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Blew an airbag

8K views 46 replies 17 participants last post by  jfreemanak 
#1 ·
Hauling hay today I had a rear air bag explode on my rear air ride system. On my second load it let lose. Sounded like a shot gun. Luckily I was going slow. I had my 25’ Gatormade trailer with 20 4x4 round bales. I don’t think it would have been much over 10-12k lbs. . Has anyone else had a bag to blow?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Glad to read that you didn't have an air bag blow up on you, just an air spring in the rear.

Anyway, those 10-12K doesn't really mean much. How high was the tongue/pin weight?
Also, since it's not a factory system, it's hard to tell what is/was going on without knowing the original capacity of the system, age, etc.
 
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#3 ·
It is a factory air ride truck. I’ve pulled this load many times with other trucks and no problems. Just wondering if anyone else has ran into this.
 
#6 ·
What year truck was it?
 
#14 ·
Jimmy, I honestly couldn’t tell you the tongue weight. The trailer was loaded the same way I’ve loaded trailers for years. It’s just a bummer. I am really glad I wasn’t on the road at speed.
 
#16 ·
Last year in a different forum, a new 2019 owner posted about how his truck blew out the factory airbags. The rear suspension collapsed to the bump stops while driving on the freeway. There was a dip on the highway and the rear was unloaded and then came slamming down. The funny part is that prior to this happening, he posted the truck and 5th wheel combo and numerous people told him he was WAY overweight, needed a dually, etc. He was overweight by thousands. LOL. He said he had been towing for years and never had a problem. Then he said he only towed for short distances. Yada yada yada. Fiat/Peugeot replaced the airbags under warranty. He put the new/used/repaired truck up for sale and bought a 3500 dually.
 
#17 ·
That makes sense, Zinga. If the system is already over pressured from an excessive load, then hits a spike with even higher pressures (driving over a bump, for example), something will have to give, eventually.

In this case, it sounds to me that those 20 bales might weight more than what tubehead thought. And if it's a bumper pull trailer, it could be even worse for the rear axle.
 
#18 · (Edited)
When I googled the weight of a 4x4 bale of hay it said,.....1,000 to 1,200lbs each and he said he had 20 of them on there? Thats 20K to 24K (not counting trailer weight)....sure would like to know how much of that was Pin weight....they say for RV's 15 to 25% (trailer and cargo)....so with that being said that would be 3K to 6K of Pin weight!....so if he has a 2019 Ram 2500 4x4, short box his payload he can carry is between 2,300 and 3,400 lbs......I believe to say overloaded is an understatement......Please someone correct me if I'm wrong....but that's my SWAG.

Also to the OP If you want to get it fixed under warranty don't tell the dealer how much you had on there....as they will probably deny your warranty claim.
 
#19 ·
Good conversation going on. A 4x4 roll of hay is quite a bit less than 1000#. You can move them around pretty easy by hand, rolling and shifting. I’m guessing closer to 500-600# each. The load don’t feel any heavier than the tractor and bailed on the trailer. I’m calling tomorrow to see what they say.
 
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#20 ·
From what I remember from the other forum and truck owner who blew his bags (LOL), he posted that the dealer knew that it was overloaded because the air suspension has a sensor that records it in the computer. I can't remember if it recorded a weight or some other value. Even though they knew he was overloaded and he bragged about it on a forum that Fiat monitors, the dealer still did a warranty repair.
 
#21 ·
Oops. Well, that makes sense, too. All it takes is recording peak pressures in the system.
After all, that's how truckers can keep track of axle weights; just a simple mechanical pressure gauge with the correct numbers on the scale, translating the pressure to weight.
 
#22 ·
I was surprised that Fiat honored the warranty on the other truck considering how the misuse was so blatant. In this thread, I see it differently because it's currently unknown if the truck was overloaded. The other owner posted photos of the 5th wheel, bragged about it and then argued that even though he knew it was way overweight, it didn't matter. It was entertaining to read, especially when the airbags popped.
 
#29 ·
I have a 2018 3500 Laramie with the factory Air Bags. We pull a large 5th Wheel with our RAM most of the time. About a year ago I hooked onto a heavy goose neck trailer and thought I blew a bag, climbed under the truck and found the air line popped out of the quick connect fitting on the left Air Bag. Plugged the air line back in and made sure it was fully seated, no issues since.
 
#31 ·
I think they are pretty much the same except that the 3500's have 4 leaf springs in addition to the air springs. The 2500's only have the air spring......no metal coil or leaf springs. I'm not sure if the air springs are the same or different. between the 2500 and 3500's.

If I didn't have the factory system I would go with Timber Grove.

If you go aftermarket with the Timber Grove air springs they go to a heavier air spring with the 3500. They use the same air spring for the 1500 and 2500's (better ride quality). I emailed them and ask if they were the same....they said the 3500's are a much heavier air spring.....

 
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