can I have airbags installed in my 93 toyota pickup?
You could but the cost to get a safe and serviceable air bag system would be costly. Too costly in my book. I think you would be far better off to sell your little truck and get a newer one that already equipped with airbags (driver and passenger). I would not want a set of airbags on my vehicle that could explode at a moments notice. Airbags that deploy while you’re moving at 60mph can save your life. Airbags that deploy while sitting still can kill you.
That would really be a waste of money. The installation would no doubt exceed the cost of the vehicle. If you really want air bags, sell the truck and buy a later model with air bags. That way you will get your money’s worth.
If the truck is in good condition, you should have no trouble selling it; the general public buying a used truck does not care whether it has air bags or not.
It would cost you more than the truck is worth for a proper system to be installed, much much more.
There is however a reatraint system you can install that would be safe and more affordable: a 5-point racing type seatbelt system (restraint harness). It’ll protect you far better than a traditional seatbelt would. I’ve attached a link for you.
Not only would the parts and labor cost more (probably FAR more) than the truck is worth, there would be no assurance whatsoever that the airbags would work properly in the event of a crash. If the sensors are not placed and adjusted correctly, the airbags could deploy when hitting a big pothole in the road, or they may fail to deploy in the event of a collision.
When car manufacturers are developing a new model, they do test crashes of many prototypes in order to study the forces of impact on that particular structure. Then, after figuring out the correct placement of the sensors and the correct adjustment of the sensitivity settings for the airbag sensors on that particular model, they perform crash tests on many more vehicles before they are satisfied that the bags are correctly positioned so as to not injure passengers, and to determine if the sensitivity settings need to be further “tweaked”.
As an example of how complex this science is, when airbags were first introduced, Jeep Grand Cherokees had the nasty habit of deploying their airbags if a wheel hit a curb with “just enough” force. No crash–just a curb hit.
In other words, it is not like installing an aftermarket radio in a vehicle, but rather is a costly, time-consuming, very expensive process that manufacturers go through in order to fit a particular model with properly functioning airbags. And, even after extensive design and testing phases, it is still possible for a mistake to have been made by the manufacturer, despite all of their engineering expertise.
I suppose that you could do what is necessary to properly install airbags in this old truck, as long as your budget is big enough. Hmmmm…let’s see…the purchase of 8-10 identical '93 Toyota pickups, hiring a consulting automotive engineer, hiring an expert mechanic, renting an automotive test facility for a few weeks, purchase of all necessary components for all of the test/crash vehicles, as well as for the finished product, designing and building a new dashboard to contain the airbags. I think that your idea is doable, given a budget of…something over $400,000.
I suggest that you simply buy a new truck.
Ok, I get it. I was going to buy a newer model of the same truck, but they all ride so much worse than my current one - I cant stand to spend the money on a more uncomfortable version of the same truck that gets worse gas mileage!
Anyone have any ideas for equivalent vehicles with similar hauling space, comfort, and gas mileage?
Or maybe airbags are not really that important - I havent had a car yet with them!
Maybe the problem is not that the newer trucks ride so much worse as it is that you have likely become acclimated to a cushier ride from aged and worn out shocks.
simply put, NO. airbags are complete systems that must be engineered for the vehicle. Creating your own system will most likely result in Death!!
If the job was not filled will potential problems for me, I would have no trouble taking your money, it is my obligation to relieve such customers of as much as their money as possible, believe me there are business men that think just like this.