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Here’s the ‘before’ image. The bump stop (or Jounce Bumper) on the frame rail will be removed and the lower portion of the air spring assembly will rest on the bump stop strike plate.
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We mounted the schrader valve on the bumper. Although we have the onboard air, it’s good to have a backup system.
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The Load Lifter 5000 has an internal bump stop. This design allows an easy install, which doesn’t require drilling into the frame.
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Rusty bump stop bolt can be sprayed with a rust penetrant the night before.
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The bump strike plate provides a perfect mount point
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The installed assembly on the driver side
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The passenger side assembly is the same with the addition of a heat shield on the exhaust pipe to protect the rubber from excessive heat.
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The compressor (left) and the manifold (right) have to close together, as the harness that joins them determines the distance between them. We chose a cross member away from any heat source.
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‘Push to connect’ fittings for the airlines is supplied and couldn’t be easier to use.
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The Ram engineers probably had a reason for running their wires under the frame where they did so we followed their wiring harness up to the fuse box and tied into an ignition fuse for power.
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Words and photos by Perry Mack
If you’re using your truck to haul or tow, an adjustable air spring helper will provide a significant improvement to the safety and handling of your vehicle as well as reduce uneven tire wear. It’s the kind of difference you can feel and see. Our 2007 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi gets loaded with thousands of magazines for trade shows when it’s not towing a boat or RV for review and travel articles. It’s a hard life but we’re not complaining.
We reached out to Air Lift to see what solution could offer us and they sent the Load Lifter 5000, new for half-ton trucks, and their Wireless One Key Fob Activated Compressor system. You can install the Load Lifter 5000 without a built in compressor and an inflation valve is part of the package.
However, a one touch remote for inflating and deflating the system where ever we end up loading and unloading, was too good to resist, we ‘needed’ it. The Wireless One compressor system inflates both sides equally at the same time. Which is perfect since we only tow/haul evenly distributed weight. If you’re going to be hauling uneven loads you’ll need a different system. The remote allows you to fine tune the spring settings from inside the cab to adjust for road conditions or anywhere outside to get a good view. The three memory settings allowed us to program the remote to the perfect inflations to tow for our magazines, boat and RV.
The Load Lifter 5000 is also available for ¾ and one-ton trucks and provides up to 5,000 lb of load leveling capacity backed by a lifetime warranty and a 60 day no questions asked money back guarantee. It says a lot about a company’s faith in their product when you get a warranty and guarantee this good.
The instructions are very clear with good photographs so a blow-by-blow install feature isn’t required. Suffice it to say that our professional mechanic, Glen from Canadian Image Customs in Kelowna got the job done in 3.5 hours. And I would expect the average guy or gal that’s handy with a few tools and has some jack stands, can do it at home in roughly five hours.
The Load Lifter 5000 has an MRSP of about $550 and the Wireless One system at $480 but an online search shows them available for hundreds of dollars less, making this one of the best bang-for-your-buck enhancements to your vehicle.
Naturally we couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel for some test driving, towing and hauling. The improvement while towing and hauling was nothing short of incredible, like driving a different vehicle. Some drivers may miss the excitement that trailer sway, harsh roads and reduced braking provide, but we’ll relax a bit more behind the wheel instead.
Air Lift - www.airliftcompany.com
Canadian Image Customs - www.cicustoms.ca