FirestoneRide-Rite 2550 Ride-Rite Air Helper Spring Kit

The Truck:2013 F250 4x4 6.2L Gas engine with Camper package (helper springs), Pull-Rite 5th wheel slider, Snow Plow Package, 5th wheel hitch frame brackets, rear stabilizer and locking rear axle.If you own the Diesel engine you should use the 2535 install kit, this kit does not install properly in a diesel truck. The Amazon "Fit your Truck" doesn't take into account the engine so make sure your getting the correct installation kit, use the Firestone website to be sure.The rear stabilizer will get in your way bit, the already installed 5th wheel brackets just means you will have a 3/4" bolt to remove before you can get started along with the bump stoppers. The Gas engine means there are 3 large wire harnesses running through the drivers side frame rail that will need to be relocated using the supplied L bracket before you can get started. There was a good YouTube video that shows how to relocate the cables otherwise the instructions didn't do a good job of explaining it.The Install:The day before you install the kit take the time to spray penetrating oil on the nuts for both bump stops and the 3/4" bolts holding the hitch bracket in place - make your life much easier. A ratcheting 9/16" box end wrench was very helpful.When you install the L bracket to get the wire harnesses out of the way there are three plastic retaining clips you need to pull out. One will get pushed back into the hole in the L bracket closest to the frame. Make sure the bracket if flipped in the upward position to get the cables high enough to access the 3/4" bolt from the inside of the frame rail. To get enough slack in the cables you have to pull/push out the cable retainers in front of and behind the bracket you installed.It was much easier to lower and remove the spare tire for easier access, there is also a heat shield on the passenger side that can come out to make it easier as well.My air hammer with the 1 1/8" socket installed was too long to fit between the frame and the rear tire so I had to remove the tire as well, without the air hammer the nut wouldn't budge.There was also a breather tube connected to the rear axle on the drivers side that I removed so I had more room to work on the lower bracket assembly without hitting the brake lines connected to it.When you install the air bag into the top bracket the instructions will tell you to make sure the small nub is positioned correctly to fit into a hole in the bracket. What they don't tell you is there are two holes, one forward and one to the back, make sure to use the one that centers the bag on the lower bracket. One will be correct the other will put the bag to far toward an edge.Once this was done the install was pretty straight forward. The passenger side is a breeze compared to the drivers side.I've been keeping about 12 pounds of air in the bags for regular driving. The 5th wheel slider adds 200 pounds in addition to a job box another 100 pounds, the air bags keep the truck level. It's a very stable feeling ride and the bags take out some of the jumpiness on bad roads.I put in a lot of detail because the other reviews made this sound incredibly easy but those reviews seemed to be on older models that didn't have the wire harnesses to deal with on my 2013. The wire harnesses and existing 3/4" bolt removal added more time and aggravation to the install.Good luck and enjoy - they work great, make the ride smoother and keep your headlights on the road where they belong.

I tow an 18k tri-axle gooseneck and a 14k with my 99 Ford F350 and the ride has always been sort of rough. I installed new shocks on the front and rear, and that helped some, but I still felt every bridge joint or ripple in the road.Not so after installing the Firestone Ride-Rite 2550 Air Helper Springs.The kit comes with everything needed to install. There were some items left over (the same kit is used for quite a few different vehicles), but the instructions indicate that will be the case. The parts were well packaged and easy to identify.I had a hidden hitch installed in my bed, so some of the holes used by the bag kit were already in use. I had to remove those bolts, and reuse the top ones.Installation was fairly easy. I'm don't mind working on my truck, but it's not my favorite thing to do, so I was sort of dreading the install. The first side took me about 1.5 hours to install, but the second was much quicker. I found it easiest to install both plates on the truck first, and then install the bag (some instruction videos indicate you should install the plates on the bags first). I jacked the rear of the truck body off the suspension a little (didn't lift the truck off the ground) and that made things a lot easier, more working room and easier to position the bags correctly.Airline installation was simple. I ended up putting mine through the lower rear mounting holes on my license plate (had to enlarge the holes slightly), which makes it very easy to air up the shocks.Only thing I wish I would have done was purchase the air compressor kit along with it. I'll be installing that in the next few months, since my camper and gooseneck both need different amounts of air.All in all, a very nice product.

Very nice kit and relatively easy install (with patience). Great quality, however I’m disappointed with the ride and performance. Read that air bags are the best for load carrying and leveling, however I hated how they drastically changed the ride. Even at 10-15psi (w/4000# payload) the ride was like being on a trampoline as they just don’t allow the factory suspension to do its job. Aired them down to the minimum 5psi and never aired them up again. Poor addition to my set up, money wasted.

Arrived when promised about 5 days to Nova Scotia,The best price I could find,Well packed ,Good Install directions.I put this kit on in my driveway took about 3 hours to install the first air bag and 2hours for the second one and all fittings and air lines with basic tools,Had to buy 1 deep socket 1 1/8 .Fit my 09 f350 dually perfect.