Needing help on setup

[Govols83]

Hello all! I am in a dilemma and need some help. Here is my setup currently

24 ZR2 1500
Peak 2.25" level kit with rear blocks

We have just purchased a travel trailer, and I am trying to get my truck tow- ready for it. 6300 lbs dry weight. I am planning on doing 8-balls airbag setup that he did, and I am also wanting to switch out my leaf springs for the Deaver R81 setup so I can get rid of the lift blocks all together and have a better ride unloaded. My question is, has anyone been lifted 1" (over factory ZR2) and ran the airbag setup? My only concern is that the cradles will be 1" further away from the airbags, but i don't forsee that being an issue. Am I missing something here?

 

[8ball_99]

As long as you go with the cradles it "shouldn't" matter about it sitting a little taller. You might actually be ok with just running a trailboss kit along with cradles if the new springs lift you up enough. The only reason I ended up using the standard upper mounts along with TB bags was the TB bag upper mounts hung down to much. TB kit along with cradles might actually work well with you lifting the rear with new springs.

 

[Govols83]

As long as you go with the cradles it "shouldn't" matter about it sitting a little taller. You might actually be ok with just running a trailboss kit along with cradles if the new springs lift you up enough. The only reason I ended up using the standard upper mounts along with TB bags was the TB bag upper mounts hung down to much. TB kit along with cradles might actually work well with you lifting the rear with new springs.

Thank you sir. Any idea what the height difference was with the trail boss upper mounts vs the standard mounts?

 

[Govols83]

As long as you go with the cradles it "shouldn't" matter about it sitting a little taller. You might actually be ok with just running a trailboss kit along with cradles if the new springs lift you up enough. The only reason I ended up using the standard upper mounts along with TB bags was the TB bag upper mounts hung down to much. TB kit along with cradles might actually work well with you lifting the rear with new springs.

Also, should have mentioned that the lift is 1" over stock

 

[8ball_99]

Thank you sir. Any idea what the height difference was with the trail boss upper mounts vs the standard mounts?

I don't remember off the top of my head. It's probably pretty close to 1" though Maybe a little more. Here is pictures of the Longer TB brackets and the shorter standard brackets.

 

[AXE]

You probably only need bags that are rated for 2500-3000 lbs. A smaller bag kit would be better to fit in the area where there is less room.

Also there are bag kits that mount off the side of the frame to allow for more clearance. These Rockwell have spacers for various lift heights. Might want to see if they are compatible with ZR2. Logiqair, Kelderman and Pacbrake make them, but have no idea if they will work with ZR2.

2019+ GM 1500 Load Leveling Air Spring Kit

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[AXE]

If you eliminate the flying saucers. You actually have more room to work with. Unless your lifting it 4 or more inches, they won't likely come into play on this setup.

Put a jack and a block of wood under you reciever hitch and raise up the rear frame 1 inch. Then measure the distance from the frame to the axle base plate (assumes the stock jounce is removed). That's the room you have to work with.

This kit looks flatter. It says they are good for up to 7.5 inches between frame and axle. Otherwise they need a different spacer. Call them and see what the assembled height is to be sure.

HP10340 ALPHA HD Rear Air Suspension Kit For 2019-2025 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500

Check out the deal on HP10340 ALPHA HD Rear Air Suspension Kit For 2019-2025 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500 at Pacbrake

pacbrake.com

 

[Govols83]

If you eliminate the flying saucers. You actually have more room to work with. Unless your lifting it 4 or more inches, they won't likely come into play on this setup.

Put a jack and a block of wood under you reciever hitch and raise up the rear frame 1 inch. Then measure the distance from the frame to the axle base plate (assumes the stock jounce is removed). That's the room you have to work with.

This kit looks flatter. It says they are good for up to 7.5 inches between frame and axle. Otherwise they need a different spacer. Call them and see what the assembled height is to be sure.

HP10340 ALPHA HD Rear Air Suspension Kit For 2019-2025 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500

Check out the deal on HP10340 ALPHA HD Rear Air Suspension Kit For 2019-2025 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500 at Pacbrake

pacbrake.com

Wouldn’t I still need to use the cradles with this kit as well though?

 

[AXE]

Wouldn’t I still need to use the cradles with this kit as well though?

No, the cradles are a replacement for the thin bottom plate. They actually take up more room cause they are thicker and the base of the bag sits inside the saucer of the cradle reducing available vertical space. So it may be better to to not use them where space is limited.

The only real advantage of the saucers is that they allow for more vertical and lateral articulation in extreme terrain environments. However, they can also collect some debris if you spend time in mud and gravel.

I had five sets of bags, three trucks were lifted and I've only used cradles on one of them. For the most part, they all worked the same. All mine have been Air Lift systems and basically trouble free (two of them over 10 years). Only had one bad wire on a compressor and they sent me a replacement.

All my setups were on 2500HDs Chevrolet and Ram trucks and intended for heavy towing. I cannot speak to specifics on the 1500s, but if you get under there and take some measurements and look at some of the bag and mount specs, you'll get a better perspective on what to use

I do know that once your set up, you'll be happy with the results when towing. Especially, since you'll get close to max on your trailer when you're loaded.

Also be aware that you have load limits on your rear tires too. The bags will help you stay level and keep weight on the front tires. You may need to get Load Range E tires. Once your set up, take the rig to a scale at a truckstop and get it weighed on all the axles and you'll know what, if any adjustments are needed.

 

[8ball_99]

The flying saucers are so you can run the bags at zero or open without possibly ripping them. They also allow the suspension to fully droop. Axe has very strong feelings on pressure in the bags doesn't effect the ride. Also that compressing a sealed bag doesn't increase the pressure in the bags

Personally I prefer cradles and I like to run my bags open when not towing. Its really easy to test yourself though. Put 5 psi in your bags hit a good bump at a set speed. Put the bags at zero or open and hit the same bump at the same speed. See if you can feel the difference. I can do it in my HD and my dash cam will take a picture with 5 psi in the bags, lol. But any of them will help a ton with towing. The ride while unloaded is trick.

 

[AXE]

The flying saucers are so you can run the bags at zero or open without possibly ripping them. They also allow the suspension to fully droop. Axe has very strong feelings on pressure in the bags doesn't effect the ride. Also that compressing a sealed bag doesn't increase the pressure in the bags

Personally I prefer cradles and I like to run my bags open when not towing. Its really easy to test yourself though. Put 5 psi in your bags hit a good bump at a set speed. Put the bags at zero or open and hit the same bump at the same speed. See if you can feel the difference. I can do it in my HD and my dash cam will take a picture with 5 psi in the bags, lol. But any of them will help a ton with towing. The ride while unloaded is trick.

Why are you determined to ruin another good thread? 95% of airbags installed do not use those saucers, cause they aren't needed or have limited value in most towing applications. They are only really ever needed for lifted trucks, which is what they were invented for anyways. He does not have a lifted truck as 1 inch isn't going to change much.

OP, the reason that crafle setup didn't work on his 1500 is that there wasn't enough room for all the hardware he had jammed up in there and it compromised the ride quality. So he ditched it and then said so later.

Do some measurements on your truck and look at what your available options are for gear and make the best decision for your setup.

Don't follow some other randos setup that didn't really work. Especially when you are going to have an entirely different setup anyway. Best thinkmyou can do is measure and test before you get too far along.

 

[8ball_99]

Why are you determined to ruin another good thread? 95% of airbags installed do not use those saucers, cause they aren't needed or have limited value in most towing applications. They are only really ever needed for lifted trucks, which is what they were invented for anyways. He does not have a lifted truck as 1 inch isn't going to change much.

OP, the reason that crafle setup didn't work on his 1500 is that there wasn't enough room for all the hardware he had jammed up in there and it compromised the ride quality. So he ditched it and then said so later.

Do some measurements on your truck and look at what your available options are for gear and make the best decision for your setup.

Don't follow some other randos setup that didn't really work. Especially when you are going to have an entirely different setup anyway. Best thinkmyou can do is measure and test before you get too far along.

So name calling again instantly, lol. And now a setup that you have never had doesn't work I absolutely didn't ditch the setup because it didn't work. It worked great and I logged 20k miles with it. Have you even put 20k on your 1500? I traded the truck for a HD because well I wanted another HD and I regularly exceeded the weight limits on my 1500. BTW you are some rando on the internet same on me. I'll admit you do live on here even though you constantly call these trucks junk and complain. But at any rate. I'm by no means telling anyone what they have to do, or even what they should do. Just what worked for me. Just like the cradles that came with the ZR2 HD kit are working great on my current truck . I literally showed you in the other thread that the pressure does go up in the bags as you compress them. Despite you arguing tooth and nail with a couple of us that it doesn't. It's cool it doesn't matter to you and you can't feel them on your HD with 10-15psi in them. I just don't agree. Bags with air in them do add resistance. With no load on the truck it's noticeable, at least to some people. It's why cradles are a thing. They allow the suspension to fully droop and the bags to be ran open. It wasn't my idea, I just agree that it works, lol.

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[AXE]

So name calling again instantly, lol. And now a setup that you have never had doesn't work I absolutely didn't ditch the setup because it didn't work. It worked great and I logged 20k miles with it. Have you even put 20k on your 1500? I traded the truck for a HD because well I wanted another HD and I regularly exceeded the weight limits on my 1500. BTW you are some rando on the internet same on me. I'll admit you do live on here even though you constantly call these trucks junk and complain. But at any rate. I'm by no means telling anyone what they have to do, or even what they should do. Just what worked for me. Just like the cradles that came with the ZR2 HD kit are working great on my current truck . I literally showed you in the other thread that the pressure does go up in the bags as you compress them. Despite you arguing tooth and nail with a couple of us that it doesn't. It's cool it doesn't matter to you and you can't feel them on your HD with 10-15psi in them. I just don't agree. Bags with air in them do add resistance. With no load on the truck it's noticeable, at least to some people. It's why cradles are a thing. They allow the suspension to fully droop and the bags to be ran open. It wasn't my idea, I just agree that it works, lol.

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Dude if you didn't want to catch a little hell, why did you start up again? You've kind of become a bedwetterr in recent months.

Why not just stay on track with the discussion? Just like I figured, you will derail another otherwise productive thread rather than focus on the task at hand.......same as before........yawn!

You have absolutely stated that setup wasn't that great and have done so in more than one thread. Your words not mine.

 

[AXE]

Anyway, to get this back on track, I was out adjusting my tonneau and crawled underneath my rig to pull some measurements.

You have about 9 inches of clearance between the frame and base plate on top of the axle with the stock setup. So if you put on heavier springs and increase the ride height 1 inch, you have about 10 inches to work with.

So I think that setup like Pac Brake lists for the regular 1500 might be a good option cause the upper base mount looks to be sized well. I think that setup would put you around 9.5-10 inches overall. Might be able to run saucers, but it'll likely pack things in a bit more. However if you had to take up space, it might be a solution. I would call Pac Brake and talk to them first. Pac Brake is a reputable company in the automotive industry. I didn't know they offered air bags or I would have considered them for my last two projects.

Also, there is no room for those side mounted bags, so I probably wouldn't waste any time on them from what I could tell.

 

[8ball_99]

Dude if you didn't want to catch a little hell, why did you start up again? You've kind of become a bedwetterr in recent months.

Why not just stay on track with the discussion? Just like I figured, you will derail another otherwise productive thread rather than focus on the task at hand.......same as before........yawn!

You have absolutely stated that setup wasn't that great and have done so in more than one thread. Your words not mine.

OP literally mentioned my setup in his first post and was specifically asking about cradles with added lift. I was replying to him. I only responded to you after your comment directed at me. Please show me where I said my setup wasn't good one time? Sorry I derailed the thread talking about airbags with cradles? Lol

 

[AXE]

OP literally mentioned my setup in his first post and was specifically asking about cradles with added lift. I was replying to him. I only responded to you after your comment directed at me. Please show me where I said my setup wasn't good one time? Sorry I derailed the thread talking about airbags with cradles? Lol

LOL......is that the kit where you openly admitted to buying two kits, mixing and matching parts, then returning a kit so the vendor could eat the costs or ship it to another customer so they can deal with problem when they recieve the wrong parts.. I believe you referred to it as "doing them dirty"............then wants to be taken seriously and respected.

Continues to waste time.......LMFAO........This guys more fragile than Busa Dave..........

 

[MrScottly]

So name calling again instantly, lol.

He's three pops in on his lunch break. Just wait until it's 11pm and he's knee deep in a fifth.

 

[AXE]

He's three pops in on his lunch break. Just wait until it's 11pm and he's knee deep in a fifth.

Scotty the Botty wandering in from the ChiNese bot and findi g his waybto ever thread in on to farm on to save 8ball_99 is as good as it gets on the forum today.......LMFAO