News Releases

February 2003

Bill's pigs don't fly, but his airbag-equipped XR6 sure does fly through tough tasks

Bert Clement has been working as a general farmer and raising pigs for the past quarter of a century and there is not much he doesn't know about the rigours of working on the land.

Situated near the small town of Vacy, about 30 kms north-west of Maitland in the Hunter Valley, Clement is by his own account a man who can do 'just about anything.'

Part of his farming activities includes the moving of feed and equipment all over his 130-acre property.

This includes moving feed, posts, soil, agricultural piping, trees, machinery and feed storage bins to and from his olive groves to the piggery on his land. For this of course, Clement requires a reliable and sturdy work vehicle to help him in his day-to-day activities on the farm.

In 2001, Clement purchased a brand new Ford XR6 utility vehicle for just this purpose. Unfortunately for Clement, he soon found that the XR6, whilst a fine and competent vehicle, was no match for this exacting and punishing regime. In fact, says Clement 'I nearly got rid of the Ute after 1 month.' But fortunately for Clement help was at hand in the form of Firestone s Ride-Rite helper air spring suspension system.

The Ride-Rite system, supplied by Hunter Valley truck and trailer engineering specialist Noal Steele of Town and Country Truck Service Centre, is distributed nationally by Airbag Man in association with Firestone industrial product supplier Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd.

The reason for his troubles says Clement was that, even though his vehicle has a 1 tonne load rating, it did encounter problems with loads of many different types distributed in different ways across the tray. This is the problem that Bert Clement faced and it was with this in mind when he decided to install the Airbag system.

After installing the Firestone manufactured system, Clement is delighted with the results and uses every opportunity to extol the virtues of the Airbags. 'They far exceeded my expectations,' he says.

'Without the Airbags, I couldn't use the XR6 for what I intended it for', he says. Clement not only uses the Ute to haul feed and heavy posts from one part of his farm to another, but also to haul livestock from one paddock to another. This he says was 'impossible' before the installation of the airbag system on his XR6.

Going further, he says that the Airbags also allow him to fill up his tray as well as connect a trailer to the Ute without loosing stability and maintaining its superior handling characteristics. Before the Airbags, says Clement, 'If I'd fill the back with feed or manure, the lights would literally be pointing up into the sky. Now, I don't have that problem anymore, thanks to this system.'

What is surprising is that the airbags not only allow Clement to do his job but that only a small amount of air is required to achieve this. 'I only fill the Airbags to 20psi and they work great', he says.

Used internationally on utility trucks, buses, concrete mixers, dump trucks, refuse compactors and trucks equipped with lift axles, the tough fabric-reinforced air springs used in the Ride-Rite system are identical in construction to the springs used in the most advanced pure air suspensions fitted in vehicles in Australia.

What's more, says Clement, the fitting of the Airbags took only 1 hour and they were installed without any problems whatsoever. 'They went straight on without a hitch', he says.

Although Clement is the first in the Vacy area to have the Airbag system installed on his vehicle he says he is sure they would be perfect for many other farmers as well. 'I'd recommend them to anyone', he says.

He says he has tried other methods of increasing the usefulness of his Ute, including other suspension systems, but at the end of the day 'The Airbag system was the only one that worked like it was supposed to. Not only am I able to fill my tray up with all sorts of loads and tow a trailer at the same time, but the handling of the Ute has also improved dramatically.'

'I'd have no hesitation to telling anyone who is in the hauling business to install Airbags, he says, adding that 'I'm so happy with the Airbags, I will install them on my next vehicle as well.'

Airbag Man says the Ride-Rite system (complemented by the Loadshare system for heavier trucks) is designed to fit many of the world's leading work and off-road vehicles, including light, medium and heavy versions of the most popular models.