Air lifiting rear of an 09 Quigley E250?

shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
Through the summer months I have been leaving about 900-1100lbs of "stuff" in the back of my 09 e250 quigley extended. Surfboards, fishing gear, (2) 300lb jetskis, a watertank, camping stuff ect...I have noticed that the rear end has started to develop a perm-a-sag. Just wondering what you guys who have extensive camper builds with alot of rear weight are doing? Is bringing it to a professional spring shop and having springs installed that are ment to deal with the weight my best option? Has anyone tried an air system for just when there is weight in the van? My 4x4 needs are very limited if that helps, and I just want to stop the sagging from getting worse.

Thank you for any help in advance!
 
ujoint

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
You can do several things.....

The ultimate is an airbag overload system. That will give you the most versatility, especially with an onboard compressor or OBA system.

A custom spring pack will also do the trick, but there's a fine line between load capacity & ride quality.

An add a leaf would be a budget upgrade, and may get the job done for ya.
 
S

spencyg

This Space For Rent
Air bags without a doubt. I can't say enough about the ones I installed in my rig. The adjustability of the system is key, especially as your load and usage requirements constantly change. If you need to do it on a budget, airlift usually includes tire inflation type valves if you don't have OBA. You can top the bags off with either a manual pump, or anywhere that has a tire filling station. I had this on an old Nissan Pathfinder and it worked fine. My current rig has OBA which makes adjustments very quick and easy.

You'll pay about as much for a basic air bag setup as you would for overload springs.
 
shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
I am so glad you guys have good things to say about an airbag system because that was the way I was leaning. Money is not the problem, I am already into the van for stupid cash so I just want to get this done right (and keep the ride quaility I have). I already have a rediculious onboard compressor, so thats covered. And recommendations on manf of airbag systems/kits?
 
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shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
Nothing special needed being I have a Quigley van? I can just order a regular E250 kit? To be safe I guess I have to call and make sure there were no changes as the kit says years ending 08, I have an 09.
 
S

spencyg

This Space For Rent
Worst case scenario you might have to deal with lift blocks in the rear. I don't know exactly what Quigley does for their rear lift, so this is probably something you should confirm. When I installed my Airlift kit, I did have to fabricate some lift pads on the rear axle tube pearch to accomodate the lift springs. You can see my built thread (specifically post #49) for a few more details. It is probably a good idea to assume that some slight modification might be necessary on your part.

Good luck.
 
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shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
spencyg said:
Worst case scenario you might have to deal with lift blocks in the rear. I don't know exactly what Quigley does for their rear lift, so this is probably something you should confirm. When I installed my Airlift kit, I did have to fabricate some lift pads on the rear axle tube pearch to accomodate the lift springs. You can see my built thread (specifically post #49) for a few more details. It is probably a good idea to assume that some slight modification might be necessary on your part.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Wow just checked your build thread out. Great job! I am going to swing by my local truck shop that has done alot of work on my van, and run the air bag system install by them. If they say will not be a problem then I'll be ordering it Thursday. Thanks for the help!
 
Sheep Shagger

Sheep Shagger

Adventurer
shawn_nj said:
Nothing special needed being I have a Quigley van? I can just order a regular E250 kit? To be safe I guess I have to call and make sure there were no changes as the kit says years ending 08, I have an 09.
Click to expand...

Not if you get the right kit. Some kits for the E series van uses a bag mounted between the frame and leaf. Since Quigley leave the leafs alone and just put a block inbetween the leaf and axle, the standard kit fits. Some kits, put the bag between the frame and axle, in that case you need to add a 4inch block. Also, with some of the axle mount kits I think you will also need to move the exhaust, as they are usually designed for the E-series RV that has a different exhaust location.
I used a Firestone Ride-Rite kit #2181, simple bolt on & drill a few holes kit.

http://www.firestoneindustrial.com/riderite/rrkit/kit.php?rri=303&rrk=2181

I suggest you do a bag kit separately to compressor kit and not use a kit that does everything. When I was looking all the kits with just 2 rear bags linked the bags together. That's nice in that they inflate and deflate the same and no need to balance them. But it also means that when you go round a corner, air from the outside bag flows into the inside bag and increases bodyroll. When I link my two rear bags together I can really feel the difference than when I separate them.
 
shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
Very interesting. The guys I used for alot of my vans outfitting do not install airbag/spring systems, so I have to look for someone else local to install. I was hoping someone else who did this to a quigley would chime in, as I could not find anything online searching. I definetly do not want any more body roll!!! Just spent $$$ on shocks to cut that down. So linking them together is not going to work. I just want a kit that will support the rear when the van sits around with lots of weight in it, I definetly do not want another compressor/automatic system with adding more weight and parts to the van. I already have a warn compressor in the van and do not mind filling it up manually.


Sheep Shagger said:
Not if you get the right kit. Some kits for the E series van uses a bag mounted between the frame and leaf. Since Quigley leave the leafs alone and just put a block inbetween the leaf and axle, the standard kit fits. Some kits, put the bag between the frame and axle, in that case you need to add a 4inch block. Also, with some of the axle mount kits I think you will also need to move the exhaust, as they are usually designed for the E-series RV that has a different exhaust location.
I used a Firestone Ride-Rite kit #2181, simple bolt on & drill a few holes kit.

http://www.firestoneindustrial.com/riderite/rrkit/kit.php?rri=303&rrk=2181

I suggest you do a bag kit separately to compressor kit and not use a kit that does everything. When I was looking all the kits with just 2 rear bags linked the bags together. That's nice in that they inflate and deflate the same and no need to balance them. But it also means that when you go round a corner, air from the outside bag flows into the inside bag and increases bodyroll. When I link my two rear bags together I can really feel the difference than when I separate them.
Click to expand...
 
Sheep Shagger

Sheep Shagger

Adventurer
shawn_nj said:
Very interesting. The guys I used for alot of my vans outfitting do not install airbag/spring systems, so I have to look for someone else local to install. I was hoping someone else who did this to a quigley would chime in, as I could not find anything online searching. I definetly do not want any more body roll!!! Just spent $$$ on shocks to cut that down. So linking them together is not going to work. I just want a kit that will support the rear when the van sits around with lots of weight in it, I definetly do not want another compressor/automatic system with adding more weight and parts to the van. I already have a warn compressor in the van and do not mind filling it up manually.
Click to expand...

The kit I mentioned works fine on my 06 Quigley, just drill a few holes in the frame and mount it up. It's manual fill so you just fill each bag like you would a tire. Only when you get into solenoids and controllers does it get a little harder to install and probably require a little fab work to mount it all up. At this point you need to decide on how to control each bag. But the basic kit with manual fill keeps the bags separate.

The kit is just bags / mounts / lines & valves. It's a very easy and simply install that just about anyone could do. Read the install instructions on the URL I posted and see if you want to tackle it.
 
shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
Sheep Shagger said:
The kit I mentioned works fine on my 06 Quigley, just drill a few holes in the frame and mount it up. It's manual fill so you just fill each bag like you would a tire. Only when you get into solenoids and controllers does it get a little harder to install and probably require a little fab work to mount it all up. At this point you need to decide on how to control each bag. But the basic kit with manual fill keeps the bags separate.

The kit is just bags / mounts / lines & valves. It's a very easy and simply install that just about anyone could do. Read the install instructions on the URL I posted and see if you want to tackle it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Shagger....As long as there is no custom fabbing required I can def handle it. Its funny I rebuild jetskis/jetski motors, but I hate touching even basic stuff on my truck. There is no changes since your 06 to the 09 year in the rear of the van? I called quigley and they told me that many ppl have fitted the Air Lift kits to the vans, but they did not have any more info other then that.
 
shawn_nj

shawn_nj

Observer
Bringing this thread back as I am about to buy these. Summer is here again and now I HAVE to put these in. The van's springs are not happpy with the 2 jetskis in it 24/7. But before I order, I just wanted someone to sanity check what I was thinking. You guys as you know much more then I do about 4x4 vans / suspension and the help is greatly appreciated!

Here is the rear of my van. It looks like the leaf are just sitting on top of a 4" lifter block (#1/2) that has a bump stop post (#3) sticking out of it. Is it correct to assume, that if I was to install an axle mounted system this bump stop posts (#3 and 4) would have to be removed? (I think it is). I would also have to get a lift block to mount the bag ontop of with this method.

quig_rear.JPG


So to make the install as easy as possible. I saw the leaf mounted Firestone Air bag system. To install this, all I have to do is mount it to the leaf and drill the 4 bolt holes in the frame for the top bracket? Obviously running and connecting the lines as well. This seems by far the easiest method, but I wanted to make sure I was not overlooking something.

firestone.jpg
 
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ujoint

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
If you run the Firestone system, you won't have to do anything with the block, so thats the way to go. Simple & effective.
 
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