Air Ride -- come fly with me! now with build pics!

[dredward]

[syncrodoka]

Great way to spend lots of $$. "We recommend not exceeding 40 mph."

[dredward]

[240Gordy]

[hiram6]

Am i correct in thinking that if I had one of these:

which will carry a motorcycle up to 400 lbs, and then a bike like this:

which weighs 304 lbs dry, then I could replace my rear Westy springs with bags, and level my van out when carrying the Kawasaki???

If so, I'm in love with the idea.
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[levi]

I'd think your handling would turn to serious crap if you hung that much weight a foot off the back end.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[markmc90]

Its been done though. Those Matt tracks are pretty sweet. We have them on several ATV's at work and they are amazing in the snow. Way more useful than a snowmobile. They eat a ton of power though. I doubt the 2.1 could turn them unless you were in granny gear.
_________________
87 Syncro

[240Gordy]

Ya you could laid up the bike and level it

hard for me to test cuz of the leverage,
if someone wants to do the math. . .
_________________
Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[presslab]

I have carried my 300 lb dual sport on my van. With stiff springs it's not bad at all, the front end is a bit light but it still handles okay, it doesn't feel unsafe.

This is in fact why I installed rear bags.

_________________
1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti

[WesternMassRich]

This is an awesome setup you came up with. I think I may be looking at Air Bags at the Freightliner dealerships. They can get all kinds of air bags for Heavy Trucks out of the Firestone catalog.

This is brilliance Gordy !

Rich
_________________
1987 Synchro, AC, PS, 5 Speed, 7 Pass., 2.1 Digifant. "The Kaiser"

[thewump]

Worth noting that if you use the bags to level the van because of extra weight at the back you'll end up with a much stiffer ride. With air bags the "stiffness" is directly proportional to the pressure.

The art of these things is therefore using some expertise in making a decision around what your normal ride height will be and getting the right bag that will give you that height when inflated to the pressure that matches your desired ride stiffness. That seems like a nice little calculation.

Once you get that right though, the idea of always sleeping level and being able to slam the thing when you park, and go up a couple of inches to normal height for trails and snow very much appeals. I found a vanagon complete kit out there with bags, suspension strut relocators, piping, compressor, 5 gallon tank, valves and controller for $1900.. but have since not been able to find it again!

K
_________________
87 Weekender

[WesternMassRich]

1900.00 ?

That's highway robbery for Pete's Sake.

What thieves !!


Rich
_________________
1987 Synchro, AC, PS, 5 Speed, 7 Pass., 2.1 Digifant. "The Kaiser"

[thewump]

[240Gordy]

Presslab, you didn't have the bike loaded when the sat. snapped the latest pics?


I doubt that kit is really adapted to the Vanagon. It is a generic kit and you have to do a lot of fabrication, just like I did. All they are selling is the generic compressor/tanks/hoseline/switches. It is not a bolt up kit. Do you see any vanagon specific looking adapter plates or brakets for relocating the front shocks? Are the bags for the front donut shaped (shock goes throught the bag? if it doesn't get relocated.

go one the same site and search for a kit for chevey camaro, likely it will come up with the same kit, photo, and price.

Go to slam specialties or air assisted.com or read the air ride forum on thevortex.
_________________
Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[240Gordy]

[240Gordy]

[240Gordy]

finally got the filler valve hoses laid out and fixed in place with some clamps.
the clamps are too big, I used them anyway to drive to the FLAPS and get the right size, 3/4". Why do I alway imagine things bigger than they are when staring at all the parts in the FLAPS?

either way you get the idea.

now that the valves are accessible I will play around with the pressure and post some pics.
_________________
Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[240Gordy]

another post in the air blog.

Finally got a gauge on the bag, 30 psi gets me my prefered ride height.

aired-out resting on the internal bump-stop,

about 60 psi,

and fully extended with about 120 psi,

_________________
Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[240Gordy]

just for dredward,

a fully extended ( well not quite, you could get another inch maybe) at 120psi.

these bags are rated at 200psi so there is room for more load, and for you westy guys.
_________________
Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[presslab]