Ray’s Rite touch soothes the savage in unruly work vehicles

One of the most common problems with work vehicles is getting them to ride comfortably and safely under different load conditions. Many 2wd and 4wds are set up to ride beautifully when fully loaded – but will buck like a brumby when empty. “They will kick you out of the cab when empty – they can be real shockers’ says longtime suspension specialist Ray Johnson. “Another problem is setting up standard suspensions to cope with irregular loads, such as heavy toolboxes carried by tradesmen, service techs and farmers. “These loads can put terrific strains on standard suspensions, affecting not only vehicle life, but also driver safety,” says Mr Johnson, proprietor of Orange Spring and Suspension Pty Ltd in NSW’s Central West. The company is one of a comprehensive network of Ride-Rite dealers around Australia.

Mr Johnson’s 20 years of experience with a huge range of working vehicles – ranging from 4wds, utes, vans, and light trucks right up to semi-trailers – convinced him of the need for adjustability in suspensions to cope with different loads.   His search for a convenient and cost-efficient solution to the problem led him to Firestone Rite-Rite® Air Helper spring kits from All Air Suspension, which distributes the Ride-Rite product in NSW and the ACT in association with national distributor Airbag Man. Rite-Rite is designed for light trucks, utes, vans and 4wd work vehicles fitted with conventional leaf-spring suspensions. (Full air conversions are also available for a number of more popular coil-sprung vehicles). Not only does the Ride-Rite air helper suspension system give better ride and handling – these are the same springs often fitted to luxury 4wds and as original equipment to leading heavy truck brands - but also the air springs can be inflated to different pressures to cope with uneven loads and varying weight distribution.   “There has always been a need for something adjustable in suspensions, and air happens to be quick and easy and user-friendly. A lot of my customers put the Ride-Rite airbags in where they are needed to cope with load and inflate them with a simple onboard compressor (they can also be inflated by a standard pump, like a car tyre, and deflated just as easily).”

Instead of contractors, tradesmen and farmers beating the life out of suspensions not designed for the battering dished out by rough roads and building and mine sites, these air springs protect the existing springs and chassis of the vehicle as well as the driver. By simply adding or removing air they can maintain the same vehicle height under different load conditions. This gives ideal performance and safety from empty to full. Fitted between the chassis and leaf springs, they absorb the increasing weight of loads that cause vehicles to sag or lean, resulting in hazardous driving conditions and wear and tear on the vehicle's tyres, suspension and frame.

Ride-Rite air helper springs work with the existing suspension to re-level loaded vehicles to their ideal configuration, which is with frame and body parallel to the ground, as in an unloaded vehicle. Ride-Rite kits also have benefits when the vehicle is empty, because the air pressure takes the strain off existing leaf springs, preventing sagging and helping them to last longer.

“We sell a lot to tradesmen – builders, plumbers electricians – as well as people working on the land and in the mines. Probably one of our biggest markets is to spraying contractors, whose vehicles have to cope with the uneven loads imposed by boom spraying and ancillary equipment.

“We also get a lot of breakdown vehicles, and vehicles used to carry heavy toolboxes, whose owners want something capable of bearing the big load while giving the safety and stability they need on the road. Ride-Rite is a very safe and stable system.”

Ride-Rite kits are fitted to literally scores of vehicles, but some of the most common customers for Ray Johnson are owners of 4wds like Toyota Landcruisers – “We also get demand from the new style F250s and Rodeos. Falcon utes are not uncommon. Sometimes also we get customers who have lowered vehicles they use for work and recreation. They want to bolster the suspension so it doesn’t bottom out all the time,” says Mr Johnson, whose family has been involved with the automotive business for more than 50 years. His father worked with Ford engineering after migrating form England 51 years ago, then with Jack Edge of Edge Coachwork from whom they took over the current business 20 years ago.

His experience with widely different working and road conditions encountered in the country motivated the search for a quality air suspension product that could take the beating handed out to vehicles every day.

Ride Rite springs (inflated by standard workshop compressors or optional onboard compressor systems) can handle 0-7 bar (0-100 psi) and up to 1100kg each (subject to chassis gross vehicle weight limits).

Ride-Rite products and accessories include:

• Basic Ride-Rite kits for different types of vehicles, including two air helper springs, air lines with separate tyre-type inflation valves, hardware for proper installation
• Ride-Rite Air Compressor Accessory kit, containing a 12-volt air compressor, 2.25 litre tank, pressure switch and tubing to inflate not only the air helper springs, but also tyres.
• Ride-Rite Dual Cab Control Kit, Single Cab Control Kit, Automatic Control Kit and Level Command Kits. These can provide in-cab adjustment for unbalanced loads, including back-to-front and side-to-side loading problems.

Ray Johnson can be contacted on 02 6362 1480 For further information about this media release or the name of fitting specialists throughout NSW and the ACT, please contact All Air Suspensions, 137 Bowden St, Meadowbank, Sydney 2114 ph (02) 9807 7641, fax (02) 9807 7643. Airbag Man can be contacted on 1800 AIRBAG E-mail: info@airbagman.com.au

All Air Suspension Telephone +61 2 9807 7641 Fax +61 2 9807 7643 e-mail sales@allair.com.au