Defender 90 air lift.

Hi All.

I am running a Defender 90 overland with the usual mods (roof tent, fridge, 45L water tank, TD5 auxiliary diesel tank, storage lockers etc etc). It is running on Old Man Emu +2 inch lift springs & shocks. Whilst it copes very well with that weight in general I would like it marginally better. Slightly better handling but also to sit level once fully laden but not too high once tanks, fridge etc are empty.

Has anyone got first hand experience of using the Air Lift 1000 kit? Having air helpers to me gives the best of both worlds, deflated it's back to the Old Man Emu's only, inflated it's those & a little extra help?
I know I have a +2 inch lift so I can either pack out the Air Lift 1000 bags or purchase a set that are 2 inches taller. Whichever way it is going to cost around £150 as I already have an ARB compressor.

So thoughts -
1. Is it a reliable system/item?
2. Any better options that you know of?
3. Any articles etc to back my thoughts up?

I know Haynes (Lindsay Porter) fitted a kit some years back in there Modifying a Defender book. I would like to find a copy of that article. (Does anyone have an online copy or a scanner to send the article)?

Any advice/ideas appreciated.
Many thanks, Dave.

Air bags are rubbish, simple as that.

Currently they are fine for road work where the airbag itself is tough, but suffer because of pipework, especially the joints as they snap off regularly, we had some on our heavy lift trucks and they were absolute crap to the point we went back to steel suspension, some of the loads we carry mean we are overweight for many hard shoulders so a breakdown means stopping in lane 1 with lots of plod behind us.

In my opinion they aren't yet developed enough and certainly are no good for off road work as they cannot stand being pounded by the normal off road rocks and sharp chippings, and they are susceptible to puncture from sticks and brush poking up. Look at the current fleets of ambulances running rear air suspension, often you will see them sat with their back ends down.

They will become better developed over time.

Hi. Many thanks for the information. I have had many opinions about the airbags, all are about how poor they are and you may as well burn your money.
Interestingly Devon 4x4 said avoid them for the purpose I would use them for - they admitted they just are not suitable.
Another reputable (or not so reputable) company said fantastic and perfect for overlanding. I guess they wanted a sale?

So I'll be avoiding air bags and if need be, uprating the old man emu springs.

Dave.

OMU kit is ace.

Tom Mc wrote:

OMU kit is ace.

Expensive but I'll second that it is ace. I would have also not hesitate to replace the springs and shocks with new OME units when the time comes. Hopefully the OME I have fitted currently has a few years in it yet though.

Tried umpteen different cheaper shocks, they all give up in no time. With OME you get what you pay for, plus if you look around for the best price, they aren't as costly as you first think.

LOL. I shopped around. I got four +2 inch springs, four Nitro +2 inch shocks & an OME steering damper all new & posted for under £700. All sold in a shop clearance.

If I am correct Koni Raids are incredibly highly rated - but when I looked they were £230 per shock. At that price I stuck with OME and had matched springs & shocks.

Any product with "raid" in the title is costly, probably because folk who enter the Dakar with unlimited resources don't even look at the price, just the name. Yes, in this case Konis are good, but it's not always the same result with other products

Ram Raid?

Raid on Entebbe?