One of the earliest air suspensions was built in the 1800’s. It was made up of goat skin bags with flapper valves. The valve would let air into the bag when the vehicle bounced in one direction and trap air in the bag when the axle tried to move in the opposite direction. This action provided a supply of air to the bag when the vehicle bounced up and cushioned the impact of the bump when the vehicle came back down. That application was for rail train passenger cars. Even then, air was recognized as vastly improving ride quality for vehicles, passengers and cargo.

Until the early 70’s air suspensions were generally only applied to special vehicles requiring extra care for cargo, special axle to axle load distribution and liftable axles for heavy dump trucks. At that time, approximately only 3% of all of the vehicles on the highway were equipped with air suspensions. The cost and maintenance requirements restricted the use of air suspensions for many years.

During the 70’s and 80’s, technology and the understanding of air suspensions improved greatly. Suspensions that previously required maintenance every 30 days were improved to require visual inspection only and were designed to last many years and thousands of miles without requiring any hands on maintenance at all. From then until now, usage of air suspensions has increased on class 8 trucks and trailers to about 85% and 65% respectively. The use of air on passenger automobiles and on - off highway sports vehicles has also increased dramatically during this time period.

Although the cost of an air suspension is still higher than steel or rubber suspensions, the value of the air suspension is recognized to provide an excellent return on investment. This value comes in the form of longer trailer life, decreased damage to equipment and cargo, and improved ride conditions provided for animals and the person towing the trailer. Bolts, rivets, welds, aluminum trailer skins, and lighting connections all benefit from the softer air ride. Air also provides a constant ride height along with a level floor no matter how the load is distributed. In most cases, an air suspended trailer will have an increased value over spring or rubber sprung trailers at trade in time.