I ordered the Air Lift Ultimate bags for the AT4 to stiffen up the rear on bumps when towing my trailer. Has anyone done this install? How easy was it? Videos look pretty straight forward. I am also on skipping the compressor for now. I would only put air (over the 5psi minimum when towing). My plan is to get a battery powered compressor that would also work for filling low tires on the truck or trailer.
www.airliftcompany.com
Adding Air Lift Bags
- Thread starter Messiah62
- Start date
I had air lift bags on my 2020 AT4. They worked very well when towing my 6000 lb enclosed job trailer, which I pull almost every day as a contractor. Also pulled a 20' flatbed for a skid steer and also a mini excavator numerous times, plus a 16' dump trailer. The flat bed and dump trailers obviously weighed a lot more than my enclosed job trailer (job trailer is packed full and when full at least 6K lbs). The air lift bags worked well in all circumstances.
I do have the mini compressor system I bought after I put on the air lift bags (the 5000 lb load lifter bags), but never installed the compressor (the compressor system is still new in box). I have considered selling it as my 2023 AT4X does not have air lift bags, and I don't think I want to mess with the very nice stock ride on these new/improved shocks the AT4X comes with. There is definitely more rear end squat on my 23 AT4 than my 20 AT4 when towing since I don't have air lift bags on the 23. For now I am forgoing the air lift bags on the 23 however. That may change down the line if I decide I would rather sacrifice some ride quality for better towing quality.
I do have the mini compressor system I bought after I put on the air lift bags (the 5000 lb load lifter bags), but never installed the compressor (the compressor system is still new in box). I have considered selling it as my 2023 AT4X does not have air lift bags, and I don't think I want to mess with the very nice stock ride on these new/improved shocks the AT4X comes with. There is definitely more rear end squat on my 23 AT4 than my 20 AT4 when towing since I don't have air lift bags on the 23. For now I am forgoing the air lift bags on the 23 however. That may change down the line if I decide I would rather sacrifice some ride quality for better towing quality.
![IMG_5075[1].JPG](/data/attachments/3/3415-01a635d14255af8bf7c8426194572125.jpg)
Thats a good look setup, but I have to wonder what your payload is sitting at.
Uh oh, the payload police. The truck drives great when it's loaded and I'm not putting too much the airbags, usually between 30-40 lbs. is all. It's way under what the truck can tow so I don't care too much, thanks for asking though.
Getting back to the subject of airbags, which this thread is about, be careful with the brake line when installing them, that was the one issue I could see with the installation that could go bad. Other than that, the instructions included with the Airlift kit are pretty accurate if followed exact. I jacked up the truck and removed the rear tires to get some room to work with. I probably didn't even have 200 miles on my truck when I installed them and so it was clean which also helped. No onboard compressor yet, but that's coming soon and I suggest it since I had it in my last vehicle it the convenience is worth the cost.
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I had the airlift airbags on my 2020 AT4. They worked great. My only reason for not doing them yet on my 2023 AT4X is the much improved ride these AT4X trucks have with the new shocks GM puts on them.
But I am now leaning towards putting on the airlift airbags. It will stiffen the ride in the rear a bit, but will also make towing my 16' enclosed job trailer easier (I also tow other heavier trailers off and on - 16' dump trailer, 18' flatbed for skid steer/etc). Without the airbags, there is too much rear end squat when pulling a trailer for my tastes. I alread have a new in box airbag compressor system that I bought for my 2020 AT4's airbags that I never installed the compressor system (pretty dumb to buy the compressor system then never take the time to install it). Might bite the bullet and install the airbags and the compressor along with it. An added benefit (IMO) is I will/can get a little extra rear end lift, as of now without the airbags the truck sits near level with the 1.5" RC front level kit. I think a little (like half an inch or so) lift in the rear would look good, again IMO.
But mostly just so that towing and rear end squat is better. Love the ride with these AT4X shocks, but it is a work truck at the end of the day and I can handle a bit stiffer ride for improved towing experience.
Yellow05gt
Member
I have the LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate Plus Air Suspension Kit, and it was a pretty easy and straightforward instillation.
Dvaut
New member
I would be interested in hearing how the air bags affect the everyday ride of the at4x. I pulled out my camper this weekend. It was just a short jaunt without the load leveling bars. I was suprised how much squat it had compared to my previous truck, a half ton z71. Ever since I have been thinking about adding some airlift bags. I also have a dump trailer but being shorter, my truck did not squat nearly as much. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked all the camers for towing. I never felt I needed all the side view cameras when turning or changing lanes, but they are nice.
Jezus12
New member
I am also interested to hear how much this changes the ride. I have an at4x and tow my boat almost daily as a fishing guide, but I only tow for 5 minutes or less to the boat launch then I'm back to everyday driving any other day so I am undecided on bothering with air bags. It's also the reason I haven't leveled the truck because there will be more squat when towing, but I don't want to change the ride of the at4x with bags so it's a tough one. The compressor would be a must for me so I don't have to put air in and out all the time so that part sounds nice.
I know they stiffened up the ride on my 2020 AT4. Stock shocks on that truck were not nearly as plush as the 23 AT4X has with the DSSV shocks. But I pull trailers quite a bit, and will propbably end up getting the same airlift bags that I installed before (I think they were the airlift 5000 that I had on my 2020 AT4). The squat from trailers is pretty severe on the AT4X compared to what I was used to on my 2020 AT4 with the air lift bags. If I do end up installing the air lift bags, I will update with how much they changed the ride of the truck.
I already have the RC 1.5" front level and RC improved angle upper control arms, so I lost a bit of the nice ride from stock up front from doing that. Not a big difference, and I am used to the ride the truck has now, but some difference. I expect a similar experience with adding airlift bags on the rear - somewhat stiffer ride, but not a lot. It's a truck, I don't "need" it to ride super soft, but will say when I first drove the 23 AT4X it was quite notably a nicer feel/ride than my 2020 AT4.
When I had my AT4X (just sold it to get my current truck), I installed an AirLift system in it. I too noticed it squatting under load from my aluminum trailer. Love the DSSV shocks and the ride quality. I kept the air bags at a minimum of 5 psi when I was not trailering, and I never noticed any ride quality degradation. I did not install any leveling kits on my former truck.
Good info to have! I usually kept my airbags at about 10 psi on my 2020 at4. Seemed to balance ride quality and kept rear squat small enough to not be an issue.
ArcticHC
New member
I have always had the same result om all my trucks. Have had at least 6 with air bags on them and would only keep 5-10 pounds of air in them as per manufactures spec and seen no noticable difference in ride. I have them on my 23 AT4. Installed them around 1500 miles.
