How many pounds in your air bags?

[NorthernNeck_VA]

How many pounds are people inflating their air bags up to prior to hooking up to your fifth wheel?

Just curious.

Thanks in advance.

[S_Davis]

lee worsdell wrote:
Now does every one have separate filling lines. I have one for both bags but a guy a rv place said you should have one for each bag. That way cornering ,going down mountains the air is equal in both bags and wont fill from one side to the other. Any one do this

I think for a fifth wheel or gooseneck it will work with one fill for both because the load is centered on the truck, if hauling an uneven load like a truck camper I would have one for each bag this way you can level side to side if you need to.

The other thing is don't fill your bags so much that you unload your springs too much, it will give you a squishy floating feel if the bags are carrying too much of the weight. I usually fill mine to just get off the overloads so when you hit a bump the overloads will still do their job.

[csamayfield55x]

lee worsdell wrote:
Now does every one have separate filling lines. I have one for both bags but a guy a rv place said you should have one for each bag. That way cornering ,going down mountains the air is equal in both bags and wont fill from one side to the other. Any one do this

If you have a single fill line you can push the air from one bag to the other if you go on a cant. My buddies cab over did this. He was in a horrible cross wind and it pushed the air from one to the other and shifted his camper over to the other side.

The optimum way is to have dual on board air fills so you can fill one or the other if you need to. I have this and LOVE IT!!!

As for tail high, you have to remember your truck is set up for no load, what I mean is headlight mostly. You want them where they point in a neutral position and most if not all are adjusted when not loaded so put your truck there with the airbags

Chris

[WeBeFulltimers]

I put 20 psi in mine before hooking and then it will show 38 psi. Just right for mine.

[hotpepperkid]

I put 35-40 in bags on the truck

[Cummins12V98]

Nice and level with Zero pounds!

[image]

No Bags needed! [emoticon]

That's exactly how my 98 looked with the 32.5' Avion hooked. You should have seen peoples look on their faces when I would load huge amounts of drywall or plywood and the truck would sit level. For sure a 3500 with a 2500 badge!!!

[Cummins12V98]

gwalter wrote:
I usually air mine up before hooking up. I set it at 35 lbs on the average, depending on what is added in the PU box for each trip.

I will bet thats a **** rough ride!

[Cummins12V98]

avvidclif1 wrote:
Just realize that the pressure goes up as the load is applied. Firestone says a min of 5 lbs so that's what is in mine. After hitching I air up to 35-40 to level things out.

Exactly, I would run my PacBrake bags 5psi solo and when hooked they would go up to 30psi. A bit of minor adjustment with the in cab controls equaled them out.

[lee_worsdell]

Now does every one have separate filling lines. I have one for both bags but a guy a rv place said you should have one for each bag. That way cornering ,going down mountains the air is equal in both bags and wont fill from one side to the other. Any one do this

[azjeffh]

csamayfield55 wrote:
Someone else said it before but I will say it again, Measure your rig at a point unhooked. Then hook up and put that point at the same place then take a look at your pressure. That is where your pressure should be!!

I believe I watched a video on YouTube that suggested the same.

However since most of the trucks I've seen are rear end high unloaded, wouldn't that just reduce the amount of clearance between the bed and 5er? In addition, aren't trucks supposed to squat when weight is added to the back?

I see no advantage to having the rear end high unless when connected you've removed weight off the front tires, or if your headlights are pointing to the sky 🙂

I fill my bags until being off the overload springs. While this has worked well so far, it may not be the correct application.

[csamayfield55x]

Someone else said it before but I will say it again, Measure your rig at a point unhooked. Then hook up and put that point at the same place then take a look at your pressure. That is where your pressure should be!! Everyone else's pressures don't mean squat (pun intended) to your setup. You need to get it right for your application.

Now, just for fun here is mine,,, With my old TT weighing at about 8500 loaded I put right at 30 PSI in the bags and if I had quads on a bit more. With my new 5er that weighs about 11K loaded I run 20 PSI. See what I mean about everyone's example will be different?? I changed my loading on my truck and needed less pressure

Chris

[goducks10]

Maybe he's reading the wrong scale. The Kpa scale of 90lbs = 13lbs on the PSI.

[rhagfo]

buckdaddy wrote:
You may think I'm way off but on my short bed Ram 2500 I fill my Airlift 5000 to 90psi. Why? I measure distance from top of my wheel well to ground before hooking up then after. It took that much air to keep from squatting. At that psi I have good control & no "light" feel to the steering wheel. Kinda scary if you come off an overpass then feel like there's no control at your steering wheel.

jcain wrote:
The right truck would mitigate the need for 90psi. That's ridiculous

X2 32' Prowler on a 2500 should not require 90# of ari, you have some serious issues!!

Do you have a clue as to your pin weight?

[jcain]

I run 5 empty and 18 loaded. I use airbags to achieve the ride I like not to supplement an underrated vehicle. I believe the trailer is in the 2800lb pin weight factory dry. It's 3500lb pin weight on a CAT scale.

[jcain]

The right truck would mitigate the need for 90psi. That's ridiculous