Yep me thinks air ride is no better than a van, but there is a perceived notion about air ride trailers in the trucking business.
I have a contract with a customer that ships a round trip load and they thought air ride was all-that and a bag of tater chips until there part came back broken twice in a row
I sold myself and my specialized equipment to this customer stating that I could move this item allot more efficiently and safely. Customer took a chance and rode along with me on my first trip (had to find a seat for the van at a junk yard as I did not have a passenger seat at that time, but it was worth it) My customer was surprised at how smooth my ride was a how cautious of a driver I was even in a high traffic and very aggressive driver area, he did comment that I drove to slow for him, but as long as I was on-time and the mold arrived undamaged he was fine with that.
I believe a van or sprinter with a progressive rate rear suspension system like mine has a lot smoother ride than a air ride trailer. With this system when you hit a pot hole the truck bounces instead of slamming like a 53' air ride trailer does with only 800# on the tail. Ever see or hear what a empty air ride trailer does when it hits a pot hole at 65mph??
