Airbags

theMightyGoose

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Traveler I

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San Diego, CA
First Name
Glenn
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Gossett
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Decided to put airbags to help manage the load of camping gear on my '16 Tacoma. For those of you running airbags, which brands do you recommend? Anyone have the Airlift or Firestone setup?


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I don't have them, but heard if you have them and do some wheeling you need the cradles for them or you could rip them. I think there called day star cradles.
 
I don't have them, but heard if you have them and do some wheeling you need the cradles for them or you could rip them. I think there called day star cradles.

Yeah, my understanding is that advice is if you do rock crawling or extreme off-roading. I stick to moderate trails that get me to remote camping spots only. I hope it won't be an issue. I'll look into those star cradles tho. Thanks for the tip


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I'm running the AirLift 5000 Ultimates and Daystar Cradles on my truck, really happy with the install compared to the firestone installs I've seen on the same truck, not sure how it compares on the Toyota. On the dodge they utilize the stock bumpstop mounting locations, I drilled and tapped the bottom pad to directly accept the cradle instead of using the brackets that clamp around the axle tube. In my case I wanted as little bracketry in between as possible so as to not limit up travel any more than necessary.
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What exactly do the Daystar Cradles do? They just look like mounting brackets

See the top photo where the bag is hanging suspended above the cradle? They allow full axle droop without stretching/damaging the bag or limiting down travel. It's just an independent base that guides the bag back into position instead of hard mounting it.


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See the top photo where the bag is hanging suspended above the cradle? They allow full axle droop without stretching/damaging the bag or limiting down travel. It's just an independent base that guides the bag back into position instead of hard mounting it.


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Thanks. I just ordered some Firestone ride rites. I'll grab a set of those before I install.


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I had a set of fire stones before I went with a Dakar full leaf pack. They did well, nice to adjust when loaded or not and wheeled pretty well. I wouldn't use them for the real rough stuff when you need more articulation, but they're a solid product. My buddy inherited them and loves them for his fire road camping trips, no more bottoming out with a loaded cooler like our tacos like to do!


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I installed the Firestones with the cradles. I think the cradles take care of the articulation issue you are talking about. So far I"m happy. But the rear end does bounce around a bit more. I don't plan to do any hard core off roading. Mostly established roads/trails.
 
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I installed the Firestones with the cradles. I think the cradles take care of the articulation issue you are talking about. So far I"m happy. But the rear end does bounce around a bit more. I don't plan to do any hard core off roading. Mostly established roads/trails.

The rear of my truck seemed bouncy after I installed the Dakar springs with the old man emu shocks so I went with some icon shocks to match the coilovers and the bouncing is gone. Probably different shocks would solve your issue too. I had never seen those cradles before, that's a good idea.


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The rear of my truck seemed bouncy after I installed the Dakar springs with the old man emu shocks so I went with some icon shocks to match the coilovers and the bouncing is gone. Probably different shocks would solve your issue too. I had never seen those cradles before, that's a good idea.


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The shocks are definitely not properly tuned for the setup. I let a few psi out of the bags and it better now


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The rear of my truck seemed bouncy after I installed the Dakar springs with the old man emu shocks so I went with some icon shocks to match the coilovers and the bouncing is gone. Probably different shocks would solve your issue too. I had never seen those cradles before, that's a good idea.


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The cradles are called DayStar Cradles. Only about $67 on amazon and worth it if you off road at all.


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Those with the Daystar cups, are you still able to run any kind of PSI in situations where you know you will have the axle droop off the cups?
 
In my case, I have not wheeled/articulated my truck yet since installing the bags. I don't see a need for myself, in my case they're primarily for towing and will be aired down once unhitched and ready to hit the trail, but I don't see why having a reasonable amount of air in them would be an issue, if you were carrying a heavier load off-road or whatever. I wouldn't want them cranked up to 70+ psi because I'd assume it would be like coming down on a very tall, rock hard bumpstop... but I could be wrong. I'll let you know once I try mine out a few times.
 
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I'm trying to strike a balance between adding spring rate and having airbags. While I don't pull a trailer, many of my trips are fully loaded while still encountering spots where wheel travel is important. I also run the truck a lot unloaded. I don't want a rough ride from too much spring unloaded, but at the same time, I don't like how much my truck sags when loaded.
 
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I'm trying to strike a balance between adding spring rate and having airbags. While I don't pull a trailer, many of my trips are fully loaded while still encountering spots where wheel travel is important. I also run the truck a lot unloaded. I don't want a rough ride from too much spring unloaded, but at the same time, I don't like how much my truck sags when loaded.

Did you find a solution? I️ added airbags but now I️ get a significant pogo-effect. I️ need to upgrade the shocks.


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I have not made any changes to the rear suspension yet. Have you played with air pressures? One would assume too much air pressure would contribute to the pogo effect.