airbag man

Willo,

I put the AirBag man helpers on the rear of my 79 series cruiser. I'm happy with them but a problem I've had is that going down to Bendethra and then later a trip across the Simpsom, the U bolts twisted on the diff housing.

This enabled the airbag to rub against metal, wearing a hole in the bag. I now have them welded such that they can no longer rotate.

Another bloke I recently travelled with had airbag helpers on the rear of his 79 cruiser but he took them off and added heavier duty leaf springs to the rear.

Not sure if the same problem can occur with the ride-rite but something to be aware of.

Cheers,
Peter

Have a near new set of Firestone ride rites for your model and they will bolt straight up. I have gone for a 2" lift all round and no longer require them. They are an excellent product to remedy issues with standard suspensions. If interested call me on 0418 368 167.

Gday again Willo! When the thumbs recover, you'll be fine to fit the airbags :-))

I've got the Boss Airbags - cost $550 delivered off Ebay. I put them on to keep the rear end clearance when fully loaded on the desert trips. Appear to be very good quality to me. But like everything airbags have upside and a downside.

Upside is that you'll always be able to have the rear end sit up, no matter how much load - easily adjustable. They also stop a lot of the rear end sway and compensate for the fact that Toyota left the rear sway bar off the 79series.

Downside is they will noticeably reduce rear articulation. I measured it and upward movement is reduced by 70mm, while downward movement is restricted to that of the factory shocks, so long travel shocks will no longer be "long travel". Thats assuming no pressure in the bags. Even with 5psi, I can notice that difference when crawling up a rocky slope.

I've fitted two sets now, and they are easy to fit. I put the valves next to the rear fuel tank filler.