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has anyone thought about adapting the 18 wheeler type air ride cab mounts to an AD Chevy truck?

We have air ride cabs on all our Internationals. They have to have give at the cowl. It only works with a tilting hood and fender assembly. Building a trailing beam air ride suspension for the rear would be more feasible.

Yes, and I decided it is not worth the effort. Here are two ideas and considerations.

1. The connection between the fenders and the cab, and also the hood to cab needs to be very flexible to allow the cab to move. I could not think of a good, reliable, and simple way to do this, and still have the truck look good.

2. All the sheet metal, cab, hood, radiator support, and cab could be made on an air ride. There would be one hinge under the radiator support, then a sub frame from there back to the cab mounts (three in your case). You would need some room between the fan and the radiator, but that's probably not a big problem. The bigger problem is getting the sub frame to fit just above the frame and under the cab and all the sheet metal, and clear the steering box too.

I have a 3" body lift on my truck to help fit my transmission and engine, which would make about enough room to have a sub frame for the sheet metal. In the end I decided it was still a lot of work for not much improvement in ride, and you gain a number of small complications. Another way for a smooth ride is in the regular suspension, and I have springs rated for about a 1 ton, or just a little stronger, those combined with adjustable air "helper" springs should allow me a reasonably soft ride when empty, and the capacity I need when loaded.

Eventually I would like to have a full air ride rear suspension, probably a Hendrickson HAS-120 http://www.hendrickson-intl.com/products/product_detail/has_single.asp. Or perhaps this one from Kelderman http://www.keldermanairride.com/productdetails.php?id=450%2F550FRD4LNK But I'll give th truck a try for a few years with the current suspension before I tackle that swap.

Grigg

I have an old 72 Olds that I bought for the 455 engine,rebuilt the engine and never have gotten around to putting it in a 55 GMC like I had planned. I kept the Olds because the suspension would lend itself well to replace the coil spring with an air bag. I have a 75 Cad with a 500 that I had plans for the same thing. It think its rear suspension would work well in a pickup too.

Has anyone tried air seats? I'm sure someone has, or is the cab too small?

I have seen air seats that look like they should fit. The riser with air spring is about 3 or 4" tall when collapsed, so add a few inches for some cushioning, and it should still fit.

I have not seen or figured out if an air ride bench seat is a good idea?

Grigg

An air ride passenger seat out of an International trucks might work. They sit on top of the heat and air unit. They might fit but they might over whelm the cab. An air ride bench seat would be difficult but it would be doable. Link manufacturing used to make an after market cabover cab air ride http://www.linkmfg.com/. Some of their technology could possibly be used, but it would be work and expensive.

What about a small coil over motorcycle shock absorber? Maybe there is a small street bike whose shocks would not be too long. Not exactly air, but close.