New Installer Joins the AirRide Team

We are pleased to announce that a new installer has joined the team at AirRide.

This is an important step for us because installation work forms a large part of what we do. Demand for properly fitted air suspension continues to grow, especially across cars, vans, pickups and motorhomes, and adding another installer gives us more capacity to deal with that work.

Air suspension is not something we have recently added to our services. It is not a sideline, and it is not something we are learning on customers’ vehicles. AirRide has been a dedicated air suspension specialist for around 25 years. We are 100% air suspension. We do not install stereos, we do not service VW/Audis, and we do not run a general repair garage. Air suspension is what we do.

Around 2,000 Air Suspension Kit Options

One of the things that makes AirRide different is the sheer range of air suspension products we can supply and install.

Based on our current supplier catalogues and our own manufactured systems, we now have access to around 2,000 different air suspension kits, covering well over 1,500 vehicle fitments. Each of those 2000 kits can come with various management options providing a range of at least 10,000 different kit packages.

That includes cars, vans, pickups and motorhomes, from popular modern vehicles to more specialist applications. The range includes common UK commercial vehicles such as Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Relay motorhomes, Ford Transit and Transit Custom vans, VW Transporters, Ford Rangers and other pickups, as well as a huge number of car fitments from Alfa Romeo to Volvo.

We believe this gives AirRide one of the largest known ranges of air suspension kit fitments available from a UK or European specialist. More importantly, these are not just names in a catalogue. We supply, fit, test, support and repair air suspension systems every day.

The Brands We Work With

AirRide works with a carefully selected and limited range of air suspension manufacturers and product lines.

This includes Boss Air Suspension from Australia, for which AirRide is the sole exclusive UK distributor. It also includes TA Technix, which gives us access to a large European focused air suspension range with extensive vehicle coverage.

We are also an authorised dealer for Air Lift Performance and Air Lift Company, and we work with Universal Air Suspension for specialist and universal applications.

Alongside those supplier ranges, we also manufacture and supply our own exclusive systems under the AirRide, AirRide Gold and AirRide Ultimate names.

The result is a product range that covers far more than a small selection of popular cars. We can support air suspension installations for modern vehicles, modified cars, classic cars, vans, pickups, campers and motorhomes.

Management Options From Simple to Sophisticated

The air suspension kit, which we term the suspension pack, is only part of the system. Each vehicle can usually be matched with a number of different air management options, depending on how the vehicle is used, the customer’s budget, and the level of control required.

For vans, pickups and motorhomes, a simple Schrader valve system is sometimes the most sensible option. It is reliable, cost-effective and ideal where the system is mainly used for load support or levelling. It is a good starting point, and management can always be added later. Management will always get the absolute best out of the air suspension by being able to instantly adjust it.

For customers wanting onboard adjustment, we can add compressors, gauges, switches and tanks. For more advanced installations, we can fit full digital management systems such as Air Lift 3P, Air Lift 3H or the newer ALP4 systems.

For cars, we can provide anything from straightforward manual management to high-end digital systems with height or pressure control. Many modern car installations can use neat boot-mounted management boards, while many van and motorhome systems are installed with the equipment hidden underneath the vehicle to keep the load space clear.

Installed at Our Norwich Workshop

Any of these products can be installed at our Norwich base by experienced air suspension installers.

The addition of a new installer helps us handle more installation work and gives customers better access to fitting appointments, especially for the most common van, pickup and motorhome systems.

Some products and some vehicles can be completed as one-day installations, subject to the vehicle, the chosen management system and workshop availability. More involved systems, hidden installs, full car conversions and bespoke work naturally take longer. All bookings are subject to notice and workshop scheduling.

Most modern installations are bolt-on, especially where a proper vehicle-specific kit is available. Classic car installations are often different. Older vehicles may require bespoke design, fabrication, additional labour and more careful planning. A full air suspension installation on a classic car can easily take significantly longer than a modern European vehicle with a bolt-on kit, and the price has to reflect that extra labour. It is very often double.

Quality Parts Matter

We do not use unbranded or unknown parts simply because they are cheap.

Air suspension systems rely on compressors, valves, switches, fittings, bags and electronic management working properly. A small saving on a poor component can quickly become a much larger problem if the vehicle is unreliable, leaks air or leaves the customer stranded.

A good example is compressors. There is a growing use of low-cost replica compressors in the industry, often with claims that they are “the same as Viair” or “made in the same factory”. We have heard these stories for many years. We are contacted by overseas compressor manufacturers very regularly, but we continue to use Viair because they work, they are reliable, and they represent good value over time.

We take the same approach with other parts. We are slow to adopt new suppliers, and we test carefully before putting parts into regular supply. Everything we sell through our mail order business or install through our workshop has to earn its place - usually on our own personal vehicles first. If we are not confident in a product, we do not use it.

We recently trialled several foreign-made paddle switches which looked very similar to well-known branded parts. They looked right, but they were not right. Of 20 switches supplied by four different overseas suppliers, every single one leaked. That is exactly why we test parts before trusting them on customer vehicles.

OEM Air Suspension Repairs

We can also repair some original equipment air suspension systems, including certain Audi, Bentley, Range Rover, Mercedes, VW and similar factory air suspension vehicles.

However, we are very careful about the parts we use. In our experience, many low-cost aftermarket replacement parts for high-end OEM air suspension systems are simply not good enough, so we generally only use original manufacturer parts where quality and reliability matter.

We also do not convert factory air suspension vehicles to coil springs. Air suspension is fitted to many vehicles for very good reasons, including ride quality, load control, levelling and vehicle design. Our view is simple: if the vehicle was designed to use air suspension, the right repair is normally to repair the air suspension properly, not remove it. Coil it and Spoil it is a true maxim here.

A Small Specialist Company With a Very Large Range

AirRide is a small, family-owned company, but our product range and experience are unusually broad.

We combine our own manufactured systems with major specialist brands, international distribution arrangements and 25 years of air suspension knowledge.

Whether you need air suspension for a Fiat Ducato motorhome, a Ford Transit Custom, a VW Transporter, a Ford Ranger, a BMW, an Audi, a Mercedes, a Bentley, a classic car or a more unusual specialist vehicle, AirRide can usually supply and install a suitable system.

The addition of a new installer helps us continue to grow that service. More capacity means more vehicles completed, shorter waiting times where possible, and better support for customers who want air suspension fitted properly by people who work with it every day.