Bags... Softest ride?

[Skunksmash]

How should i go about getting the softest ride that i can out of my truck? (1/2 ton 1987 Chevy Silverado Longbed, 2WD Automatic 5.7 liter) It rides decent, but i can still tell things are on the older side, getting a little rough. Which is strange, cause i had a 1 owner 1981 silverado that i bought off an old man, (shoulda never sold that truck...) and that thing felt like it was literally floating everywhere. It was like riding in a boat, only softer. Anyway, i would like to get that kind of ride again. As this is a truck and was never meant to be a sports car, i don't really care about "handling". I will worry about that on my Mustang. I don't need to take corners in it like it's some kind of sports car. Don't get me wrong it would be great to get a soft ride and handling, but as we all know you choose one or the other. So, would air bags be the best way to go to get a softer ride? I'm tired of bouncing around when it goes over the train tracks.

[camdenoilchange]

you may want to try air shocks. you can play with the psi until you get the ride your looking for. air bags can have a great ride if setup correctly. but they can beat the heck out of you if you choose the wrong setup and parts.

[Skunksmash]

Well is it the shocks that actually effect the ride quality when going over bumps and train tracks and the like? Do the springs play a part?

[zieg85]

Shocks play a big part.  Nowadays you have the gas charged.  I know the ride you are talking about.  I have it on my completely stock 86 C-10 Custom Deluxe.  Original shocks, no sway bar and the wimpiest set of leaf springs you ever seen.  It floats on down the highway.

[Skunksmash]

Yeah maybe i need to go get some original shocks off a junkyard one lol. Probly not a good idea though. I just want to replicate that feel. Some people probly think thats dumb cause you get no handling, but like i said i dont care about that i am just tired of the crummy way it rides.

[eventhorizon66]

My truck is giving me the same aggrevation.  It's too rough over bumps at slow speed, too floaty on the highway, has too much nose dive even with moderate braking, and too much lean in the corners.  I'm gonna go with a set of KYB gas-adjust shocks as the current shocks are over 7 years old.

[Skunksmash]

Anyone here have bags on their truck?

[Captkaos]

There are a couple, N2TRUX has Airbags on his 77.

[Skunksmash]

Maybe i can get him to post up what he thinks about his ride quality...

[Captkaos]

I can already tell you, he likes it.  It is bags in front and Air over leaf in the rear.

[Monzter]

If you've got the money to bags are the way to go. You can bag it to run stock height if your not going for the slammed look & just want a smooth ride, or go with the slammed look, smooth ride & be able to still use your truck as a truck. I bagged a 65 Chevy truck once for a guy setting at stock height, no drop spindles or notch in the frame for the rear axle, he wanted it just for the ride.

I bagged my 94 Chevy & drove it daily for three years. Up front I used Edelbrock IAS shocks on the out side of the control arms just like the older body style suspensions. Out back I built a wishbone suspension & mounted bags on arms behind the axle, like a KP kit & ran Edelbrock IAS shocks. My Mother road in my truck & said it road better than her Cadillac, yeah it road that nice. I built my truck to lay frame & to be used as a work truck. And yes, I did haul many heavy loads with it, some times a bit too much & pull a trailer with it.

On customers cars / trucks I try to mount the bags about 1/2 way down the lower rear suspension link, this puts lots of leverage on the bag making the ride softer. The front control arms already have the leverage to give a soft ride, but you need shock or a sway bar up front. I know lots of guys running just sway bars up front, I makes the front pop up sometimes about twice as fast depending on how much psi you running. In the rear just shocks are fine, don't run without shocks in the rear, it bounces all over the road.

[Skunksmash]

I dont want to change the ride height at all. But do bags last as long as a shock? Can i expect them to last me a good 5 years like a good set of shocks?

[SCOTI]

I had the same bags on the rear of my 68swb for 6yrs. I only swapped them to different ones because I wanted to try a different brand of bag (firsthand experience vs. hearsay).

Never any problems.

[Captkaos]

Bags replace the springs not the shocks.  They should last a lot longer than a shock as they should be replaced by about 40K miles at least.

[VileZambonie]

This is true. I just pulled a set of struts off of a Ford Contour with 40K. Completely spent. People never really notice shocks or struts go bad because they were out gradually most of the time.