Fleetco Air Suspension: Good/Bad News

[trailhorserider]

Had a Fleetco Air Suspension installed about two weeks ago. First the bad news: Fleetco is apparently out of business. Good news is that the suspension seems to work very well at keeping the truck level at any load. The dump feature is handy for unhitching my gooseneck with very little raising of the trailer required. I'll have to get the OEM part numbers for the airbag and compressor, but the system should be quite simple to maintain. It's reasonable to assume that another manufacturer will take over Fleetco's designs.

It's worth mentioning that with this type of system you really need good shocks as the air system has no damping whatsoever (unlike leaf springs). I've noticed a big difference in ride when empty or towing a small bumper pull trailer and really believe that this system will decrease the wear and tear on my large LQ horse trailer.

I don't know of another company currently manufacturing an air suspension for our 1 ton trucks, so anyone interested will have to hold out for a while. This is not a modification for everyone, but if you are towing a large 5th wheel or gooseneck a great deal of a time it may be worth looking into.

Rick T

[Joe Pool]

Kelderman Mfg also makes a modified air suspension for our trucks.

Joe

[trailhorserider]

I think if you check into the Kelderman system you may find that without supplementary airbags the system will not support the full rating of the rear axle. I've been told by an installer that Kelderman is good for ride improvement, but not necessarily the right setup for full loads.

Rick T

[TLA]

That is correct. Works great with a 2 horse, but with my 6 horse the springs themselves deflect too much for the air bags to compensate. I do have supplementary bags which I air up to set the ride height with the trailer. I need to play around with the level control to see if I can make it automatic.
That being said, I am still happy with the combo, and since I have been hauling with air bags or this set up, broken welds and rivits on the trailer have stopped, and the horses ride a whole lot better.

[trailhorserider]

We can only hope that air suspensions will one day be available from the manufacturers of one ton trucks. As Chevy, F**D and D***E raise the GCVW of their trucks suspension height/travel/spring rates or some combination thereof will continue to increase. This may look good from a numbers perspective, but leads to some real world issues with towing.

I find that the Fleetco suspensions gives me about the same ride height as my loaded truck with the longer shackles. My LQ horse trailer rides almost level, this after having it raised 2" initially, and the ride empty and towing light is improved significantly. You would think and OEM installation would cost half of what the aftermarket can charge.

Rick T