Is air suspension worth it?

[Andymax]

I park outside but I'm not in Canada. Central PA, where we definitely have a pretty nippy cold stretch. From The last couple weeks of November to the first couple weeks of March is hovers around the high teens to the mid twenties (fahrenheit) at night, and wind chills in Jan/Feb can take it down close to zero. So I'm hoping it doesn't suffer any permanent damage.

When you said "Are the relays, valves and joints all perfectly sealed or protected", I imagine that's what they *try* to do, so if that holds then that probably explains some of the people in Canada who don't have issues. But of course there will be plenty of instances where it's not "all perfectly sealed", or after a few years of wear it's not, and then you have issues.

I was in Western PA for much of the time when I owned the Jeep...i seriously doubt you will have any issues. Seems most problems arose at minus zero and lower temps up in those northern climates.

 

[CaptainCJ35]

Unless I'm missing it, I'm not seeing many threads on failed Air Suspension for these 5th gen trucks which have been in production for three years now. I think if there were similar issues to what the 4th gen's experienced we would have heard about it by now... a lot. Not saying there aren't concerns about longevity, but you really can't compare air suspension with traditional steel springs in terms of service life, reliability, etc.

 

[kapinallinen2]

AlfaOBD is quite handy for servicing the system...it can drain/refill all four corners individually.

I might have to get the Alfa-OBD for Christmas...

 

[Trooper4]

Unless something some how damages the systel and/or you have a leak, there should be little if any problem. If it leake, the dealer or yourself can repair, ie. replace parts and purge and recharge the system. Depending on the dealer, you might feel safe with them as the work will have a limited warranty period.

 

[Andymax]

I might have to get the Alfa-OBD for Christmas...

you wont be sorry!

 

[Andymax]

Unless something some how damages the systel and/or you have a leak, there should be little if any problem. If it leake, the dealer or yourself can repair, ie. replace parts and purge and recharge the system. Depending on the dealer, you might feel safe with them as the work will have a limited warranty period.

I agree, repairs are fairly straightforward....BUT...Just one point...purging is easy, recharging the system with nitrogen is not. You have to have proper equipment/tools and the nitrogen. The dealer can do it for a couple hundred bucks IIRC. This is where AlfaOBD becomes necessary...for DIY repairs.

I agree with @CaptainCJ35 ....the system is quite robust, even on the 4th gen where the only consistent problem was in sustained subzero temps. Air suspension has been around a LONG time and is a simple, well-proven system. I do seriously regret not having it.

 

[H2OMAN]

I agree, repairs are fairly straightforward....BUT...Just one point...purging is easy, recharging the system with nitrogen is not. You have to have proper equipment/tools and the nitrogen. The dealer can do it for a couple hundred bucks IIRC. This is where AlfaOBD becomes necessary...for DIY repairs.

I agree with @CaptainCJ35 ....the system is quite robust, even on the 4th gen where the only consistent problem was in sustained subzero temps. Air suspension has been around a LONG time and is a simple, well-proven system. I do seriously regret not having it.

I agree. They have been around for a long time. But only on road. No off road racing team has ever used air suspension and for good reason. Again, if you are using it for towing or load hauling they are probably great and you would want them on your camping/work truck. It's just a bad idea on an off road truck. Not merely a not good idea, but a really bad idea.

 

[Trooper4]

I agree. They have been around for a long time. But only on road. No off road racing team has ever used air suspension and for good reason. Again, if you are using it for towing or load hauling they are probably great and you would want them on your camping/work truck. It's just a bad idea on an off road truck. Not merely a not good idea, but a really bad idea.

I serious off roading, the shock travel just wouldn't be enough to properly dampen the more aggressive driving, along with the fact that it's just one more thing to break.

 

[H2OMAN]

Then lift it. But stay away from the air ride.

 

[truckless]

Not sure about you, but my idea of off-roading in a $90,000 (Canadian) truck is going into the pasture to pop gophers.
Anything else is using a hopped up already beat to **** truck not worth nearly that much lol

 

[H2OMAN]

To each his own. I live near the desert and the mountains.

 

[Shifts And Grins Fab]

Just my $0.02. I had air suspension on my 2019 Rebel. I ran the lift links we sell for the front to level the truck out a bit. It looked great and rode great around town and on road trips. THe different modes were really nice as well. If you plan on doing a lot of off roading or lifting your truck, I would recommend staying away from air suspension. That is just my thoughts after a year and half of ownership and use. I was going to replace my air suspension with a performance suspension system but traded the truck for a TRX instead. lol

 

[Shnarf1]

Hi all, I had put deposit down for a Rebel, there was a mix up on paperwork so the delivery is taking longer than expected, however, they offered a similarily equipped truck with air suspension, I'm slightly hesitant since the last gen rebel suspension is well documented, but intrigued by its ability.

Is it worth it? Will it give me problems in Canadian winter?

2014 nothing but problems. I skipped it for my 2022 Rebel

 

[Andymax]

I agree. They have been around for a long time. But only on road. No off road racing team has ever used air suspension and for good reason. Again, if you are using it for towing or load hauling they are probably great and you would want them on your camping/work truck. It's just a bad idea on an off road truck. Not merely a not good idea, but a really bad idea.

Offroad racing?!?! Of course not, but thats not what this thread is about! I'm not talking about flying around dunes or jumps, or rock crawling, or mud racing or any such thing, and neither is anyone else. We are talking about on-road, and light off-road use...that is where I found it very helpful. I'm talking about rutted log roads, deep snow, things like that...places where typical pickup truck owners might find it useful.

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

The 4th gen Rams had some reported issues with it, especially early in its introduction. They were far from widespread, but not unheard of. That's why I got my 2014 Longhorn without it (but pretty much every other option). As others have stated, these 5th gens seem to have a more robust system, as there have been fewer issues reported. I only hesitated a little with my Limited, and so far (only 10k on her), she's shown no issues. If I lived in parts of Canada that got to even colder temperatures for weeks at a time (-20 or lower for weeks), I wouldn't advise it. Pretty sure that is why FCA allows Canadian RAMs to delete the air suspension when ordering, even from a Limited.

As others stated, heavy off roading (TRX/Raptor racing territory, rock crawling Wrangler/Bronco territory, etc.), is a big no. Granted, I do not have a Rebel, but the air suspension is the same, and light off-roading/snow/deep snow is where I use mine. No issues so far.

 

[H2OMAN]

It's not a typical truck. It has off road capabilities that typical trucks don't have. But then I'd rather be in the back country in a typical truck than one with air ride. It's the racing that gives us the suspension technology and components that we use on our truckseEven if it is just trails. Air ride ain't one of them.

 

[Chris3058]

My buddy is a mechanic at a local Ram dealer. When I approached him about the trucks (I was a ford guy) the only thing he said was - don’t get air suspension.

 

[BGL]

I bought one anyway. Love the ride it's unmatched.
Will report back if any issues when it gets super cold.

-22 C today blowing snow, and a 4 hour road trip , Air suspension working great so far, automatic Aero mode on hiway was functional as advertised. Fully lowered tested but not fully raised as I really didn't need off road mode.

 

[Andymax]

My buddy is a mechanic at a local Ram dealer. When I approached him about the trucks (I was a ford guy) the only thing he said was - don’t get air suspension.

Yep...in Canada. I'd avoid it too if I lived that far north. But I'd be all over it here in Ohio.

 

[CaptainCJ35]

I think people are conflating things here on this thread. "Worth" has a different meaning to each individual. Is it worth spending $1,250 as an option when you're going to be doing serious off-roading or high speed desert running? No... take that money and use it to get a lift and some Fox 2.5's or whatever.

Is it worth the money for someone who does light off-roading, or frequently drives with heavy payloads, or has clearance concerns in a garage, or all three? Yes... most likely.

Each owner/buyer has to determine the "worth" based on their own use case and situation. There is no definitive right-wrong, yes-no, binary answer. What works for me on Cape Cod in Massachusetts doesn't mean it works for someone in the desert South West... and vise versa.

IMO the benefits outweigh the drawbacks... for me. Air Suspension gives the truck more flexibility, I can give the truck an inch of lift when I need the clearance, or I can lower the truck 3" when I'm parking in garage with a very low ceiling. My truck has a fantastic ride on the highway, and I know that I never have any concerns about squat in the rear when I tow or haul heavy loads. That has a lot of "worth"... to me.

Other people see it differently... and rightly so... for them.