im new to this board, but just was wondering has anyone here done airbags and/or shockwaves on their f150's? I just got done doing mine and it was a very cool project. would definatly do things a little different if i did it again, but i can always modify it in the future (for more $$$). All in all im pretty happy with it. im in the photogallery with a picture. more to come later with future upgrades.

 

Haven't done it yet, but looking to soon. How much did those bags lower your truck? I was looking at your pic and that looks like almost the perfect ride height for what I'm looking for.
And now for the questions...How'd you do it and how'd you do it differently? What's the range in ride height those bags can take you? How long did it take and what's your knowledge level on suspension? There were more questions but I've forgotten what they were...Maybe next time
Thanks in advance,
G.

 

that picture is the truck all the way dropped. ride height is about 3 inches or so higher. if you wanted to have that low of ride height, you would have to get more serious about modifications, like cutting out the floor of your bed, cutting and notching the frame above the rear axle, and somehow modifying the front wheelwells for clearance. (say bye-bye to all factory warrenty covering frame, suspension, drivetrain, etc.) I didn't want to go that far. even the work i did was about 40 to 50 hours. lots of measuring, measuring, and measuring. oh, yeah, a little welding and wrenching to. after i machined the parallel bars to twice their original length, machined about 12" off the panhard bar, installed the four-link brackets on the frame and axle, the air-bag brackets on frame and axle, the panhard bar brackets on frame and axle, ---i realized that to drop it more would require about another 40-50 hrs of mods. that translates to another month for me. just wasn't willing to go that far.
that said, i'm REAL happy with the ride quality and appearance. my rear bags are rated for 2000 lbs. each. now the rear of the truck weighs only 2400 lbs. so i've got a total of 1600 lbs more load capacity on the rear axle alone. AirRide is real good about posting all the specs and info about all their bags, shockwaves, and whatever other products they carry.
hope that helps, email me if you want about other questions, but first search 'all posts by jondog9' you might find other posts i've put out about this project.
oh yeah, i paid my local truck shop to install and plumb all airlines, compressors, tanks, wiring, valves, etc. $450 and 2 days. also, the front shockwaves were a direct bolt-in. no mods necessary up front except enlongating the adjustment slot for camber where the lower control arm bolts to the frame. Good luck.

 

Hmm....lowered truck...warrenty...lowered truck...warrenty. Ya, in hindsight you probably have a good point.
Is that as low as it can go without cutting out the bed floor? I would like it lowered but not kissing concrete and I was hoping I could get it slightly lower without cutting the floor. Wheelwells I'm actually less worried about.
I checked out that site before, I even have the catalog but still not quite sure the exact route I want to go.
Would it be possible to do something similar to what you did keeping the warrenty intact and then in 3 years when the warrenty is out (and have more money) to use the same parts and just do some mods to lower it the rest of the way or does that seem impractical (which is what im thinking now that i type it)?

 

Are you 4wd? if so, i don't know that my applications will work the same for you; i'm 2wd. but to answer your question, it's not the bed so much as the frame. to get any lower than my truck is in the picture (based on factory rims and tires), you would have to notch the frame to get the axle tucked up there farther. so if the frame is notched, then the next issue would be the pumpkin hitting the underside of the bed. hence, cutting the floor. my (un-nothched)frame is resting on the axle. on the front, the top of the tires are about 1/2'' from the fenderwell liners. so custom work would have to be done to make more room under there. BTW, Future Ford here in Sacramento told me that if i notch the frame, ALL warrenty is void. go figure...

 

Ya, It's a 4x4. I'm assuming that the rear bags should remain the same, just the front wouldn't be as simple as a 4x2.
According to airride.com for the AirBar "Installation is completely bolt-on with no welding or fabrication necessary." and it gives it max 10" drop. Seems a little hard to believe but I haven't come accross anyone who actually has that setup.
Your photo looks like a good ride hight as apposed to all the way down....I think. Little hard to tell. How much space from the frame to the ground on that hight?
Does ALL warrenty mean ALL warrenty? Like if I notch the frame and my engine blows?
Stock hurts my eyes, even a sexy truck like the 05 F-150 but since my truck is only 2 months old and its already been in for service (even though it was only because the lights on the stereo went out, but still....point is warrenty is good)

 

Yeah, i can believe 10" drop. again, it's because the frame is notched which gives the axle more room to go up.
ALL warranty: well, those were the words of the financial closer,(or whatever you call those guys that have all the extended warranty stuff to sell you after you have bought the truck) I would not take that as gospel. I sure do understand how Ford would back out of warranty issues under certain conditions of modifications. we change their engineering with some of our modifications. consider if you lower your rear axle 5 inches and don't compensate for the pinion angle. now you have the u-joint working at an angle outside of the specifications it was designed to. maybe the slip yoke slides farther into the transmission when you lower the truck that 10''. see what i mean?
but you try to consider all these variables and make the necessary compensations. you still are going to have an uphill battle to convince Ford that your engineering is sound. Especially if you don't have the support of the aftermarket company you bought the parts from. AirRide does not reccomend their setup for 4wd on the front. You CAN make it work; it can be engineered or fabricated to work just fine by a qualified person. but can you convince Ford of that? How easy or hard would that be?
I really would recommend not lowering your 4x unless you accept that you will pretty much be on your own with most all repairs and problems. Not what you want to hear probably, but IMO that's the reality.

 

hey tical84, check out this website (if you haven't already) and cruz through the projects pictures. it is full of pictures that will give you a good feel for all the custom work that you will need to do to get your truck down in the weeds.

http://www.ifcustom.com/index.html

 

10" with notching the frame makes sence but according to their website it says no fabrication.
I've pretty much decided to wait until the 3 years is up anyways. Enough time for more cash and knowledge on suspension. I'll do some of my bolt on, non-warrently killing mods like exhaust and such.
Haven't seen that website yet, but I'll definately take a look.
Thanks for all the info and advise.

 

Glad to help out with what i can. Any modification can be done with planning. it's just that the cost of trial and error can be really high.