Forum Discussion

fjrjohnny's avatar
fjrjohnny
Explorer
May 08, 2013

Use of air bags

I have a F350 with the truck camper certification. Prior to purchasing a used Lance 915, I installed an air bag kit, thinking that it would be needed.

When the TC was installed for the first time, the truck's over-ride leaf springs didn't touch the bracket on the frame, but did come within an inch or so. The salesman commented that the air bags weren't needed for this particular set-up, but added some air to them anyway. I think that he was trying make me feel good about installing them!

Since that time, I have always added 30 pounds or so of air in the bags because the instructions indicate that the must be a minimum amount of air in them.

When driving down the road, I find that the truck tends to rock back and forth a bit. I was wondering if I would be better off allowing the truck to ride on its own suspension (leaf springs) rather that's assisting with the air bags.

Any suggestions or experience with this condition?

Thanks!

23 Replies

  • stable loads in place of the stock overload spacers should solve your issue and bring the overload springs back into play
  • I installed the bags myself, and put separate valves on each side. I am considering the addition of a truck mounted air compressor. This would certainly make trying different pressures much easier.
  • I had airbags on out 2001 F-350 hauling a 4k lb camper and I liked them. I generally ran about 90 psig as I recall.

    On your rig, you need to test it at different airbag pressures to see what works best. Start out at a high pressure, drive it around some, let 10 psig out and test again. You may find that you cannot run them at zero pressure with the camper in the bed because the upper and lower airbag bracket may come into contact with each other.

    Did the dealer install the airbags with seperate air fittings?

    Ultimately any srw truck is going to rock around some with a large high CG load in the bed. You do what you can to reduce it to a minimum, but there will always be some.

    Good Luck,
    Brad