Failed Air Bag - Can I safely tow with one bag?

hi kevin
personly if one airbag is shot i would not leave the other inflated as it will make weight distribution very uneven and in an emergency stopping situation is very likely to cause the vehicle to be very unstable
you would be far safer with equail weght distribution using no airbag assistance
thats what i would do
bit like driving down the rd with one broken spring not a good sinario cheers

Hi Kevin,

I have had this happen to me coming back to the Port Macquary area from near Inverell in northern NSW. My worry was that if I deflated the remaining good air bag then it would also be trashed by the time I made it home as the coil spring would pinch it at every point when it protruded out through the spring.

My advice would be, as I did, to leave about 5 to 10 PSI in the good bag otherwise it too will be destroyed. Oh and drive steadily and cautiously under the circumstances. I found 85kph on reasonable roads was a good speed under these circumstances.

A warranty claim may be a big ask as something as simple as a stick, flicked up at the right angle, could do the damage you report. Hardly the dealers fault if that is the case, but maybe worth the asking.

Good luck.
Cheers, Bruce.

Air bags aren't designed to lift your vehicle to a ride hight, they are designed to support the suspension.

WE seem to be talking about the plastic ride assist type items which are fitted inside coil springs and not REAL airbags.
Drop the pressure in the other side and keep towing, if you didn't have these fitted you would still be towing anyway.
If the other side also fails then you will have equal pressures in both and just using the suspension as OE fitted it.

Sounds like you require a suitably rated spring in each side instead of playing catchup with a balloon inside the springs.

Because of the friction on the inside of the spring coils and the high likelyhood of a small stone/stick catching between coil and the plastic and subsequently tearing of the bag I think these aren't really a solution to a suspension problem.
Yes they are marketed as such and are widely used.

If suitable, why don't manufacturers use them in their suspension designs??

Ross M

Thanks for the responses. Your various contributions have reassured me that I can tow home with relative safety.

I note the comments about air bags not being for levelling the vehicle. My current vehicle is the second I have owned that has been fitted with air bags within the coil springs. They came from different manufacturers but both gave instructions to load the vehicle and then inflate the bags until the tow vehicle is level again. That sounds like levelling the vehicle to me.

I can't use a weight distribution hitch with the Al-Ko hitch on my off road van so heavier springs that don't require assistance seems like a long term solution even if that solution gives me a rougher ride.

Thanks one and all for your help.

Kevin

Kevin I have had this happen to me on the way to Karumba a couple of years ago. have no idea what punctured the bag which had been in place for some 180,00kms. I discovered the situation when I was in Julia Creek. I deflated the remaining bag to 15psi , continued on my merry way and had the damaged bag replaced in Brisbane on our return. The weight distribution hitch does the real work when towing in any case.
Contrary to the opinions expressed by many on this and other forums I am a great believer in air bags and have had them fitted to three different vehicles over the years with my current set having done just over 300,000kms. I do believe in the process of measuring vehicle height from ground, inflating the bags to a certain pressure, loading the vehicle and then deflating to attain the unloaded height.
Happy and safe traveling,
Bushbum

Kevin,

You should never inflate the airbags after hitching up the caravan or whatever.

Firestone Coil Rites are very sturdy pieces of kit, and they, like all air bag mfrs, stress this point.

I doubt if you will have warranty satisfied on that count.

I hope you don't mind my comment on this

Robert

The air bags were fitted by the professional 4x4 workshop that does my service work. They areCoilRight Air Helper Springs from the Airbag Man. The single A4 sheet of instructions does not mention any other company.
There are warnings about not inflating the bags while they are unrestrained. Then it goes on to say:
*MAXIMUM AIR PRESSURE
Air bellows must not extend more than half way through the coil springs at maximum inflation pressure.

The maximum inflation pressure must be set when the vehicle is in the fully loaded condition.

MAXIMUM AIR PRESSURE

The air bags were fitted by the professional 4x4 workshop that does my service work. They left in the vehicle a blue double sided A4 sheet of paper headed The Air bag Man and CoilRite Air Helper Springs. Following a couple of general warnings about not exceeding the vehicle design carrying capacity and not to inflate the bags when unrestrained, it continues as follows:

" *MAXIMUN AIR PRESSURE
Air bellows must not extend more than half way through the coil springs at maximum inflation pressure.

The maximum inflation pressure must be set when the vehicle is in a fully loaded condition.

If the bellows extends more than this it is likely to burst.

MINIMUM AIR PRESSURE
Maintain a minimum of 5 p.s.i. (35Kpa) at all times."

The reverse side of the A4 sheet is all fitting instructions.

So, what part of that tells me that I should inflate before loading? To the contrary, it suggests that you start with the minimum pressure, add the load and then inflate until the required pressure is achieved.

The air bags on my previous vehicle (I can't remember the brand) came with very explicit instructions to place the vehicle on a flat area, measure the top of the rear wheel arches to the ground, apply the load and inflate the bags until the initial height is reached. There was no additional instructions as to what you needed to do when you hitched up the next time after reducing air bag pressure to the minimum as you do to drive around unloaded.

I have checked the air bags loaded and unloaded and when fully inflated and at minimum inflation pressure. It no time do the bags come near 50% of the coil width. If the concern is pinching the bag, the compression of the springs when the load is added is so small that pinching could not occur.

The main reason that I use air bags is to stop the see sawing that occurs on choppy roads. The back end of the challenger sits a bit high unloaded and in not noticeably low without assistance.

So do other users get different instructions to me or are we dealing with some kind of conventional wisdom? For those who have experience, why inflate and then hitch and not the other way around? And what pressure do you inflate to? As I said at the outset I inflate to 25 p.s.i. as that has the vehicle fairly level and gives a good ride.

Thanks to the comments form these with experience of air bags. I intend to persevere.

Cheers, Kevin

As a final update, readers may be interested to know that the failure of the air bag appears to be from heat from the exhaust. A heat shield should have been fitted to the exhaust where it passes just inside the rear coil spring but this was not done. Not sure why, but the bag was replaced free of charge.
Cheers,
Kevin