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Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs - Double Convoluted - Rear Axle

Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs - Double Convoluted - Rear Axle

Retail:$708.26
Our Price: $511.95
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5,000-lb Capacity. Ride-Rite air springs enhance your factory suspension for safety and stability when you are hauling heavy loads. They reduce strain on your rear axle, keep your vehicle level, and adjust to load size for a consistently smooth ride. Great Prices for the best vehicle suspension from Firestone. Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs - Double Convoluted - Rear Axle part number F2251 can be ordered online at etrailer.com or call 1-800-940-8924 for expert service.
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Firestone Vehicle Suspension

  • Air Springs
  • Rear Axle Suspension Enhancement
  • Heavy Duty
  • Firestone

5,000-lb Capacity. Ride-Rite air springs enhance your factory suspension for safety and stability when you are hauling heavy loads. They reduce strain on your rear axle, keep your vehicle level, and adjust to load size for a consistently smooth ride.


Features:

  • Maximize safe load-carrying capacity, increase stability and improve ride quality
    • Install between your vehicle's frame and its rear suspension
  • Keep your vehicle level when you are hauling a heavy load
    • Improve steering control and braking when you are hauling or towing
    • Level your headlight beams
    • Reduce tire wear
  • Maintain even load distribution with air pressure, leveling off-center loads
    • Air bags adjust manually, side to side, with individual inflation valves
  • Reduce strain on rear suspension
    • Prevent permanent sagging and excessive friction in leaf springs
  • Increase stability
    • Absorb road shock for a smooth ride
    • Soften contact between axle and frame to prevent bottoming out
  • Provide maximum load support and durability with rubber construction and double-convoluted design
  • Include all materials necessary for installation
    • Brackets, air springs, hardware, air line and separate valves for manual inflation
    • Switches and gauges, compressors, and air tanks (sold separately) are available for quick and easy air spring inflation/deflation from inside your vehicle
  • Made in the USA


Specs:

  • Load-leveling capacity: 5,000 lbs
    • Ride-Rite springs will not increase your vehicle's weight-carrying capacity. Do not exceed the manufacturer's recommended weight limit.
  • Adjustable air pressure: 5 psi to 100 psi
  • Limited lifetime warranty on air springs
  • 2-Year limited warranty on hardware


Note: The construction material of the fittings may vary.


Firestone Ride-Rite Air Spring Basics

Firestone Ride-Rite springs are designed to increase safety and reduce the strain on your vehicle when you are hauling heavy loads or towing a heavy trailer. The springs partner with your existing rear suspension system to help keep your vehicle level, maintain even load distribution and increase stability. Hauling heavy loads or towing a heavy trailer can make the rear of your vehicle sag and the front end rise. This puts more strain on your rear axle and reduces contact between your front tires and the road, causing problems with braking, steering control and traction. By adding air springs to your rear suspension, you can help to level your vehicle and improve braking and handling. The air springs also help to level your headlight beams and reduce wear on your tires.


Firestone Ride-Rite air spring airline installation

Adjustable Air Pressure

The air pressure in your Ride-Rite springs can be adjusted manually, side to side, to compensate for off-center loads. A centered load improves the stability of your vehicle by reducing body roll. The air springs will also help to absorb road shock and to soften contact between your axle and frame. This prevents bottoming out, thus improving ride comfort. Route the air line tubing for the springs to your vehicle's bumper to provide easy access to the manual inflation valves.


Firestone Ride-Ride air spring components

Air Spring Construction

Firestone's double-convoluted Ride-Rite air springs are designed to give you maximum load support and enhance the performance and ride comfort of your vehicle. The rubber springs provide cushioning between your suspension components and operate at up to 100 psi. The springs have four layers of reinforced rubber to ensure durability and enhance load support. A braided wire girdle creates the double-convoluted shape of each air spring, increasing the burst pressure of the spring. The rubber springs are attached to corrosion-resistant metal end plates with a time-proven, rolled crimp seal that keeps the bags securely anchored.


Firestone Ride-Rite air spring installation

Air Spring Installation

Each Ride-Rite kit includes custom-fit brackets that connect to your axle and frame. The brackets provide the mounting points for the air springs. Drilling may be required for some applications.



W217602251 Firestone Ride Rite Air Bags - Suspension Kit - Double Convoluted - Rear Axle

2251

Item # F2251

Installation Details F2251 Installation instructions

This Product Fits The Following Vehicles




Customer Satisfaction Score:


Customer Reviews

Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs - Double Convoluted - Rear Axle - F2251

Average Customer Rating:  4.7 out of 5 stars   (2399 Customer Reviews)

5,000-lb Capacity. Ride-Rite air springs enhance your factory suspension for safety and stability when you are hauling heavy loads. They reduce strain on your rear axle, keep your vehicle level, and adjust to load size for a consistently smooth ride.

by:

Worked great, big improvement. Mounted on a 2004 Excursion diesel with 6 inch lift. I tow a 12k pound camper and the air bags help with more stability, less sag and bouncing while driving. Huge improvement and brings me close to the empty height of the vehicle. Also easy to install with the spacers required for my lifted truck.



by:

Quality parts, fast shipping. Very happy with the product , hauled my 30 ft camper from Missouri to Corpus Christi TX and back, smooth ride .



by:

Great Service and deliver great products



by:

Great to deal with fast shipping



by:

Went together quickly and worked as described. I like the individual adjustment ability for each side in order to balance onboard load. I would recommend these to anyone that had a need for the boost when towing.



by:
2000 Ford Excursion

Fast service! Excellent service both before and after the sale.



by:

It was pretty easy to install. Love this product. I have had no problems with it and still holds air a year later



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The Ride-Rite air helper springs work great. If I'm pulling a heavy trailer or loading my truck with a heavy load, I can add air to adjust the ride and level my truck. They really help the ride.



by:

Works perfectly! It's so nice not having the truck sag and sway after installing the ride rite air bags. I built my own hard side pop up camper on my flatbed dually and it turned out a little heavier than I wanted but with the airbags I hardly know the camper is there.



by:

The kit I received had mismatched air fittings: one was a 3/8npt elbow instead of the required 1/8npt elbow. etrailer sent a replacement elbow and I was able to source a reducer to complete the install as I await the replacement. Glad i checked my parts before I started.

The install is pretty straight forward and the instructions are clear. The fasteners are difficult to access if you are doing the install by yourself. Must have tools include quality hose cutter and two 1-1/8in sockets.

The bags added 1in of lift to my unladen 2023 Tacoma Trail Edition at 5psi; 1-1/2in at 10psi; and 3in at 70psi.

At the 5psi minimum pressure the ride is firmer than stock. On acceleration the back end no longer “stuffs” wich is fine with me.



by:

High quality and easy to install. These air bags are working very well and keeping my truck level while towing my tow hauler.



by:

etrailer was very helpful with making sure I ordered the right product. As for the product... I love the addition to my 20201 Toyota Tundra TRD PRO. It made towing my 2021 Lance 2285 Travel Trailer a dream. The truck and trailer sit perfectly level now and the truck handles great. Easy install only took a couple of hours. In my pic... the stabilizer jacks are down because I was doing a quick overnighter and didn't want to unhitch. But the stabilizers aren't lifting the camper or truck.. just kissing the ground to keep the camper from rocking when inside. Its the only pic I had handy.



by:

First, my order was processed and shipped on a Sunday. There's not too many companies doing that outside of Amazon. Awesome! If not for UPS delay in Sparks, NV, I would have received my order in less time then mentioned at check out.

Second, my Firestone kit came complete. I was skeptical due to some reviews stating they received the wrong size air hose connector. Not this one. Seems they've worked it out. Kit is installed and doing exactly what I expected.

2023 Tacoma TRD OR.
2.5 lift with Icon AAL
Trailerlife WDH
Hauling 4400 lbs (dry) camp trailer
Reduced squat from 2.5" to 1" at 25psi for comfort. Can easily level, but I prefer slight squat at the tounge.

*truck and trailer pic is on a slope.

Over, great experience!



by:

So far so good. I installed these in just over 2 hours on my 2013 Chevy 2500HD for help with my fifth wheel. I pull a 12.7k pound (dry) camper. My truck was level prior to airbags, but had really harsh bouncing over bridges, put holes, etc. The side to side way and roll was noticeable was noticeable as well. These bags put all of that to an end. I've towed twice with them and 35psi seems to do the trick (doesn't life the truck higher in the rear, and takes away the bounce and roll).

I must point out that installation while straight forward, still had some issues with stock components. The parking brake cable and brackets had to be removed on both sides for the springs brackets to be installed. The passenger side bracket covered the OEM parking brake bracket location and the driver side is too tight of a fit without crimping the brake cable. My brake cable is no freely resting across the truck which I'm not a huge fan of.



by:

It happy. Poor packaging allowed parts to bang around in shipping and paint and pieces of metal to flake off on the larger pieces.



by:

Product arrived on time and perfect condition. Take about 3 hours to install. Have taken is out with 5th wheel yet. Raised that back 4 inches at 70 #. Only want 2 inches so try them at 30# and see now it rides is with 5th wheel.



by:

The kit did exactly what I was hoping and helped to level out the rear of the truck (2016 long-bed, 2x4, Frontier) when towing my 24'camper trailer. Installation was straight forward with the most difficult aspects being removal of existing rubber axil bump stocks



by:

These bags serve my purpose. It’s good to be able to level the truck up when I have a heavy load in the bed. Not too difficult to install. It would be more convenient to have the air bags with a built in compressor.
I do a lot of camping. When using the weight distribution hitch, you have to let the air out of the bags, before hooking up the trailer and hitch. Then put air in the bags. This is inconvenient, but the instructions for the hitch say to deflate the air bags.
I sometimes take a Foreman 500 four wheeler when I camp. I have to put it in the bed of the truck. It made the truck squat down a good bit. With the air bags, I can level it back up after hooking the camper and hitch up.

They do the job, but spend a little more and get the one with the built in air compressor.



by:

I mounted the Firestone airbag system on my 2008 Toyota Tacoma pickup. It was not as easy as the video makes it look (especially on the drivers side) but, it it turned out great. I mounted the compressor in the compartment behind the passenger seat behind the driver (see pic). I mounted the gauge and switch in the compartment between the driver and passenger (see pic). The airbag pictures are when they were holding 70 lbs pressure checking for air leaks. The first picture of the pickup is with 5 lbs air pressure in the bags and the second is with 50 lbs air pressure in the bags. When driving with 5 lbs in the bags it has the normal smooth ride and does a good job at 30 lbs of keeping the back end from sagging when I pull my boat.



by:

I installed these in about 2 hours the night before my wife and I were heading out to Sioux Falls, SD with our 30 foot travel trailer. I aired them up to about 38 P.S.I. and away we went. They worked flawlessly. I love them. I only used one air valve to air them up with a T connector.



by:

I wanted to follow up and let you know the Firestone Air bags fit perfectly with the B&W Turnover ball hitch. Attached are pictures of the Airbags installed on the 2018 GM Sierra 1500 Z71. I've also included the pictures of the compressor and tank install. The compressor is installed under the hood in the spare battery tray and the tank is mounted on the outside of the frame under the passenger side door. Let me know if you need any additional details on the installation.



by:

Install with 1 person took 4 hours, mostly looking for misplaced tools. I had on for 1 year and have had no problems. I did install a 3 way tee which allows for air to be equal on both air bags from 1 valve stem. What a difference these make while towing. I can actually tow my trailer at level height and get a better ride inside the truck. If you get these bags, you will want to buy a bigger trailer!



by:

After a year of use including 3 months in Alaska, these Air helper springs have worked flawlessly. They give me just enough lift to level out my truck with over 800lbs of trailer tongue weight and 500lbs in the bed. I have individual adjustments on my Ride-rites and I haven't needed to make the pressure different from side to side. I'm now considering adding an adjustable air system that can be operated from inside the truck.


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See what our Experts say about this Firestone Vehicle Suspension

  • Can Firestone Air Bags be Installed on a 2001 Ford Excursion that Does Not have Jounce Bumpers
    To install Firestone Ride-Rite air bags # F2251 on a 2001 Ford Excursion 4x4 the jounce bumpers would have to be removed and are not reinstalled. So not having the jounce bumpers actually saves you a step for the installation. I also recommend using a compressor kit, # F2158, so you can add or remove air from the air bags from inside the vehicle. The kit is not required but makes load leveling a lot easier. If the 5 inch block you mentioned means that the frame is 5 inches further away...
    view full answer...
  • Parts For Install of Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs on 2000 Ford Excursion w/ lift kit
    I contacted our representative at Firestone about installing the Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs, part # F2251, on your 2000 Ford Excursion with 6 inch lift kit. He informed me that you will need to use the Firestone Lift Spacers, part # F2373, since you have a 5 inch lift block. Please note, that if the jounce pad or jounce tongue is lifted higher than factory position you will not be able to use the Firestone Ride-Rite Air Springs. To install, you would install the Air Helper...
    view full answer...
  • Charging Trailer Battery and Weight Distribution for 38 ft Primetime Lacrosse 3311RK
    Most people will trickle charge their trailer battery through the 12-volt accessory circuit of the 7-way trailer wiring connector. You'd basically just run a wire from the 1:00 pin of the 7-way to the positive terminal of the battery # BRW37FR and it would receive a trickle charge when you are towing. You'd want to use 10 gauge wire like the # 10-1-1 which we offer by the foot. If the tow vehicle side of this connection isn't made you'd can use 10 gauge wire for this as well but you'd also...
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  • Suspension Enhancement Recommendation for a 2000 Ford Excursion with 6 inch Body Lift
    A block lift is a body lift so you would not need the spacers. The only time you need to use lift spacers with suspension enhancement is when you have a suspension lift. So the Firestone Ride Rite part # F2251 would fit your 4x4 2000 Ford Excursion without needing them.
    view full answer...
  • Replacement Upper Bracket for Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs # F2251
    We have exactly what you need! For a replacement upper bracket on your Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs # F2251, you will just need the part # F2135825302. This will replace 1 upper bracket for your Firestone Helper Springs to help secure it to the vehicle's frame. For the lower bracket you will use # F2135825304.
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  • Firestone Air Bag Kits for 2004 Ford Excursion 2WD and 4WD
    There are two different Firestone rear axle air bag kits for the 2004 Ford Excursion. The Excursion 2WD uses part # F2255 and the 4WD uses part # F2251. The kit # F2400 that you referenced is for Ford pickups but not the Excursion. These two Excursion kits can be seen by clicking on the linked page. You'll notice the brackets in each kit are quite different. I recommend that you do not try to piece together all of the individual kit parts. Often getting all of the individual parts can...
    view full answer...
  • Weight Distribution for 2001 Ford Excursion Pulling a 7500lb Holiday Rambler Trailer
    An air bag or helper spring set-up is more effective for dealing with weight carried in or on the vehicle itself. A properly sized and adjusted weight distribution system will preform several tasks. It will eliminate the sag experienced when a trailer is hitched up, it can reduce or eliminate trailer sway and it can also improve braking performance and and steering response. A weight distribution system accomplishes this by using leverage to transfer a portion of the trailer tongue weight...
    view full answer...
  • Recommended Air Bags and Compressor for Tires On 2002 Ford Excursion
    The Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs part # F2255 for 2WD or part # F2251 4WD are what I recommend for a 2002 Ford Excursion. These air bags offer a bolt-on fit and will do a great job of providing extra support when towing or hauling. In order to inflate the air bags from inside the vehicle, you'll need an air compressor system. The Air Command II Xtreme Duty Compressor part # F2549 is what I recommend for this as it has everything you need for a complete installation, including...
    view full answer...
  • 2005 Ford Excursion Squats when Using Husky Weight Distribution with 9,000 Pound Trailer
    Let's first look at the numbers. A trailer weighing 9,000 pounds will have a tongue weight in the neighborhood of 900 to 1,350 pounds. But when you calculate tongue weight for weight distribution you also have to factory in the weight of any cargo loaded behind the rear axle of your 2005 Ford Excursion. So for example if your trailer's tongue weight is 1,100 pounds and you have 200 pounds of cargo behind the rear axle of the Excursion the total tongue weight would be 1,300 pounds and you...
    view full answer...
  • Recommended Air Bag Suspension Kits for 2001 Ford Excursion
    The rear axle air bag suspension kit I suggest for your 2001 Ford Excursion 4WD is Firestone kit # F2251. This air bag system will give you up to 5000-lbs of adjustable load support. You can add a compressor kit like the Air Command I # F2158, which controls both bags at the same time, or dual-path Air Command II compressor # F2178 which allows for independent control of each bag's pressure. Since these bags can operate with as little as 5-psi pressure (but never less than that) you can...
    view full answer...
  • 2003 Ford Excursion Air Bag Kit Recommendation
    The air bag kit I recommend going with for your 2003 Ford Excursion is the Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs # F2251 which don't have the inner bump stops, but that's because they don't need them. Firestone has been in the air bag business a long time and has the best construction due to 4 layers of reinforced rubber, the braided wire girdle to give it the correct shape, and the rolled crimp seal that keeps the mounting plates from damaging the air bags. Attached is an installation...
    view full answer...
  • Replacement Air Bag Spring Mounts For a 2000 Ford Excursion With Firestone Air Bags
    As I see you were looking at the Firestone # F2251 air bags for your I am assuming that is the kit you are looking for mounts for. Here is a list of the mounts but do understand these do not come with hardware. Replacement Upper Bracket # F2135825302 Replacement Lower Brace # F2135825303 Replacement Axle Strap Bracket # F2135821163 Replacement Lower Bracket # F2135825304 Often times it saves you more just to get the entire kit than trying to piece all the parts together. Also the only...
    view full answer...
  • Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs Recommendation for a 2002 Ford Excursion
    Thanks for reaching out, Philip! The Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs # F2251 replaced the # F2255 so I recommend going with the newer version # F2251 for your 2002 Ford Excursion.
    view full answer...
  • Spacers for Firestone Ride-Rite Air Bags on a 2003 Ford Excursion with 4 Inch Lift
    The 2 Firestone spacer kits that you mentioned, # F2371 and # F2370, each fit different types of Firestone Ride-Rite kits. First, style # F2371 fits on Ride-Rite models that mount to the vehicle axle. The other one, # F2370, fits on models that mount to the leaf spring stack. The kit that you have, # F2251, is an axle mounted kit so you would need spacers # F2371. The spacer kit used needs to be same as the amount of lift on the vehicle. So if the ride height increased by 4 inches you...
    view full answer...
  • 3 inch Spacer Kit Recommendation for Firestone Ride Rite Kit part # F2251
    Firestone does make a 3 inch lift spacer part # F2368 that you can use with the Firestone Ride Rite kit part # F2251 that you referenced. If the lift you have on your vehicle adds 3 inches to the distance between the axle of your vehicle and the frame this is the correct kit to use.
    view full answer...

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Info for this part was:

Employee Joe V
Test Fit:
Joe V
Employee Leah B
Updated by:
Leah B
Employee Mary K
Updated by:
Mary K
Employee Wilson B
Updated by:
Wilson B
Employee Daron K
Updated by:
Daron K
Employee Alex H
Updated by:
Alex H
Employee Mike L
Expert Research:
Mike L
Employee Michael H
Expert Research:
Michael H
Employee Reno H
Expert Research:
Reno H
Employee Jameson C
Expert Research:
Jameson C
Employee Tyler C
Written by:
Tyler C
Employee Dustin K
Video Edited:
Dustin K
Employee Chris R
Video Edited:
Chris R
Employee Shane H
Installed by:
Shane H
Employee David F
Installed by:
David F
Employee Jonathan Y
Video by:
Jonathan Y

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