F150 Air Springs
Anyone towing or hauling heavy on a regular basis with their F150 has probably noticed that their rear ends tend to sag a good bit, even if you're not pushing your tongue weights or GVWR. To help keep your F150 level when loaded, you'll need an air spring kit. Air springs are heavy-duty rubber springs that you fill with air when you're loaded in order to keep your truck under control when you're hauling along. Also take a look at our F150 Tuners to get more power for your tow rig. Ford F-150 Fitments: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Ford F150 Submodel Fitments: FX2, FX4, King Ranch, Lariat, Limited, Platinum, STX, XL, XLT. Some Exceptions apply, please see individual product pages for specific fitments.
Firestone Ride-Rite vs. Air Lift Loadlifter
The two titans of F150 air spring kits are Firestone with their Ride-Rite Series and Air Lift with their Loadlifter and Ride Control Kits, and while the two load leveling spring brands offer a similar service to your truck, there are some slight differences in how they install and their designs that may make a particular kit more suitable than another for your particular truck setup. Air Lift Air Springs:Air Lift's series or air springs gives you a few different options for air spring systems, which is great if you're only looking for a basic kit like the Air Lift Ride Control Series or if you want something more capable like the Air Lift Load Lifter Kits. Whichever you choose, installation is almost exactly the same, and the air springs mount on brackets between the axle and frame. The good news about that particular mounting location is that it's easy to route their air lines around any moving components and you get some extra clearance for aggressive suspension components like remote reservoir rear shocks or 3.0 Raptor shocks. The bad news is that all of Air Lift's systems are all pretty sensitive to larger rear blocks and add-a-leaf kits and you may need one of Air Lifts' spacer kits to complete your install. The second issue is that you do lose a good amount of rear axle travel, and you risk tearing up the air springs if you beat your F150 around off-road.
Firestone's Ride-Rite Air Spring Kits give you more or less the same load-leveling capabilities as other air spring kits, though you are pretty limited in choice. The Ride-Rite Kits come in a single 5,000lb rated flavor, and you can either take it or leave it. The Firestone Air Springs install between your F150's leaf springs and frame, which allows them to work better with lifted applications and even add-a-leaf kits without additional hardware. Your truck also takes less of a hit to travel, though you still won't be able to rip around through raw desert. The only real downsides to the Ride-Rite Kits is that it is a bit more difficult to route their air lines and you may run into issues with remote reservoir shocks when it comes to mounting their reservoirs or when you jump up to 3.0 rear shocks or Raptor take-offs.
