bellows. Because the air spring employs a sealed chamber of air, the compression of the bellows will increase the amount of pressure on the spring. This causes the amount of cushioning to increase with the amount of weight on the spring, providing a level and more comfortable ride while giving your leaf springs a longer life.
Theres no comparing the OEM bump stop with the Firestone Ride-Rite double convoluted air bag. Not only is the air spring much larger than the bump stop, but it utilizes compressed air to cushion your ride, rather than the OEM's rigid rubber cushion.
The Firestone 2525 Ride-Rite air spring kit includes all the parts needed to install the air spring. This air bag kit includes the following items for quick installation:
- 2 Firestone FIR6781 Double Convolution Air Springs
- 2 sets of top and bottom mounting brackets
- 1 roll of air line
- 2 separate inflation valves for manual inflation
- All necessary mounting Hardware
The 2525 fits 2009 – 2011 Ford F-150s and is for rear suspension applications. Buy a Firestone Ride-Rite Air Spring Kit from Truckspring.com, your source for truck suspension parts. We stock most major brands of helper air bags and air spring kits.
Firestone Ride-Rite Rear Air Spring Kit
Firestone Double Convoluted Air Bag
Buy Firestone air spring kits at Truckspring.com or call 1-800-358-4751 if you have any questions.
Firestone has released its new kits for the 2011 Ford F-250 Superduty and 2011 Ford F-350 Superduty pickups. Firestone has introduced 2 new kits for you campers that need to tow a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer, one for gas SuperDutys and one for diesel pickups. Both kits are in stock and ready to ship.
Firestone Ride-Rite kit 2520 fits all 2011 F-250 SuperDuty and 2011 F-350 SuperDuty gas engine models that plan on towing a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer. The kit is a bolt on installatoin and does not require drilling of the frame. Ride-Rite kit 2520 has a load leveling capacity up to 5,000 lbs.
Have a diesel engine? No worries. Firestone kit 2535 is specifically designed for your heavy hauling 2011 F-250 Superduty and 2011 F-350 Superduty with diesel engines and a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch. 2535 also has a 5,000 lb load leveling capacity.
Todd Green from Firestones Ride-Rite division said "Our latest Ride-Rite air helper spring kits, which are available for gas and diesel versions of the new Ford Super Duty, are designed to meet the needs of today's drivers who often use their trucks for both work and play, to haul equipment or tow the family camper. By using air pressure, we are able to offer such benefits as increased vehicle stability, brake effectiveness and reduced tire wear. Varying the air pressure in our air springs allows the driver to keep the vehicle level under a load while maintaining the ride quality"
Below is a quick reference on the air bag kits Firestone has to offer for the 2011 Ford F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks.
Kit used on trucks With a 5th wheel or Gooseneck Hitch
2011 F-250, F-350 Gas Engine 2520 No Drilling
2011 F-250, F-350 Diesel Engine 2535 No Drilling
Kits used on trucks Without a 5th wheel or Gooseneck Hitch
2011 F-250, F-350 Gas Engine 2452 No Drilling
2011 F-250, F-350 Gas or Diesel Engine 2071 Drilling Required
All above kits fit 2 or 4 wheel drive models. You can Firestone Ride-Rite kits by calling Michigan Truck Spring at 1-800-358-4751 or 989-755-0561.
Suspension Support for Snow Plows
Snow plows are heavy and can cause the front of your truck to sag and sway. This not only looks bad, but can be unsafe and damage your front suspension components.
Whether you use your snow plow for your personal driveway, a landscaping business, or clearing runways and interstate highways, there is a suspension kit designed to help support your snow plow. Let’s take a quick look at a few popular options for beefing up your front suspension and giving your truck the support it needs for a snow plow. We’ll look at the options for a popular plow truck, a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, 4 wheel drive.
Timbren Suspension Kits for snow plows
Timbren has been in the front end snow plow support business for years and they have a ton of customers using their kits. They offer front kits for everything from a Chevrolet S-10 to large municipal plow trucks. Timbren uses an AEON rubber progressive spring to provide support. AEON springs are hollow and progressive so they won’t affect your ride when the plow is not connected. The AEON springs comes into play when your plow is connected, providing support and preventing damage to your suspension.
Timbren GMFK25S
Material: Rubber
Warranty: Lifetime
Installation Time: Approximately one hour
Notes: Timbren offers a ride-satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not happy with the product after you install it, you can send it back for a full refund.
Air Lift Air Cell for Snow Plows
Air Lift uses a closed cell urethane foam for snow plow support. Air Lift Air Cell has been around for a few years and is gaining more popularity every year. The closed cell foam provides a cushion of air to protect your trucks front end from sagging when your snow plow is hooked up. The rugged, long-lasting closed-cell urethane foam is the same material used in factory suspension parts. Quick, easy, bolt-on installs.
Air Lift Air Cell: 52212
Material: Urethane Foam
Warranty: Lifetime
Installation Time: Approximately one hour
Sumo Springs for Snow Plows
Sumo Springs are a variable rate spring with load capacities of up to 3,000 pounds. Front SumoSprings are ideal for leveling out your truck when your snow plow is connected. They will maintain the original factory ride and only provide additional support when needed. SumoSpring kits ship complete with all mounting hardware required for a quick, easy installation.
Sumo Springs SSF-201
Material: Polyurethane foam
Installation Time: Approximately one hour
Warranty: 2 years
Firestone Level-Rite for snow plows
Firestone Level-Rite is the Cadillac of snow plow support. They combine Firestone air springs with Bilstein's premium Heavy duty shocks, and you have the perfect front-end leveling system for snow plows. They are air adjustable, so you can maintain the ride height that you want from inside the cab of your pickup.
Firestone Level Rite Air Adjustable Shocks
Material: Firestone Rubber air springs and Bilstein Shocks
Installation Time: 1-2 hours
Warranty: 2 years
All of the above suspension kits will help provide your truck with the extra front-end support it needs for your snow plow. A couple hundred bucks and a few hours of time and you'll have a level front end and protect your suspension from costly repairs down the road. You can order any of the above front suspension overload kits by calling Michigan Truck Spring at 1-800-358-4751.
Firestone Work-Rite kits are now available and have had good reviews from initial customers using the product. Firestone Work-Rite kits are similar in design to other suspension kits that do not use air; Timbren Suspension kits and Air lift Air Cell kits. Like the others, they do not require air and are designed as maintenance free suspension load support solution.
The Work-Rite load assist springs are made of injection-molded, microcellular urethane. The rear kits are designed to help level your truck, reduce sway and absorb road shock when towing a heavy trailer or hauling a heavy load. The front kits are great for giving you that extra front end support when hooking up your snow plow, heavy winch, etc.
Work-Rite kits are vehicle specific and come in 3 different colors. Many of the kits come with spacers so you can adjust the distance between the load assist springs and your axle or leaf springs.
1/2-ton trucks - White Springs
3/4-ton trucks - Grey Springs
1-ton trucks - Black Springs
Firestone Industrial Products advised us “Our Work-Rite customers experience all the benefits of Firestone’s leading suspension technology – including increased vehicle stability, less vehicle sway, improved roll stability and reduced suspension fatigue – with no air pressure to monitor. Work-Rite is a fool-proof solution for constant-load or commercial applications,” said Todd Green, regional sales manager, Firestone Industrial Products, Ride-Rite™ division. “The addition of Work-Rite to our product line rounds out our good-better-best offering, allowing us to remain our customers’ leading source for load management solutions.”
Installing the kits does not require any special tools and can be done in your garage or at almost any repair facility. The majority of the Work-Rite kits are easy to install and do not require drilling. In our initial experience with them, we have found that the no-drill kits take about an hour for your first install and the kits that require drilling take about 1-1/2 to install.
Work-Rite kits are currently available for the following vehicles, with more applications being released in late 2010, early 2011.
Chevrolet Silverado 1500
GMC Sierra 1500
Chevrolet Silverado 2500
GMC Sierra 2500
Chevrolet Silverado 3500
GMC Sierra 3500
Chevrolet and GMC G-3500 and G-4500 Commercial vehicles
Chrysler Town and Country Vans
Dodge Caravan and Grand Caravan
Dodge RAM 1500 Pickups
Dodge RAM 2500 Pickups
Dodge RAM 3500 Pickups
Dodge RAM 4500 and RAM 5500 Commercial Trucks
Ford F-150 Pickups
Ford F-250 Pickups
Ford F-350 Pickups
Ford E-350 Vans
Nissan Xterra
Nissan Titan
You can view the installation instructions and purchase the kits at Firestone Work-Rite Helper Springs
Do you have a Firestone Work-Rite kit installed on your truck, SUV, or Van? Feel free to post your feedback on your experience with them. Call 1-800-358-4751 to order a Firestone Work-Rite kit today.