Is air suspension worth it?

[MrDazana]

I had the Air suspension in my 4th gen 2016 because it came with it, it was standard on the rebel 15&16 models. Everyone in canada that i knew who had it, had issues. The 5th gen is no exception. We just don't hear about it because its not standard in any truck, and if its there , they are mostly in climates that don't reach -10c daily. However, when it was working, I loved it. Especially towing with it.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

I had the Air suspension in my 4th gen 2016 because it came with it, it was standard on the rebel 15&16 models. Everyone in canada that i knew who had it, had issues. The 5th gen is no exception. We just don't hear about it because its not standard in any truck, and if its there , they are mostly in climates that don't reach -10c daily. However, when it was working, I loved it. Especially towing with it.

It's standard on the Limited (and I believe the Longhorn as well, though you can delete it from that trim).

From everything I've read and heard the consensus is basically if you're in Canada, avoid, otherwise, you're probably fine.

 

[Tnseltim]

5th gen Limited, my first vehicle with air suspension. It's awesome for towing, the self leveling feature makes it a much more pleasant experience. It's also cool to be able to lower it when I wash the truck. Ride is very smooth IMO. No troubles since I've owned it, even though I severely overload my bed once by mistake. It was a bit squirrelly that trip but was fine after unloading.

 

[truckless]

It's standard on the Limited (and I believe the Longhorn as well, though you can delete it from that trim).

From everything I've read and heard the consensus is basically if you're in Canada, avoid, otherwise, you're probably fine.

I would say it is only those who don't have a heated garage to let things thaw and dry regularly.
I've had 3 trucks now with air in central Alberta, never had a problem...even when we had a 3 week long -40 cold snap a few years back. But I also park in a heated garage. My father in law also no problems with his...parking in a heated garage. My brother-in-law who parks outside exclusively because they can barely fit my nieces Liberty in the garage let alone a truck is another story however.

 

[BGL]

It's standard on the Limited (and I believe the Longhorn as well, though you can delete it from that trim).

From everything I've read and heard the consensus is basically if you're in Canada, avoid, otherwise, you're probably fine.

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

 

[ayoslickxd]

I would say it is only those who don't have a heated garage to let things thaw and dry regularly.
I've had 3 trucks now with air in central Alberta, never had a problem...even when we had a 3 week long -40 cold snap a few years back. But I also park in a heated garage. My father in law also no problems with his...parking in a heated garage. My brother-in-law who parks outside exclusively because they can barely fit my nieces Liberty in the garage let alone a truck is another story however.

this is probably the obly thing that sounds about right …. i feel like that could be a thing with parking in a garage and not streets …. like a car i got i park it in the garage and it has less rust then most of the cars i left in streets of ny

 

[AdamChandler]

I’m basically in Canada and my truck lives outside. I plan to have air suspension fail on me a few times. That’s why I bought the 8 year warranty.

 

[truckless]

this is probably the obly thing that sounds about right …. i feel like that could be a thing with parking in a garage and not streets …. like a car i got i park it in the garage and it has less rust then most of the cars i left in streets of ny

Yep. Temperature swings will cause consdensate....even in a closed loop system. If it can't drain...

 

[Trooper4]

Yep. Temperature swings will cause consdensate....even in a closed loop system. If it can't drain...

Nitrogen gas, when cooled, condenses at -195.8 Celsius (77.36 Kelvin) and freezes at -209.86 Celsius (63.17 Kelvin.) Or, to reverse the order, solid nitrogen melts to form liquid nitrogen at 63.17 Kelvin, which boils at 77.36 Kelvin. Liquid nitrogen is used in many cryogenic cooling systems.
Vessels containing liquid nitrogen can condense oxygen from air. The liquid in such a vessel becomes increasingly enriched in oxygen (boiling point 90 K; −183 °C; −298 °F) as the nitrogen evaporates, and can cause violent oxidation of organic material.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Nitrogen gas, when cooled, condenses at -195.8 Celsius (77.36 Kelvin) and freezes at -209.86 Celsius (63.17 Kelvin.) Or, to reverse the order, solid nitrogen melts to form liquid nitrogen at 63.17 Kelvin, which boils at 77.36 Kelvin. Liquid nitrogen is used in many cryogenic cooling systems.
Vessels containing liquid nitrogen can condense oxygen from air. The liquid in such a vessel becomes increasingly enriched in oxygen (boiling point 90 K; −183 °C; −298 °F) as the nitrogen evaporates, and can cause violent oxidation of organic material.

So like...that means that uhhh...well, it means that....ummm...

What does this mean?

 

[ayoslickxd]

it never freezes i think lmao

 

[LouNY]

pretty much

 

[soSincerious]

as someone who custom ordered their truck and went for best bang for buck and forwent air ride ...

I really wish I ordered the air ride ...

 

[Trooper4]

So like...that means that uhhh...well, it means that....ummm...

What does this mean?

It means that there is not much likelihood that condensation is the problem with the closed loop nitrogen system that is in the Ram, and that temperature swings will NOT cause the nitrogen to consdensate..... If it can't drain... Not unless it it gets down to -195.8 Celsius , or is open to the atmosphere.

 

[Trooper4]

it never freezes i think lmao

And the problem is not with the nitrogen, and most likely with the electronics or something mechanical.

 

[MarvsAMartian]

And the problem is not with the nitrogen, and most likely with the electronics or something mechanical.

From what I understand (from second hand accounts of owners who've had their air ride fail) the latter is correct. For that reason my auto deploy steps on my truck are in hibernation (stored) mode for the winter as those constantly fail here in Canada. No nitrogen with those last I checked

 

[truckless]

I misspoke when I said "even in a closed loop"...as that implied the wrong thing. Is it a truly hermetically sealed compressor (ie no venting/breathers)? I dunno... But I assume so. Are the relays, valves and joints all perfectly sealed or protected? Expansion, contraction and changes in temperature (Canada and the Northern states have wild swings that can see many many freeze thaw cycles a year) can all create issues with damn near anything. Then you add into that road salt etc...there are all sort of places moisture can get in and cause problems.

I wasn't meaning to say it was the nitrogen or condensate in the nitrogen.

Again, the only ppl I know who have had problems park outside.

That said though...if a unit leaked out all the N2 will the compressor keep running continuously are will it trip a code? A fridge or AC unit if it loses it refrigerant will seize eventually.... But they aren't as smart as a truck either.

My brother in law had his system recharged and failed compressors changed multiple times until he bought a new truck without.

 

[Trooper4]

I misspoke when I said "even in a closed loop"...as that implied the wrong thing. Is it a truly hermetically sealed compressor (ie no venting/breathers)? I dunno... But I assume so. Are the relays, valves and joints all perfectly sealed or protected? Expansion, contraction and changes in temperature (Canada and the Northern states have wild swings that can see many many freeze thaw cycles a year) can all create issues with damn near anything. Then you add into that road salt etc...there are all sort of places moisture can get in and cause problems.

I wasn't meaning to say it was the nitrogen or condensate in the nitrogen.

Again, the only ppl I know who have had problems park outside.

That said though...if a unit leaked out all the N2 will the compressor keep running continuously are will it trip a code? A fridge or AC unit if it loses it refrigerant will seize eventually.... But they aren't as smart as a truck either.

My brother in law had his system recharged and failed compressors changed multiple times until he bought a new truck without.

In the event of a leak it trips the unit out and throws a code and DIC warning that it is unavailable and needs serviced. Been there done that, so know from experience.

 

[Andymax]

The system will draw air from the outside to replace lost nitrogen. This scenario is possible during a strut replacement, etc. So long as the system doesnt have a persistent leak it will be fine...no errors. AlfaOBD is quite handy for servicing the system...it can drain/refill all four corners individually. Did this on my Grand Cherokee...worked perfectly.

Since this thread has a fresh life, I'll chime in. I put 230K miles on that grand cherokee...system worked flawlessly (I replaced the front struts chasing a noise...yes, I'm an idiot). I loved it, and now miss having it on my 1500 for the following reasons:
- Hitching a trailer
- auto-leveling when towing/hauling
- Off-road level 3 made oil and fuel filter changes so easy...no jack required.
- the obvious...offroad ability
- slightly better ride ( I would not pay for the system solely on this point)
- entry mode made it easy for my elderly dad

 

[AngelPhoenix]

I misspoke when I said "even in a closed loop"...as that implied the wrong thing. Is it a truly hermetically sealed compressor (ie no venting/breathers)? I dunno... But I assume so. Are the relays, valves and joints all perfectly sealed or protected? Expansion, contraction and changes in temperature (Canada and the Northern states have wild swings that can see many many freeze thaw cycles a year) can all create issues with damn near anything. Then you add into that road salt etc...there are all sort of places moisture can get in and cause problems.

I wasn't meaning to say it was the nitrogen or condensate in the nitrogen.

Again, the only ppl I know who have had problems park outside.

That said though...if a unit leaked out all the N2 will the compressor keep running continuously are will it trip a code? A fridge or AC unit if it loses it refrigerant will seize eventually.... But they aren't as smart as a truck either.

My brother in law had his system recharged and failed compressors changed multiple times until he bought a new truck without.

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.