Truckin Magazine June 2002: Hammer Time  
   
Before: This is what our '01 Chevy 3500 HD Dualie looked like upon arrival at SporTrucks By Dean in Moorpark, California. Equipped with its stock nosebleed stance, it was no great shakes, but the bolt-on air suspension kit from Air Ride Technologies would fix all that.

After: Here is Project Hog Hauler laid flat on the ground and sporting 19-inch APP rollers and Toyo rubber. The Air Ride Technologies suspension kit brought our dualie down to a respectable level. We can slam it down for show and raise it up to go.

For the front suspension, Air Ride Technologies supplies upper and lower control arms and a pair of Shockwave airbags with a built-in HAL shock absorber and braided air line and fittings for air supply into the front 'bags. Not pictured here but included in the kit are ball joint adapters to move the front spindles up 3 inches and new bolt-on steering arms to correct the angle of the tie rod and eliminate bumpsteer. Shown in this photo are new torsion bars, which Air Ride Technologies supplied for the story. The new torsion bars are not included with the kit, but a GM part number is included in the instructions, so they may be obtained before you begin the install. The softer torsion bars are used to carry the weight of the front end, while the Shockwave delivers the smooth, feather-like ride.



 

Hammer Time
Hog Hauler Gets Grounded


Nothing compares to adjustable suspension. Once you own a vehicle on air, you can't imagine being without it. It's incredibly cool to pull up to a stoplight and hammer your truck's 'rails to the pavement and watch as admiring onlookers spin their domes in your direction.

It's convenient to hit the switches up a bit when coming to a steep driveway, instead of dealing with a fixed suspension drop where transmission crossmembers drag and frames get punished.

The air suspension craze caught on big a few years back, when custom truck owners started getting burnt out on the typical fixed 5/7 drop. Owners of show trucks and daily drivers alike wanted the extreme look of being radically low to the ground but the convenience of driving a stock truck with excess ground clearance.

Our latest project pickup here at Truckin' is an '01 Chevy 3500 HD dualie with an 8.1L V-8. Up to this point, the truck has received a Whipple Supercharger, some audio goodies from Blaupunkt and Icon, a Line-X bedliner, a host of billet upgrades from Trenz Manufacturing, a steel roll pan and tailgate relocator from Sir Michaels, and a super-sanitary custom interior from Classic Soft Trim.

While these are all notable upgrades, we felt that the stock stance had to be significantly altered before any long-term cruising could take place. To solve our stock stance dilemma, a call was placed to Air Ride Technologies in Jasper, Indiana, for one of its adjustable air-suspension kits designed for GM's new dual-wheeled Heavy Duty platform.

Company president Bret Voelkel has pioneered several custom adjustable suspension kits for many popular pickups, so we knew our dualie was in store for low styling, a smooth ride, and cool looks.

The folks at Air Ride Technologies are responsible for producing custom suspension systems for many of America's most beautiful hot rods and customs, so when it came time to 'bag our Project Hog Hauler, there was only one place to go.

After receiving several heavy boxes from the big brown truck, it was off to SporTrucks By Dean in Moorpark, California, where company owner Dean Sears and his crew would turn our stock HD into a pavement-grinding pickup.

Follow along as we team up with SporTrucks By Dean with camera in hand to bring down this 1-ton wonder using bolt-on stance enhancement from Air Ride Technologies.


 

Since the bottom bracket bar was mounted, it was a convenient time to mount the new Air Ride Technologies rear shock absorbers. Sean did just that, by sliding the shock onto the top mount and into the new lower mount on the lower 'bag mount bar, and cranked them into place with the supplied fasteners.
The lower 'bag bracket bar was secured firmly into position by cranking the hardware down with an impact on one end and an open-end wrench on the other.
Brandon mounted the rear airbags and proceeded to fix them to the upper and lower air spring cups with the supplied airbag mounting hardware.
Next, the two 2-gallon air tanks were mounted up underneath the rear frame crossmember. On one end of the tanks, metal tabs had to be welded to the base of the tank legs to get enough material to span the gap of the open area. Holes were drilled from underneath and the tanks were mounted as shown. This way, they are hidden out of the way and won't take up useful space inside the bed. Before the tanks were permanently secured, Brandon temporarily secured them with clamps to ensure the perfect location.
Supplied with the Air Ride Technologies kit is a Panhard bar to keep the rearend centered under the truck with the new adjustable suspension setup. The Panhard bar was secured to its mounting point at the rearend bracket with an open-end wrench.
The Panhard bar was tightened at its mounting bracket on the top 'bag bracket bar on the inside of the frame.
Next, the four-link bars were installed. Sean secured the upper four-link bar to the rear mount on top of the differential with an impact on one end and an open-end wrench on the other.
The top four-link bar was secured at the forward mount on the frame with an impact and open-end wrench on the back side. After the top bar was secured into its front and rear mounts, the lower bar was mounted in a similar fashion into the original leaf spring hanger at the front and into the bottom four-link bar bracket on the bottom of the lower 'bag bracket bar at the rear.
Now that most of the rear suspension structure was set up, we moved onto addressing things up front. After the front sway bar endlink was disconnected, the tie rod end was separated from the spindle, the spindle was unbolted from the ball joint at the upper and lower control arms, and the brake caliper was removed from the rotor and hung up out of the way from the frame with a piece of wire. Now we could remove the spindle and brake rotor assembly. Sean pulled the assembly free and prepared to perform the front suspension alterations.
Before the spindle, rotor, and hub assembly could be reinstalled in a later step, a few modifications needed to be made to the spindle. According to the Air Ride Technologies instructions, some mild trimming needs to be made. If you have access to a drill press, then these alterations could be made at home, but seeking out an experienced machine shop to perform the work is not a bad idea. According to Air Ride Technologies, the ball joint basses need to be drilled out and the supplied ball joint adapters need to be installed to move the spindle up 3 inches over the control arm. Sean bolted on the Air Ride Technologies steering arm, which will correct the angle of the tie rod to eliminate excessive bumpsteer.
Proceeding with disassembly of the factory front suspension links, Sean unbolted the factory upper control arm with an impact and socket. The upper arm was removed and set aside. We kept it close, since the factory ball joint would need to be removed and inserted into the new upper control arm.
The factory lower control arm was unbolted and slid out of its mounting area and pulled free from the factory torsion bar.
Sean mounted the new lower control arm into the factory mounts and installed the hardware to fasten it in place. At this point, the hardware was just installed to keep the lower arm in place. Once the front suspension alterations were complete, everything was snugged up at once.
The front sway bar had to be moved forward to work in conjunction with the new front suspension, so it was unbolted from its mounts on the frame and lowered out of position.
The new sway bar mounting plates were positioned according to the Air Ride Technologies instructions and mounted to the base of the framerail.
Sean hoisted the sway bar up to the new mounting plate to attach it into place.
The sway bar endlinks were bolted back onto the top of the new Air Ride lower control arm.
Brandon McCaw of SporTrucks By Dean used a press to install the factory ball joint into the new upper control arm.
The Air Ride Technologies upper control arm was mounted up top at the factory upper control mounts and secured with an impact and socket and open-end wrench on the opposite side.
Now for the best part of the install: We got to remove the Air Ride Technologies Shockwave airbags from the box and prepare them for installation. The supplied air fitting was inserted into the billet 'bag cup, coated in liquid Teflon tape for a tight seal and coupled with the supplied braided air line and aluminum fitting. A braided section of air line was used here because in this particular application, the Shockwave was mounted upside-down and it moved from the bottom with the control arm, making the line much more vulnerable to flexing and stretching. It is also susceptible to road debris being close to the ground, and the braided section is just more durable.
Before the Shockwave could be mounted in between the upper and lower control arms, the top mounting bracket was bolted in.


 

Using an impact and socket, the torsion keys were loosened up to allow Sean to remove the keys and factory torsion bars.
The torsion keys were removed and pulled down and out of the way, so the factory torsion bars could be removed. Remember when you removed the front of the torsion bars from the lower control arm in Step 32? Now they just need to be pushed out the rest of the way.
Sean pulled on the torsion bar to remove it from its mounting place.
Air Ride Technologies supplied a new transmission crossmember bar, so we supported the transmission with a jackstand and a block of wood to remove the old one.
With the new torsion bar slipped through the transmission crossmember framerail mount bracket, the bracket was mounted up to the framerail so the new crossmember could be bolted up.
The new transmission crossmember was slipped into its links on each inside lip of the frame and tightened into position.
The crossmember center bolts were secured under the transmission mount. After this was complete, it was a good time to slide the torsion bar through the back of the lower control arm, button up all the front suspension components, and reinstall the spindle, caliper, and rotor assembly.
Since the geometry of the suspension and drivetrain is altered so much with adjustable suspension, a carrier bearing relocator bracket is supplied in the Air Ride kit. The original mount was cut off with the plasma cutter, leaving a little material left on the ends to bolt the new bracket to. Before beginning this step, make sure the driveshaft is strapped up with a tie-down of some sort.
The new carrier bearing bracket was bolted up from the bottom with an impact and socket.
The Air Ride Ride Pro valves were linked together and the fittings were installed according to the Air Ride instructions, using liquid Teflon tape and an open-end wrench.
Sean chose to mount the Thomas 317 ompressors and Ride Pro valves to a steel plate he had lying around the shop. Then Sean bolted that plate to the inner framerail underneath the truck.
Here is a shot of the Thomas compressors and Ride Pro valves mounted inside the framerail on a custom plate. Follow Air Ride's instructions for routing lines and making electrical connections. With 1/4-inch line and these Air Ride Technologies Ride Pro valves, our dualie should lift up to driving altitude in about 4-5 seconds.
Air line and a 90-degree fitting were plugged in at the tanks for reserve air supply and for filling when the compressors start roaring.
The air line was plugged into the fitting at the rear airbag.
The sending units for the digital air pressure gauge were mounted underneath on a stainless plate bolted to the underside of the floorboards. The wiring harness from the back of the gauges hooked up to these sending units to provide accurate air psi. The sending units had to be grounded to work properly. Air Ride Technologies includes a stainless mounting plate for grounding duties.
After being installed and wired, the sending units were marked as to what 'bag they are reading pressure off of.
All the wiring that needed to be plugged into the Air Ride Technologies digital gauge panel was grouped together and brought up through the driver-side floorboard.
Electrical expert Chris Ahlman plugged the wiring harness into the back of the gauge panel and made all the necessary connections for the gauge to read air pressure for each corner of the suspension front and rear. Follow Air Ride's instructions for running electrical and power supply for the gauge panel.
  Here is the Air Ride Technologies control switch panel with digital air pressure display screen. Each 'bag can be adjusted via its own switch, and front and rear air pressure is displayed separately by hitting the small silver button under the readout screen. We chose to mount the gauge panel in the center console under the tape deck for easy switch-hitting convenience. There you have it. A complete bolt-on suspension system with style, function, and looks. After the install was complete, the fuel tank was reinstalled, and the bed, back bumper, and rear hitch were put back on along with 19.5-inch APP wheels and Toyo tires. We were ready to go cruising. This is definitely low, smooth, and cool.