ajriding
Apr 18, 2019Explorer II
Leveling with air bags correctly
After reading forums I did what they said. I think all that I have read have been COMPLETELY wrong.
I don't mean to offend anyone, and I'm sure maybe this was mentioned already buried in long strings….
Your truck is meant to be loaded, and this is why the rear sits high when the bed is empty.
When you load your truck the rear (rear bumper) will drop lower, BUT ALSO the front will drop lower too since some of the weight is on the front also.
Some folks are all saying measure your rear bumper off the ground when unloaded and then to inflate the air bags so the height is back to that original measurement after you load the camper.
THIS IS SO WRONG.
DO NOT USE THIS METHOD.
This method actually made my front end caster out of whack and I was getting uneven tire wear.
As mentioned, the front of the truck most certainly sagged down from the weight of the truck camper, so lifting the rear back to the original measurement was not only wrong, but exacerbated the problem because the front had sagged a little so the truck angle was even more pointed down than it was unloaded.
First measure both the front and the rear to get a difference between the two.
Example, the front is 15 inches and the rear is 17. The difference between the two is 2. Don't worry about the total distance from the ground anymore, just this difference.
When you air back up you will be looking for a front to rear difference of 2. Your ground distance may or may not be the original 15 and 17, this is fine since there is weight on the truck - reason being that the front is lower. It could be 13 and 15 now instead of 15 and 17.
On top of this you may want the truck rear to sag a little bit since this is how the truck is intended to be when loaded. The manufacturer intended the truck to sit lower when loaded than when unloaded, how much I do not know.
Maybe the truck is not meant to sit at the same angle when loaded as it is when empty.
On mine if I have a 2 inch front to rear difference then when loaded I will make it a 1 inch difference instead.
There is no science to this, it is just a guess and I am sure well within parameters of the truck.
Side note: on TCs you should use the air bags that sit under the frame (on top of the leaf springs or inside the coil springs) and never the ones that sit/mount inside the frame rails. Adding spring support inside (closer to center) will make it more unstable since you are supporting the load closer to the center than it is when loaded on the stock springs.
The "inside the frame rails" bags typically use the bump stops as mounts. These are fine and dandy for towing where the extra weight is a trailer placed on a ball hitch in the center of the truck, but not for tall heavy loads in the bed.
I don't mean to offend anyone, and I'm sure maybe this was mentioned already buried in long strings….
Your truck is meant to be loaded, and this is why the rear sits high when the bed is empty.
When you load your truck the rear (rear bumper) will drop lower, BUT ALSO the front will drop lower too since some of the weight is on the front also.
Some folks are all saying measure your rear bumper off the ground when unloaded and then to inflate the air bags so the height is back to that original measurement after you load the camper.
THIS IS SO WRONG.
DO NOT USE THIS METHOD.
This method actually made my front end caster out of whack and I was getting uneven tire wear.
As mentioned, the front of the truck most certainly sagged down from the weight of the truck camper, so lifting the rear back to the original measurement was not only wrong, but exacerbated the problem because the front had sagged a little so the truck angle was even more pointed down than it was unloaded.
First measure both the front and the rear to get a difference between the two.
Example, the front is 15 inches and the rear is 17. The difference between the two is 2. Don't worry about the total distance from the ground anymore, just this difference.
When you air back up you will be looking for a front to rear difference of 2. Your ground distance may or may not be the original 15 and 17, this is fine since there is weight on the truck - reason being that the front is lower. It could be 13 and 15 now instead of 15 and 17.
On top of this you may want the truck rear to sag a little bit since this is how the truck is intended to be when loaded. The manufacturer intended the truck to sit lower when loaded than when unloaded, how much I do not know.
Maybe the truck is not meant to sit at the same angle when loaded as it is when empty.
On mine if I have a 2 inch front to rear difference then when loaded I will make it a 1 inch difference instead.
There is no science to this, it is just a guess and I am sure well within parameters of the truck.
Side note: on TCs you should use the air bags that sit under the frame (on top of the leaf springs or inside the coil springs) and never the ones that sit/mount inside the frame rails. Adding spring support inside (closer to center) will make it more unstable since you are supporting the load closer to the center than it is when loaded on the stock springs.
The "inside the frame rails" bags typically use the bump stops as mounts. These are fine and dandy for towing where the extra weight is a trailer placed on a ball hitch in the center of the truck, but not for tall heavy loads in the bed.