Anyone using AIMs 7" Touch Screen Air Ride controller?

[bagged72blaz]

Just curious to how this product works, and how you like it. Thinking of getting it. Any reviews? I figured I'd change the topic. I'm seriously considering one of these.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/Detail....00/product.htm

http://www.airride.com/productinfo/rideproe.asp

http://www.airbagit.com/pp_touchscreen.htm

[N2TRUX]

I think you will find that most people will suggest that you avoid AIM and any of their other companies. You might get lucky and not have problems with their product, but there is a high probability they will screw you some how....

[Shev]

LMFAO...I feel the same way N2...

[ZZ4Blazer]

Stay away from any AIM company.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by bagged72blaz

.... I figured I'd change the topic. I'm seriously considering one of these......confused:

Good idea. I can tell you that anything I have every purchaased from Air Ride Technologies has been an excellent product. There is no doubt they are expensive, but the quality is first class along with the customer service.

I haven't added the Ride Pro "E" to my system yet, but I plan to in the future. It is a plug and play system designed to be an add on to any of the "Ride Pro" kits.....

[GreyHoundSteve]

I'm new to trucks and have heard all the aim horror stories so i have not been willing to take any risks with them on any major parts but i needed a tailgate handle relocate kit and everyone was charging $90 for these and aim had them for $37 so i ordered one. The next day i got a confirmation that my item had been shipped and the ups tracking #. I just ordered it yesturday so i havent recieved it yet but i will report back on how my experince with aim went. I must admit that so far i have found that thier website and order taking methods are superior to any of the board vendors i have delt with. I have ordered parts from almost everyone of the vendors here and havent found any of their websites to be as well laid out or as responsive in the shipping confirmation dept. Im not saying that it is a big deal but i feel its worth noting. Now if the handle kit is a useless POS then i'll know to avoid aim in the future but if it fits like it should then i might order more stuff from them in the future.

I doubt that aim actually makes that product you have pictured there. Im sure they buy those from some company and i would research that company to see if they are qualified to make such a product. Looking at aims website i must admit that i was impressed. Im not saying im ready to buy suspension parts from them yet but on this small ticket item it seemed worth the risk.

I know aim has a bad rep and they probably deserve it but imo thats just the nature of business. No one goes to walmart for their excellent customer service ..... they go for the prices and selection. In order to service so many customers and give them rock bottom prices compromises have to be made and sometimes customer service and product quality suffer as a result. (if you dont believe me go to best buy and pick up one of those $19 dvd players and tell me how the product quality is? Does that mean that everything best buy caries is crap too?) There is a point where the trade off is not worth it but i am certain that aim could not stay in business if they didnt get it right some of the time because no one gets on message board and boldly types " THEY GOT MY ORDER RIGHT!" but they will get on the board and proclaim when it is wrong so depite the relatively high number of reported problems with aim ...... they must get enough right to stay in business and be as big as they are. Im sure if you did a message board search on walmart you would find that 90% of people who say anything about them its NOT good but does that mean that none of us should ever shop there?

Just something to think about.

[Izzy]

I installed a RideProE and it was cake to install. You have to program the key fobs but all in all it was easy. The only problem I saw was the wires in the harness vs the wires on the schematic are different colors so we had to test each valve dump and fill.

FYI www.customclassic.com has relocators at a very reasonable price and has great service.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by GreyHoundSteve

......I know aim has a bad rep and they probably deserve it but imo thats just the nature of business.......

I have to disagree. AIM has a terrible rep and they deserve every bit of it. Poor customer service, excessive shipping charges, and p!ss poor fitting items are not "the nature of business". At least not the nature of any business I want to promote.

AIM offers low prices but they screw you on shipping to make up the difference. Many times there is a fitment problem that has to be addressed. If they screw up and send the wrong part you have to pay shipping to return it (good luck getting a credit) then pay shipping again to get the correct part.

I could go on for hours, but I won't. If you choose to support Joe Marrow(not his real name) and his scamster business, please do. I refuse to support anyone that makes it part of their policy to screw the customer.....

[GreyHoundSteve]

N2trux, i agree with you. I personally would rather pay more for a good product and good service but often times your simply just paying MORE. Case in point; i have prdered parts from about 6 of the vendors on this site and only recieved a confrimation email from 2 of them. 2 of them have also sold me parts they didnt have in stock and offered me no resolution except "sorry it took us a couple of days to realize this but sorry". Thats not the kind of customer service i paid extra for. Does aim imflate their shipping? Yes, a tailgate handle cost me $13 dollars to ship but i still got it for $50 which is $40 less than any other vendor is selling them for. Aim isnt the only company that infates there shipping either, i ordered wheather stripping from a vendor here and they charged me $42 for shipping. Your telling me thats not inflated as well?

The quote you used from me was just to illustrate that there are two types of businesses, those who like air ride who offer great products, okay service and ridiculous prices and those like aim who offer the best prices and sub par service and questionable quality. THAT IS BUSINESS! If you can offer perfect service, the best product and at a lower price than anyone else then youve done something that NO ONE else has.

Also, i think there are more than a few members here that can contest that just because you paid allot for something doesnt mean it will fit perfectly.

I'm not saying that aim is a good company but by the same token im not saying they dont have a place in the market because they do. Not everyone has $5k to drop on an air ride sticker and judging by the amount of time some of these trucks spend on the road i would dare to say as long as it can handle 500 miles a year its handleing the work load of alot of the trucks on this board. That said i would rather spend more on such an important part of the truck but on a tailgate handle ..... i'll take my chances. Who knows, i might be back here in a week complaining about how aim screwed me out of $50.

[bagged72blaz]

So know one has used Digital Dakota or the Touch screen from Chassistech? I really like the screen functions and the fact that it can double as a DVD player/playstation. As far as Aim I don't care about there rep, I just want to know how well this Chassistech product works. Aim just carries this product they don't make it. I'll buy it direct if I can.

[GreyHoundSteve]

Originally Posted by bagged72blaz

So know one has used Digital Dakota or the Touch screen from Chassistech? I really like the screen functions and the fact that it can double as a DVD player/playstation. As far as Aim I don't care about there rep, I just want to know how well this Chassistech product works. Aim just carries this product they don't make it. I'll buy it direct if I can.

Chassistech is aim and i doubt they make that product themselves.

[Shev]

Another not so well known option is AccuAir Check them out, their demo vehicle is pretty cool...

[fastbagged68]

AccuAir is way better then Air Rides E Kit. Accu Air is supoose to come out with a cheaper system for the sport truckers soon. I know these guys personally and they make the best system out there. I have installed 5 of these and every customer calls to thank us for turning them on to it. They have changed out many Ride Pro E systems for customers. **** Air ride was going to buy them.

[Tx Firefighter]

Greyhoundsteve, I wish you luck with your AIM business.

I remember them way back in the 80's. They were Ratical Tops, then Hot Tops, then about 5 others before they became AIM. They have literally changed their name a 1/2 dozen times since I first saw their ads in Mini-Truckin back when I was in High School (1987 to 1991).

My experience with them mirrors what N2TRUX has had.

[bagged72blaz]

That Accu air system is 1500 way out of my range. 600.00 or 700.oo max for me. My question is how fast do these system react to psi/ high change like if you were going around a long hard corner would it adjust PSI? On the system that monitored psi it would be bad, say right hand corner the system would sense a presure increase in left bags and lower psi further dropping that side bad. if it was a level sensing unit like accu airs than it would be ok. Any input?

[pbmcauliffe]

I have installed a few of the Dakota Digital ARC1004 controllers and like them a lot. You have four user set buttons, returns to previous setting on start, as well as a timed bag dump and manual control. On test drives I have noticed the system trying to correct itself on long hard corners, but once you get to a preset setting, you can then switch to manual so it doesn't correct itself, or you can change the monitoring time so it doesn't seem noticeable.
It runs twice as much as the Ride ProE system, but does alot more than just raise on start and manual control.
Airlift Co. showed a new system @ Sema that performs the features of the DD ARC1004 and more, it should be shipping at the beginning of the year and at a very competitive price.

[bagged72blaz]

Ok that makes sense being able to change the time it monitors. About how long does the system normally take to monitor settings?

[pbmcauliffe]

One adjustment is a percent of variation from a stabilized setting (5%-19%) and second is a time delay (16-46 seconds) for adjustments when the variation seems to be from braking or cornering. You can read more about it on their website in the manual.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by GreyHoundSteve

.. ..... i'll take my chances. Who knows, i might be back here in a week complaining about how aim screwed me out of $50.

I feel confident if you continue to take your chances with AIM it's only a matter of time before you get burned.

Please don't take offense to my previous response. I realize that "you" are aware of the risks you take and are willing to take them. I just wanted to make it clear to bagged72blaz that there were severe risks involved in dealing with AIM, Chassis Tech, and any of the many other AIM companies.

I agree with you about lack of service being an issue regardless of the size of the company. I became a aware of that myself with a large purchase from Summit Racing this week. The difference between a good company and a bad one is determined by how they handle their mistakes. In this case Summit instantly responded to my concerns and compensated me for the inconvience. I can assure you that would not have been the case had I been dealing with AIM.....

[Shev]

Please don't take offense to this...if you choose to deal with AIM (Chassis Tech or one of the hundred other names they do business as) don't post your whines here...you have been warned (by "friends" in the trucking world)...I am sorry if this seems harsh. All I know is there is businesses like Suicidedoors that have a no ask no tell return policy...send your **** back rusted, it don't matter...I, along with fellas like N2, have been around this airbag stuff alot longer than others, the words of wisdom we speak come from experience. If you want to take the chance...feel free to...maybe you'll get lucky and get the parts you ordered and they'll work...maybe you won't...

[GreyHoundSteve]

I dont want you guys to think that i dont agree with you because I DO. AIM is not a company i would want to throw alot of money at for important parts however alot of the things they carry on their website are the same products carried on others and chances are aim has them cheaper so yeah im sure returning things would be a pain but in some situations i think its worth the risk. The only reason i brought this up in the first place was because the OP was asking about their 7" touch screen and after reading a little bit about it I have to admit that it seems like an impressive product. Now im not saying that its better or worse than the others mentioned but you have to admit that if ANYONE else was selling these things everyone would be all over them because of the price ...... you cant beat them. IMO air rides system looks to be 5 years behind the times and is only slightly cheaper. Dakota digitals seems very nice but lets face it ..... only dakota digital can make air ride seem like they have good prices. The aim product is impressive (assuming it works). I dont know who makes it and before i shelled out $650 i would be sure to find out more about the manufacturer and their reputation and return policy but if that all seemed kosher then who cares if you have to buy it from aim? Like i said before .... aim is the walmart of the trucking world .... they offer rock bottom prices with poor customer service and questionable quality, its up to the consumer to decide which items are smart to buy and save some $ on and which items to stay away from ...... same as walmart. I will go to walmart and buy christmas decorations and even groceries on occasion but i would NOT buy their electronics, watches or clothing ..... because imo its junk. Now my sister LOVES walmart. She does ALL her shopping there and thats why she is on her 3rd dvd player in a year but at $20 a peice what can you expect? Aim is the same, if you think your going to get the same service or quality you would from someone selling the same thing for twice the price then your not being realistic and its your own fault but if you can find a product sold by aim thats made by a reputable manufacturer and get it at half the price of what other retailers are selling it for then it only seems logical to save the money and go with aim. Now that said when walmart first started the oil change centers they were changing oil for $14.99 while everyone else was charging $29.99 so i took my car there and had such a bad experience that i will NEVER deal with walmarts service center again regardless of the savings. I know many of you that have been burned by aim probably feel the same way and its understandable but it still doesnt mean that on some things there not worth dealing with. For all i know walmart service has corrected their problems and are now doing good work but they screwed me over so bad that i dont care and i understand why many of you feel the same way about aim ..... im sure i will too if they screw me.

My point is simply this. If you go to McDonlads and get a bad peice of chicken then yeah it sucks but are you really suprised? Now if you go out for a $50 steak and its tough and no good then your REALLY steaming because you shelled out big $ for a quality item and you got screwed. Im sure we have all been though that and all im saying is that with aim .... buy with caution fo sure but dont put faith in the fact that just because its more expensive that it is better because that is not always the case and nothings worse than getting screwed when you paid top dollar.

Another example is that a year ago i was in the market for a new TV. I had my eye on a mitsubishi but the sales guy talked me into the Pioneer elite. I checked all the #'s on it and sure enough ..... it was the best out there but at almost twice what i wanted to spend. I bought it anyway because i was sure that it would out perform and out live the mitsubishi. 14 months later i had to replace the main convergence board and the service guy kept telling me that "pioneer makes a good tv and i almost never have to service them" As if that was any compensation for dropping $750 on a repair on what was suposed to be the absolute best out there. I told my wife right then that it was the last time i bought the best anything because like with anything else ... just because its suposed to be the best doesnt mean you wont get screwed on it and nothing hurts more than getting screwed on something when you paid for the best.
A new range rover sells for about 80K and a new tahoe sell for about half that but if you think the rover is going to have less problems then your in for a big suprise. All im saying is that more expensive isnt always better quality.