Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby Smokey on Tue Feb 18, 2020 6:36 am

Hi all,
Just wondering if there are such things as air adjustable rear shocks for my MR Triton.
I tow a caravan, or will be soon - and I note that the ride is soft (ok for city), but I'm sure
when I load her up and hitch up the van, it's going to sag.
I don't want to go down the line of replacing the rear springs with heavy duty alternatives,
just be good to have the option of beefing up the rear when I need, and returning to normal
around town.
Cheers, Smokey
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby srb on Tue Feb 18, 2020 12:55 pm

Unfortunately it's not that easy, yes you can get adjustable shocks but this won't do anything for the sag.. that's the job of the springs, they carry the load and determine ride height, the shocks only control the dampening of the spring rate. If it sags too much with your caravan, then you'll have to go with an ungraded spring packs or air bags. Best option, in my opinion, is to upgraded springs and shocks, this way you'll have better all round handling and correct your ride height at the same time.

Air bags can be okay too, as long as you're not expecting them to take too much of the load. Best to do a search on here as there's already lots of discussion on towing and suspension setups.

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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby WUNSIE on Tue Feb 18, 2020 6:39 pm

These might be a more cost effective alternative, :!:
http://www.ironman4x4.com/products/susp ... spring-lp4
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby Smokey on Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:29 am

Hi SRB and Wunsie...
Thanks for your replies - I will definitely give both a look, and depending how my budget is, go from there.
The helper spring may be the simplest option, and obviously the cheapest.
I like that there is adjustability..!
Cheers, Smokey
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby Nick Bagus on Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:40 am

I'd recommend looking at airbags because you can alter the PSI depending on the load your towing.
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby NowForThe5th on Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:20 pm

No. Airbags have been a major contributing factor in cases of chassis bending in many dual cab utes - not just Triton.

The chassis is designed to bear weight at the ends of the leaf spring. Adding an airbag moves this to the centre of the arch and effectively creates a truss. Without flexibility in the leaf, load is transferred forward, usually to a point near where the chassis turns up behind the cab. With a high impact load, made worse by towing, the chassis can bend or break, since this part of the chassis is not designed to take these kinds of loads.

Airbags do have a place, even with leaf spring suspensions, but relying on them to take a significant part of the load is not the correct way, even in the MR which does have a beefed up section of chassis compared to ML/MN.

Upgraded suspension, even a helper spring, is a much better choice.

Different story with a Patrol or Pajero with coil rears. In these cars the load point does not change when an airbag is fitted.
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby catchya on Sat Feb 22, 2020 7:21 am

100% agree with NFT5 post above. Chassis bending is not just Triton related, ALL dual cabs 4x4 do it! especially when maximum tow ball weight is exceeded.
There are holes in the chassis design that run along the back end of the passenger door to tail light end. Why, no definitive answer.

The only time to use air bags on dual cab 4x4's is to install chassis plates that get welded to the "weak zone" of the chassis, pretty cheap to buy, but once installed, airbags can be fitted to help assist in ride stability.

I tow near max trailer weight 6 days a week with my ML, and replace rear springs around every 2 years due to sag.

My heavier loads where the Triton struggles, the chopped 80 series with airbags gets the job
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby RHKTriton on Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:34 am

Realistically, the payload capacity (assume dual cab and four adults) is about 500kg.

Towing will chop somewhere between 200 to 300 odd kg out of that.

I'd say loading within the constraints that the vehicle is designed for, a set of pump up shocks (if you can get them) or air bags, won't be a problem for use on made roads if used to trim the arse up a bit.

A higher rated leaf pack will still be the best solution as vertical loads are applied at the engineered points.

Unfortunately with all these dual cabs, there is about a 2 to 3:1 fulcrum on the chassis over the axle (being the pivot point).
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Re: Air adjustable shocks for MR Triton

Postby srb on Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:15 pm

I believe it's far worse to go relying on the stock springs and shocks alone, all that does is increase your chance of something going wrong. And if you bottom out on your bump stops too hard or too many times you will point load your chassis far worse than air bags ever will.

Unfortunately air bags do get the reputation of being all bad, mainly because of the lack of understanding of how they should be used.
Air bags are not the only thing contributing to broken chassis.. Overloading, improper weight distribution and driver error pose the biggest problem.

Quality air bags with the correct air pressure and aftermarket springs and shocks will be perfectly fine, as long as the owner doesn't go crazy and overload or drive incorrectly. Air bags on these utes were never intended to replace the leaf springs in carrying the bulk of the load. They should only be used as a helper to trim the vehicle up for the extra occasional weight such as a caravan.




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