etrailer | Install: Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs on a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500

Описание: Click for more info and reviews of this Firestone Vehicle Suspension:
https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Susp...
Check out some similar Vehicle Suspension options:
https://www.etrailer.com/suspension-e...

Search for other popular GMC Sierra 1500 parts and accessories:
https://www.etrailer.com/vehicle/2024...

https://www.etrailer.com
Don’t forget to subscribe!
   / etrailertv  

Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-f...
Hey guys, it's Jake here with etrailer. Today we have a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4, and we're gonna be taking a look at and I'm gonna show you how to install the Firestone Ride-Rite air helper springs. The idea behind air helper springs is so that you can help to support the rear end of your vehicle when you're towing a trailer, or if you're like my friend here, this is his personal vehicle that he uses for work. He owns a concrete company, and he's got a lot of concrete tools in this toolbox and in the bed of his truck. So his truck is already constantly sagging. He's actually about a half inch lower in the rear than he is in the front.

He does have a leveling kit on the front of it, but there's no reason why he should be sagging in the rear all the time. These are designed to help with that. It's an adjustable solution to be able to help support the rear end of your vehicle. Before we go any further talking about these details, we're gonna show you what they look like. This is what our airbags are gonna look like when they're installed.

They will attach to the axle and to the frame, and essentially you can see how it's gonna physically limit the travel of your vehicle, providing you that rear end support. How these airbags are gonna work is you're going to add and subtract air into the air fittings that are now on the back of your vehicle, and you can add however much air into either bag if you have them run separate. The reason why I have them run separate is so that if he ever tows a heavy trailer, and he's got a heavy load of tools on one side of his truck or the other, he can put 15 pounds in one side and 10 pounds in the other, and then it's gonna level his truck back out, giving him the best ride possible. Now if you want, you can add an onboard air compressor. It's very popular, I highly recommend it.

You can add that onboard air compressor, and it'll allow you to adjust the air pressure in your bags on the fly. So if you're sitting at a stoplight, you still think the back of your truck is sagging too much, you can bump the pressure up a little bit. I think you'll get the most out of your airbags if you have that on there because you will want to add and subtract air a little bit more. For my friend here, he is specifically towing his boat trailer and hauling the stuff in the bed of his truck. So he's gonna know very quickly what PSI he needs to tow his boat and what PSI he needs to ride around with all the time with these tools in the back of his truck.

What Firestone really thought about when they designed this airbag is that it's going to be a double convoluted design, which essentially means that they have two bubbles. It's one big airbag, but they're gonna have two bubbles that are separated or created by a band in the middle. And essentially what that's designed to do is so that the airbag can act as a spring, and it helps the airbag to travel up and down in a straight motion rather than having one big airbag without the band in the middle that could fold over on itself when your suspension is compressing. These airbags are gonna have a maximum load limit of 5,000 pounds. Now for our particular truck here, for this 1500, that is way too much to put in or behind this truck, but it just goes to show you how strong the bags are and that they're not gonna fail based off of the weight that this truck can handle. You will want to check in your owner's manual to see what your truck is rated for, and keep in mind that this set of airbags is not going to increase that carrying capacity. It's just going to help you to carry the weight that the truck's designed to carry a little bit better. The PSI rating for these bags is gonna be between five and 100 PSI. You have to leave five PSI in at all times. It helps to keep the bag formed. If you let all the air out, what can happen is as your suspension is compressing, it will cause the bag to fold over on itself causing premature wear. The other thing that it can do, which a lot of people don't think about, is when your suspension relaxes, so if you're doing any off-roading or just hitting any simple bumps, what that bag will do is if it doesn't have any air in it, it's not gonna keep its shape. And if the suspension relaxes too far, the bag is gonna suck in on itself, and that's not good for the bag either. Now we're gonna do a quick comparison before