Donvel Air Ride

EASYTRADER · Sep 10, 2010

I recently installed the Donvel air bags and air controllers on my truck. The whole kit came to around 1k. I did the installation myself, it took about 10 hours, mainly because I had issues getting some old seized fittings loose.

After about a week of using them I can say I wish I had heard about them years ago.

They take the snap out of the bumps. You don't feel like your'e gonna get thrown out of the sleeper.

It's rare i'm impressed with a product. but these are cool!!!!

usafk9 · Sep 11, 2010

What kind of truck, Easy?

I've been thinking about them for quite some time now.

Thanks for the info.

EASYTRADER · Sep 11, 2010

I have a hino 338, which rides like a hay wagon, not anymore though.

The donvel kit is fairly easy to install but you do have to drill your truck frame which is no pick-nic.

other than that it was pretty straight forward. If you're in texas donvel will install them for you.

I did my own install for the adventure of it and because i was gonna be out of service for a week anyway.

Weady2Wun · Sep 12, 2010

How many air bags did you have on the Hino? Did you have the air bags under the sleeper? How many of the new Donvel air rides did you add? Thanks for the information

EASYTRADER · Sep 12, 2010

The truck had air ride in the back already and three small airbags on the sleeper.

Dovel sells little brass valves that you put on each of the existing airbags. From what I can tell theses air control slow the rate at which air moves in and out of the bag, stabilising the ride.

For the front axle they have a kit that has 2 smaller bags (like sleeper bags) that go between the frame and the axle. And an air pressure control, you use to inflate them or deflate them.

I have played around with the air pressure and it seems the ride on my truck is best around 45 lbs.

EASYTRADER · Sep 12, 2010

I added some pics to the original post. The blue things you see attached to the air lines are the ride controls, you put one of those inline on each sleeper airbag, and there is something similar for the rear airbags, except in the rear they screw directly into the airbag.

Anyway it hard to explain it doesn't turn it into a Cadillac ride, but it takes the peaks and valleys out of the bumps. We recently ran the truck up the 5 between LA and Sacramento, and you could actually sleep in the back without being thrown out of bed.

Also my dash board stopped rattling which is nice.

Incidentally we have about 4k miles on them and I wasn't snapped awake by a bump the whole time.

Anyway, for the 1k price I wish I had them installed years ago.

RETIDEPXE · Sep 12, 2010

Donvel installed the quad air springs on my front end a couple years ago, and several of the "motion control" valves and I will attest to the product. It takes the jolt out of your wrist and arms, a quality product indeed.

By the way, you probably have not heard of them because they are a small family operation (retired otr truckers). Our first truck had aftermarket airsprings on the front end but no brand name. When I began looking for some for our M2 I thought I was going to have to go to Canada untill I stumbled on their small ad in the back of Trucker News I believe, and was happy to see they were only 30 mi.s from my home base. Been thru Gladewater, TX a thousand times and never saw there store front, like a said, small operation but they will do you right and love the product.