Is air suspension worth it?

[smashweights]

Disagree lol. I lived in Calgary for several years and I would gladly take the winter there over the winter here. Sounds like you just had bad luck with yours.

Canadians fighting over whose winter is worse is about the most Canadian thing I've seen

How much does it help with rear end squat when towing/hauling?

Eliminates squat. I put a pallet of sod in mine that sat it on the bump stops initially and the air ride brought it back up to level like a champ so should level any load the truck is rated for and then a bit more. See photo.

 

[DraKhen99]

Canadians fighting over whose winter is worse is about the most Canadian thing I've seen



Eliminates squat. I put a pallet of sod in mine that sat it on the bump stops initially and the air ride brought it back up to level like a champ so should level any load the truck is rated for and then a bit more. See photo.

I don't know how much a pallet of sod weighs, but there was a member on here early in the 5th gen's life who put over 4,000 (4,020 IIRC) pounds of rock in his truck bed... he said that lane changes at speed were a bit dicey but the truck made it across town (10 miles I think?) just fine.

I love the air suspension for hooking up my trailer and loading things into the bed. Drop it down, back under coupler, lift back up, raise jack & do connections, done. I lowered it once to lift a marble vanity sink into the bed - made it much easier.

Dropping the truck using the remote makes it easy for me to sit on the tailgate while we're hanging out outside watching the kids play.

-John

 

[J-Cooz]

I don't know how much a pallet of sod weighs, but there was a member on here early in the 5th gen's life who put over 4,000 (4,020 IIRC) pounds of rock in his truck bed... he said that lane changes at speed were a bit dicey but the truck made it across town (10 miles I think?) just fine.

I love the air suspension for hooking up my trailer and loading things into the bed. Drop it down, back under coupler, lift back up, raise jack & do connections, done. I lowered it once to lift a marble vanity sink into the bed - made it much easier.

Dropping the truck using the remote makes it easy for me to sit on the tailgate while we're hanging out outside watching the kids play.

-John

It's about 2000lbs for a pallet of sod. I love the air suspension. The load levelling is fantastic and it rides great. Also nice to be able to raise the truck up on rough roads/trails.

 

[Stevenc150]

OP Is prob long gone by now...I've had 2 trucks with it (rebels) and current truck w/o (Lhorn)...heres mho for those reading now

Air susp is awesome. Rise/lwr to impress friends & load level when hauling heavies. BUT u need have a GOOD reputable dealership and extended warranty, then u should consider air susp.

Otherwise stick with the well established coil-over susp. Rides better empty, it just pales in comparison when hauling heavies & doing tricks

 

[1guyandtools]

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?

I really love the air ride. I lower it down to entry mode when washing it by hand. I do pull a small skid steer around and it levels off to proper height, no squatting here. Only have had it through 1 MN winter , No problems at all with the air ride or anything on this truck. Its a loaded up Lonestar.

 

[Downytide]

OP Is prob long gone by now...I've had 2 trucks with it (rebels) and current truck w/o (Lhorn)...heres mho for those reading now

Air susp is awesome. Rise/lwr to impress friends & load level when hauling heavies. BUT u need have a GOOD reputable dealership and extended warranty, then u should consider air susp.

Otherwise stick with the well established coil-over susp. Rides better empty, it just pales in comparison when hauling heavies & doing tricks

Still here and loving the truck, just got new wheels and tires, in a way glad I didn't get air since I want to change the suspension probably next year, but it would've been useful in couple instances.

 

[CaptainCJ35]

Being able to lower the truck to enter/exit height when pulling into low parking garages is worth the cost alone.

 

[Cravenfan]

For me, it was such an upgrade over the Denali. First, it rides sooo much better than my prior GMC...second, I can put it down for entry/exit mode and my Golden Retriever (and occasionally my wife) can get in a bit easier. When I hit the camp roads, I jack it up to clear humps in the road, branches, etc. Third...it just looks impressive! Survived one Maine winter so far...although it is another thing that could go wrong, I'll be putting an extended Mopar warranty on this thing soon!

 

[SpeedyV]

I really love the air ride. I lower it down to entry mode when washing it by hand. I do pull a small skid steer around and it levels off to proper height, no squatting here. Only have had it through 1 MN winter , No problems at all with the air ride or anything on this truck. Its a loaded up Lonestar. View attachment 60434View attachment 60436

You mean Longhorn. Nice ride

 

[JJRamTX]

That was me with the 4,020 Lbs of Black Obsidian Rock and the drive was around 8-9 miles. I love my Air Suspension and the only issue I ever have with it is that it still does the ghost leveling out even after the truck has been shut off and locked for over 5 minutes. This re-designed Air suspension over the 4th generation I think has it figured out and I don't suspect I will be in for any repairs related to it in the first 5-7 years.

 

[Kgray1112]

My thoughts exactly. Without any more details, (one post only member), I’d treat this as a Troll until proven different.

Well I just joined, my 2018 was a nightmare so I traded in for a 2020 without air ride and ate 6k on the trade. They replaced air bags, modules and multiple air compressors.

 

[Neurobit]

Well I just joined, my 2018 was a nightmare so I traded in for a 2020 without air ride and ate 6k on the trade. They replaced air bags, modules and multiple air compressors.

That’s a 4th gen. The 5th gens have a different system. Welcome to the forum BTW.

 

[Kgray1112]

That’s a 4th gen. The 5th gens have a different system. Welcome to the forum BTW.

I wasn’t aware of that, I loved the way the air ride drove but couldn’t take the issues.

 

[Finn5033]

The air suspension is something that I really really wanted. Living in MN and reading about all of the issues people in cold climates have had I decided it wasn’t worth it. If the 5th gen trucks do better I would consider getting it on my next one

 

[DraKhen99]

The air suspension is something that I really really wanted. Living in MN and reading about all of the issues people in cold climates have had I decided it wasn’t worth it. If the 5th gen trucks do better I would consider getting it on my next one

The air suspension was a must-have for me. It's intrigued me for years, to the point I started pricing out a retrofit on my F-150. I decided it wasn't worth retrofitting, but was worth buying on a new truck, so that's the route I took. I live in the Mid-Atlantic, so we'll see how it holds up, but it's been worth every penny so far. I drive my wife's car (Ford Escape) and am reminded just now nice my truck rides and handles bumps

-John

 

[PowerJrod]

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?

Rebel is great....air suspension...no. there's a reason why VW and others have abandoned their air suspension projects a while ago...it's just not reliable, although the idea is really cool.

 

[Neurobit]

Rebel is great....air suspension...no. there's a reason why VW and others have abandoned their air suspension projects a while ago...it's just not reliable, although the idea is really cool.

MB, Audi & Porsche (VW owned), Lexus, Lincoln all have vehicles with air suspension on their top tier packages... And don’t forget just about every big rig on the road. Air suspension is very reliable.

 

[CaptainCJ35]

Rebel is great....air suspension...no. there's a reason why VW and others have abandoned their air suspension projects a while ago...it's just not reliable, although the idea is really cool.

That's really not the case anymore... there's a number of automakers now using air suspension, including Ford, GM, Tesla, Range Rover/Land Rover, BMW and Mercedes. My guess is with greater adoption, there will be greater innovation and reliability.

There's no doubt about the issues 4th gen trucks have or had. If I had one of those trucks I wouldn't trust air suspension either. BUT there seems to be a new generation that's being adopted at a much higher level than before. I'm hopeful that on 5th Gen DT Ram's they've got it sorted out finally, where the set up on 4th gens was ahead of it's time.

So far so good for me. I bought my truck knowing it could be problematic in the future, and if it is when it's out of warranty, I'll swap it out for a high end steel spring set up.

 

[PowerJrod]

That's really not the case anymore... there's a number of automakers now using air suspension, including Ford, GM, Tesla, Range Rover/Land Rover, BMW and Mercedes. My guess is with greater adoption, there will be greater innovation and reliability.

There's no doubt about the issues 4th gen trucks have or had. If I had one of those trucks I wouldn't trust air suspension either. BUT there seems to be a new generation that's being adopted at a much higher level than before. I'm hopeful that on 5th Gen DT Ram's they've got it sorted out finally, where the set up on 4th gens was ahead of it's time.

So far so good for me. I bought my truck knowing it could be problematic in the future, and if it is when it's out of warranty, I'll swap it out for a high end steel spring set up.

That's actually a good way of looking at it too. Anything can be great while under warranty lol.

 

[PowerJrod]

MB, Audi & Porsche (VW owned), Lexus, Lincoln all have vehicles with air suspension on their top tier packages... And don’t forget just about every big rig on the road. Air suspension is very reliable.

Yes and no...so Porsche hasn't used air suspension except for their SUVs with the off road package in almost 10 years. It's mainly the adjustable air suspension that is unreliable. But VW and Audi no longer use the traditional air suspension. My boss has a newer porche 911 and he asked about the air suspension, the dealer techs told him they don't use that air suspension crap anymore.