Quote:
Originally Posted by Beau388
The current Rams (1500, 2500 and 3500. come with air suspension. The downsides of air suspension are (according to Car & Driver): - The initial costs of purchasing and installing an air suspension system — air suspension can also sometimes reach three times the cost in repairs as a leaf suspension system over 10 years
- Fuel overheads for running compressors for occasionally pumping air to the correct pressure
- Fuel efficiency can suffer from the heavier weight of air suspension over the weight of leaf suspension
- An air suspension system’s vulnerability to air leaks can result in malfunctions.
It has been stated before the components to make an independent front and rear air suspension coach with a front gas engine are available, that puts the cost of the components and new frame required in the $85,000 and $110,000 range in limited production. Current stripped F-53 chassis is $32,215 to about $40.000 in orders of 1,000 or more. Sorta makes Liquid Spring suspension look as the cheapest alternative to leafs. |
The type of spring used (leaf, coil, air) is part of suspension design, but it does not define the entire suspension. We should be careful not to lump all suspensions with similar springs together. For example, there are very different suspension types that use coil springs. The same can be said of air suspension. And while leaf springs are typically used with solid axles, occasionally we see them used with independent suspension.
I agree that independent suspension adds cost, but comparing Ford F-53 chassis to diesel pusher and associating suspension to $10,000s added cost is not right either.
The new electric Ford Lightning pickup isn’t as expensive as many originally expected, so adding the independent rear suspension can’t possibly have added that much cost. Same goes to electric Transit vans.
I would expect it doesn’t cost Ford more than $1,000, maybe $2,000 tops, to manufacture and install the semi-trailing arm suspension compared to live axle with leaf springs.
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