Smart hydraulic suspension

LiquidSpring installation

LiquidSpring replaces the steel springs and the shocks with a compressible fluid that does both jobs in one strut, and a controller that changes how stiff each corner is while you are driving on it. Empty, it stays soft. Loaded, it holds the truck level instead of squatting onto the rear axle. Turn hard or get on the brakes and it firms up before the body has finished leaning.

It goes on every truck we build, and it is the single biggest reason a MAV rides the way it does. We fit it across Ford F-250 through F-600 and RAM 4500 and 5500 cab chassis, in two and four inch lifts, front and rear — as part of a complete build, with the truck sourced, converted and road tested on our own floor.

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Rear axle of a MAV build with a LiquidSpring strut on each side Front LiquidSpring strut and boot alongside the brake caliper on a lifted Ford F-450

What it actually does

One strut, both jobs

  • Spring and damper in one unit. A compressible fluid provides both, so there is no steel spring and no separate shock
  • Set per wheel. Stiffness is controlled at each corner independently, and reset continuously as you drive
  • Levels to the load. Ride height stays where it was whether the truck is empty or hitched to something
  • Firms under load transfer. It stiffens through a corner and under braking to keep the body flat
  • Lift is part of it. Two or four inches, front and rear specified separately

We also fit the matching sway bar kit — the 1-1/2" Ford kit, or the heavy-duty RS4 rear bar on RAM.

What it takes to fit

Forty to fifty-six hours

This is the number nobody publishes, and it is the honest answer to why a conversion costs what it does. These are the hours we actually quote against, off our own build catalog.

16–20 hFront axle
24–34 hRear axle
2 hSway bar kit

A pickup rear at four inches is the long one at 34 hours; a cab chassis front is the short one at 16. That is most of a week of the build, before the wheels, brakes, bumpers or bodywork.

Hours are per axle for the install itself and exclude the alignment, which every truck gets afterwards. Quoted hours, not a guess — they come from the same catalog every MAV build is priced from.

What we fit it to

Ford and RAM, pickup and cab chassis

FORD PICKUP

F-250, F-350, F-450

Front and rear, two or four inch lift. The rear is the bigger job at 34 hours; the front runs 20.

FORD CAB CHASSIS

F-350, F-450, F-550, F-600

Front at two inches, rear at two or four. Front and rear are specified separately because what sits on the back changes the answer.

RAM CAB CHASSIS

RAM 4500, 5500

Front at two inches, rear at two or four, with the heavy-duty RS4 rear sway bar.

SWAY BAR

Fitted alongside

A 1-1/2" kit on Ford, the RS4 heavy-duty rear bar on RAM. Two hours, and it goes on with the rest.

Questions we get

LiquidSpring, answered

What is LiquidSpring suspension?

A suspension that replaces the steel springs and the shock absorbers with a compressible fluid doing both jobs in a single strut, controlled electronically. The controller varies stiffness at each wheel while the truck is moving, levels the truck to whatever load is on it, and firms up through corners and under braking.

Which trucks does it go on?

Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 pickups, Ford F-350 through F-600 cab chassis, and RAM 4500 and 5500 cab chassis. Two or four inches of lift, front and rear specified separately. It is fitted as part of a complete MAV build rather than on its own.

How long does the installation take?

Between 40 and 56 hours of shop time depending on the truck and the lift — 16 to 20 hours at the front, 24 to 34 at the rear, and two for the sway bar kit. A four-wheel alignment follows, and it is not optional.

Does it ride better than a lift kit with steel springs?

It does a different thing. A spring is one rate and it is the rate you chose; this changes rate continuously and per wheel, which is why an empty truck is not harsh and a loaded one does not sag. It is also why the truck does not ride differently the day you hitch a trailer to it.

Do I need the sway bar kit as well?

We fit it. It is two hours alongside a job already measured in days, and it is the cheapest part of keeping the body flat on a truck that now sits higher.

On every truck we build.

Sourced, converted and road tested in Escondido, California, on our own floor.

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