Air Lift 1000 Install

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I mounted my schrader valve to the plastic cover/inner fender that covers up the fuel filler neck, which is the back of the wheel-well on the driver's side. This will hopefully not see anything more than mud getting slung. I used the Tee and only have one fill valve. I do notice a slight increase in body sway when there isn't a trailer hooked up but it's not enough to bother me at this point. I really like how the truck rides and handles with a heavy rear spring load now that I have the bags installed. I've towed the popup twice now and it is level and very stable. FWIW, the popup has about a 400 lb tongue weight. I have never weighed the trailer but I'm guessing it's about 3,000 lbs with basic camping gear but empty water tanks and no ATV on the toy deck up front.
 
I ended up doing a valve per side so I could adjust individually. I have stock bumpers and ended up running each valve under the bumper on each side of the tow hitch. I run between 5-10 lbs after having them for about a month or so now. I have pulled a 25 ft trailer, around 4500lbs unloaded and probably @5,000 with water and gear. Made a huge difference. When pulling my double axle boat trailer around I run about 15 lbs in the springs and then with the 25 ft travel trailer around 22lbs of air.
 
I installed a set of these almost a year ago. They have been great so far. I pull a 3000 lb travel trailer with about 400 to 500 lbs of tongue weight. (The trailer is s single axle) I also use a weight distribution hitch with anti sway bar this setup is really nice. No sag. No sway. Very solid. I also pull a friend's boat from time to time. These have been very helpful with that as well since there is not s weight distribution hitch.

This pic is from last summer before the air bags and lift. (Just 30 mm spacers and torsion bars cranked.) You can see even with the weight distribution hitch it sags and squats pretty bad plus it had a lot of up and down sway like an old Cadillac. I don't have a picture of how it looks now but I will post one up in a few days when I next tow it.
KIMG0120.webp
 
Would purchasing new King springs be another solution for added tow weight or are King springs provide the same spring rate as OEM?
 
I'm very excited just reading everybody's positive posts here! Mine will be here tomorrow (jun-7th) and can't wait to get it in place to hook the trailer and check out the difference!
 
Night and day difference when towing my 16 foot 3500 lb camper. I have individual fill valves installed on the hitch bracket just to the left of the receiver.
 
Get outside said:
I'm very excited just reading everybody's positive posts here! Mine will be here tomorrow (jun-7th) and can't wait to get it in place to hook the trailer and check out the difference!
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You're going to love them. I've only used mine 3X, once with a bunch of crap in the back and 2x with the trailer but I'm really pleased with what they do.
 
Just put this on my 2005 lx 470 with no problems. I had to improvise a little since my jacks weren't tall enough. I did one side at a time and was able to install without removing the spring or the sway bar. The springs were light enough I was able to pull the bump stop through the side with some wrestling.
 
Bump stops through the springs? That would have been interesting to watch. Plus how did you drill the hole? - I put my jackstands just in front of the rear wheels to get the LC up high enough to drop the axle

I finally did mine yesterday. They have been in my garage for a year and I finally installed them for a trip we had planned for the next couple weeks.

The install went slow as I replaced all the shocks at the same time. Got everything back together and didn't make the hole big enough on the driver side. My suggestion is make the ds hole elongated and considerably larger. - I used spring compressors to get the spring out the second time; worked like a charm.

The ride with them is amazing. With all my kids in the back it felt like it was empty going over things.

Then... today my wife got in an accident. She is fine, but the LC is likely totaled.
 
I noticed the Airlift kit is only specified up to 2006. Any issues running these on a '07? Ready to pull the trigger, but need to sort that out. Also need to figure out if I need the longer air bag for OME 865 rear springs.
 
Topoguide said:
Bump stops through the springs? That would have been interesting to watch. Plus how did you drill the hole? - I put my jackstands just in front of the rear wheels to get the LC up high enough to drop the axle

I finally did mine yesterday. They have been in my garage for a year and I finally installed them for a trip we had planned for the next couple weeks.

The install went slow as I replaced all the shocks at the same time. Got everything back together and didn't make the hole big enough on the driver side. My suggestion is make the ds hole elongated and considerably larger. - I used spring compressors to get the spring out the second time; worked like a charm.

The ride with them is amazing. With all my kids in the back it felt like it was empty going over things.

Then... today my wife got in an accident. She is fine, but the LC is likely totaled.
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That sucks, glad all were ok !
 
C6H12O6 said:
I noticed the Airlift kit is only specified up to 2006. Any issues running these on a '07? Ready to pull the trigger, but need to sort that out. Also need to figure out if I need the longer air bag for OME 865 rear springs.
Click to expand...
Topoguide said:
Bump stops through the springs? That would have been interesting to watch. Plus how did you drill the hole? - I put my jackstands just in front of the rear wheels to get the LC up high enough to drop the axle

I finally did mine yesterday. They have been in my garage for a year and I finally installed them for a trip we had planned for the next couple weeks.

The install went slow as I replaced all the shocks at the same time. Got everything back together and didn't make the hole big enough on the driver side. My suggestion is make the ds hole elongated and considerably larger. - I used spring compressors to get the spring out the second time; worked like a charm.

The ride with them is amazing. With all my kids in the back it felt like it was empty going over things.

Then... today my wife got in an accident. She is fine, but the LC is likely totaled.
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Sorry about your rig. I found another thread and did it like this: check out the photos.

AHC + Suspension Enhancement System

The lx470 springs are not as stiff as the LC so thats why I was able to pull the bump stop through the springs. I did use some silicone spray.



C6H12O6 said:
I noticed the Airlift kit is only specified up to 2006. Any issues running these on a '07? Ready to pull the trigger, but need to sort that out. Also need to figure out if I need the longer air bag for OME 865 rear springs.
Click to expand...

My 2005 lx 470 was not listed in air lifts compatibility charts but I went ahead and purchased with the experience of other mentioned here. Never had a problem installing. I do recommend drilling a larger hole than whats was recommended in the install instructions.
 
socalmtbiker said:
Sorry about your rig. I found another thread and did it like this: check out the photos.

AHC + Suspension Enhancement System

The lx470 springs are not as stiff as the LC so thats why I was able to pull the bump stop through the springs. I did use some silicone spray.
Click to expand...

Wow!! OK, I understand now. Those springs have fewer coils than mine, which [of course] signigicantly increases the space between coils.

And thanks, as we all know the rig is replacable. This is our second, within a week I should find out if it is our second totaled... I can tell you these rigs are built like tanks, it was t-boned and not only were all seating areas kept safe the body shop estimator couldn't believe it was still driveable.
 
Hi all-

I have a '99 LC with original rear suspension - been towing a ~4000lb trailer a few times a year lately and the rear is just too low and saggy to be safe or comfortable. So, I'm going to install these airbags and give it a whirl. My question is should I go ahead and replace the coils and/or shocks while I'm at it as they are coming up on 18 years old at this point??

Thanks.
 
ccqccq said:
Hi all-

I have a '99 LC with original rear suspension - been towing a ~4000lb trailer a few times a year lately and the rear is just too low and saggy to be safe or comfortable. So, I'm going to install these airbags and give it a whirl. My question is should I go ahead and replace the coils and/or shocks while I'm at it as they are coming up on 18 years old at this point??

Thanks.
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If your coils and shocks feel like they are getting old (Bouncing around even on the smallest of bumps) then I would say yes but I personally would just try the bags first to see how well they work first. OEM shocks are priced really well. You should notice a big difference with a 4k lbs trailer. I noticed right away and it finally allowed me to level out the truck with the trailer.
 
I replaced coils, shocks (all oem) and added air bags to my 04 LC and it made a world of difference. The new coils alone gave me 3/4" lift over the old sagging coils.
 
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