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Air ride rear suspension idea

w3azel

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All this talk of air ride suspension got me really wanting to do it on my M36 that I'm going to make into a sleeper M275. I have few leads on semi suspension but I haven't been able to get measurements to see if it will even fit. Yesterday though prepping my M35 for its bobbing I noticed how the old suspension worked. Now maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way but the driver side has a four link style set up the passenger side has the same bottom connecting bars but not the top. I know I can but will it work if I put my spare driver side suspension mount on the passenger side. Get rid of the leaf springs and put air bags where the bump stops are. Seems cheap and easy. The leaf springs don't hold the axle straight in fact they have room to move. Also wouldn't this allow the axle to move independent of each other. This isn't going to be an off road set up and the truck will only be to pull my m146 around.
 

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trukhead

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The spring packs act as panhard bars. You will have to add panhard bars or diagonal the upper link and add another to the other side to keep the axle centered in relation to the vehicle frame. Refer to GM car rear suspensions such as the chevelles, monte carlos cutlasses or some fords as well.
 

gungearz

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Putting airbags on the truck will render it's capabilities useless.... personally, for a 40 year old truck, I think the stock suspension rides like a caddy...
 

welldigger

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Putting airbags on the truck will render it's capabilities useless.... personally, for a 40 year old truck, I think the stock suspension rides like a caddy...
In what way is air ride inferior? With 4 link or freightliner type suspension you have the same if not more articulation. You also have way more weight capacity than leaf spings. The suspension we used on the bobber is capable of hauling something on the order of 12,000 plus pounds on a single axle. Thats more than a tandem deuce.

You could easily adapt the freightliner rear set up to a deuce. Ill snap more detailed pictures when I get the chance and post them up.
 

gungearz

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In what way is air ride inferior? With 4 link or freightliner type suspension you have the same if not more articulation. You also have way more weight capacity than leaf spings. The suspension we used on the bobber is capable of hauling something on the order of 12,000 plus pounds on a single axle. Thats more than a tandem deuce.

You could easily adapt the freightliner rear set up to a deuce. Ill snap more detailed pictures when I get the chance and post them up.
The bags won't stretch as much as a deuce suspension... yes, on flat ground, they will perform better but offroad articulation... won't happen as good as the stock suspension... plus, you want to take a chance on blowing out a air bag offroad... so be it, it's your truck, do as you wish.... ask for advice in a thread for multiple people... you will get multiple answers...
 

jrobinson5093

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If it was gonna be a strictly a on road truck I could see it being a decent option. You could actually lower and raise the truck to help with hooking to a trailer. If I was gonna do that though I would four link and air bag the front end also.
 

rlsnide

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Lexington N.C
They articulate just fine off road. Just use one leveling valve in the center of the hogshead to run both air bags. Using the center of the hogs head as a single pivit point (like a seasaw). As long as it is satisfied with the hight is all that matters. So that means that one bag can be almost fully compressed and the other bag can be fully inflated and the ride hight valve (center of hogshead) be in the same hight position throughout the range of articulation. If you were to use two leveling valves (one for each air bag) the articulation would be compromised greatly due to each bag being in a fixed position. (Be hard to seasaw with pivit points on each side). And I have known guys doing this because of a truck being off level. Getting the truck to sit level can be a bit of a task since the frieghtliner suspension is set up for pretty much evenly distributed weight. Whereas the Deuce has both the fuel tank and the batteries on the same side and is relatively light in the rear in comparison to a road tractor. My truck leaned really bad at first and had to do some tweaking on it. To where "Cidrich" truck sat perfectly level from the get go and they were both built the same way by him. The freightliner airbag travel is close to 12 inches. Your not going to get near that out of a leaf spring of that rating. Plus makes it's nice to load stuff when I can drop my bags on the truck to make the bottom of my bed a little over 5 feet vs. 6 1/2 feet off the ground.:-D
 

welldigger

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They articulate just fine off road. Just use one leveling valve in the center of the hogshead to run both air bags. Using the center of the hogs head as a single pivit point (like a seasaw). As long as it is satisfied with the hight is all that matters. So that means that one bag can be almost fully compressed and the other bag can be fully inflated and the ride hight valve (center of hogshead) be in the same hight position throughout the range of articulation. If you were to use two leveling valves (one for each air bag) the articulation would be compromised greatly due to each bag being in a fixed position. (Be hard to seasaw with pivit points on each side). And I have known guys doing this because of a truck being off level. Getting the truck to sit level can be a bit of a task since the frieghtliner suspension is set up for pretty much evenly distributed weight. Whereas the Deuce has both the fuel tank and the batteries on the same side and is relatively light in the rear in comparison to a road tractor. My truck leaned really bad at first and had to do some tweaking on it. To where "Cidrich" truck sat perfectly level from the get go and they were both built the same way by him. The freightliner airbag travel is close to 12 inches. Your not going to get near that out of a leaf spring of that rating. Plus makes it's nice to load stuff when I can drop my bags on the truck to make the bottom of my bed a little over 5 feet vs. 6 1/2 feet off the ground.:-D
Ditto. Sometimes a little out of the box thinking is required along with a bit of imagination. None of this is rocket science. Also there is absolutely nothing special about a deuce when it comes to suspension or customization. Its just a truck. Almost anything you can think of has already been done. Maybe not to a deuce, but it has been done none the less.

In fact there is absolutely no difference between installing air ride on a deuce versus an otr truck. None. They both have the same incredibly basic ladder rail chassis design that hasn't changed a whole lot in 70 plus years.

Since the op has an m36 and plans on it being a mostly otr truck it would be incredibly easy. In fact a neat idea, since you will have the extra room, would be to spread the tandems a few inches and mount 14.00-20 tires. Then you really would have an awesome rig.
 

m16ty

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On a standard airbag setup and running tandems, you will loose some articulation between tandems over the stock setup.

Now Henderickson does make a airbag setup that articulates just like the deuce tandem setup, it's kind of a combination walking beam, air suspension. They are pretty high dollar new and it hasn't been out long so you won't find any in a junkyard.

Here's a link to a pic of it- http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Suspension-Kit-converts-walking-beam-to-air-ride-452212
 
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