T-Valve Vent for Air Bags

#101356 - One Up Offroad T Valve Vent Kit for Rear Air Bag Assist Systems

Fitment: Fits any truck with 1/4in air lines.

The Problem: You installed airbags on your truck and now it rides much worse than it did before you installed airbags. Some people don't notice it and say 'it's fine, that is how a truck rides'. Other people, like us, find it an unacceptable downgrade to the ride quality. We have found that having any air trapped in the bag, even 0 pressure of trapped air in your assist airbags will deteriorate the ride of the back of your truck.

For years, trucks without auto-leveling compressors, we just take out the Schrader valves and run them wide open and when we need to use the bags we try and find the Schrader and the tool and put them back in. Venting is not as easy on trucks with compressors because the compressor is a closed system. Some of the auto leveling systems won't even let you go under 5 lbs. Our T-Valve Vent Kit for rear air bag assist systems gives you the choice to vent the air trapped in the bag when the truck is empty, and then when you're ready, flip the valve and use your compressor system to keep your truck level when loaded. It is the best of both worlds.

With the valve in the contained position the T-valve closes the vent and sends the compressed air to the bags.

With the valve in the vent position the T-valve traps the compressed air in on the compressor side and vents the bag to atmosphere. This also allows the compressor to see the bags as full so it assumes all is well.

Yes you have to get out of the truck and flip the manual valves but the improvement in ride is worth it. We recommend Air-Lift brand airbags because they have an option to get an internal jounce bumper that allows you to keep your bump stop inside the air bag.  We have had really good luck with Air-Lift products in applications that replace the rear bump stop with the air bag. This system works with the simple Schrader valve too. If you have the simple Schrader valve you would get the same effect by taking the valve stem out every time. So these would only be a convenience of not having to take your Schrader valve out. Some companies require you to keep 5 pounds of air in the bag but they don't tell you why you need to keep 5 pounds of air in the bag.

The reason they want you to keep 5 pounds of air in the bag is because they eliminated your bump stop when you put the airbags in. They are using the 5 pounds of air as a bump stop. The 5 pounds of air is not to keep water out of the bag or to keep the bag from tearing or to make sure it stays in place. The only reason the 5 pounds is there is to stop the bottoming out. If they eliminated your bump stop when they put your airbag in, when your truck bottoms out it will go metal to metal inside the bag. Bottoming out metal to metal is not the best scenario however putting 100,000 miles on your truck with the rear end bouncing up and down is more torture than the few times if your truck bottomed out the 2 pieces of metal would touch. So we vent all bags. We have never damaged a bag but if the bag gets damaged, you will just buy another one. We feel, on our trucks, having the smoother ride is worth the gamble of the remote possibility of bag damage. Replacement bags are available and there are not a lot of money.

This is a universal kit that is easy to mount to the side of your frame or anywhere you choose the moment.

The unit comes disassembled. Install consistes of drilling 2 holes for #10 screws and then mounting the brackets. Use a razor blade to cut your quarter inch line. Plug the compressor side of the quarter inch line in the quick fitting in the side of the T valve and the other end of the quarter inch line in the bottom fitting.  Move the valve handle towards the muffler, and bounce on the truck and you'll hear that air venting. The shortest amount of air line between the bag and the T-valve will give you the best ride so we mount them as close to the bag as possible.