Staggered Air Bag PSI's???
 

Do you guys with bags ever run staggered pressures to level the truck from side to side??

95% of the time, I only use my bags with my trailer, so I pump them up evenly to the psi that does the job. Most bed loads I don't even worry about it.

Well, headed on a 700 mile road trip with a bed full of crap, so I decided to check it and use my bags. I took measurents pre-load then loaded up. Post load, it took 17psi in the left and 28 psi in the right to return the truck to pre-load measurements. No effect on ride or handling and you can't feel the difference at all.

Just curiou more than anything if you guys do this or run into this??

I thought about doing this since my '09 rides 1/2" lower on the drivers side due to the gas tank and transfer case. I decided not to do this because it will put torque on my frame, which perhaps would cause issues in the long run.

When I had them I'd always try to keep them equal.....

I highly doubt the differnce will place any type of torque on the frame.

I always thought with my small bed, the balance from side to side would be hard to be off balance by much unless it was a significant load on one side, but I guess not. I'm estimating my total load is around 300 lbs or so. Yes, not enough to "need" air in the bags; just felt like leveling her out for playing purposes. If I ran equal pressure in both bags, I ran the right back to normal height, but the right stayed lower. Already forgot by how much.

Interesting point 2009KR...my truck sits a 1/4 higher on the drivers side with a full tank of gas. Didn't compare to front measurements though.

You definitely want to be level side to side if possible. There are even ride height sensors available for air ride that auto level constantly. Any time the load is increased or decreased the proper pressure is supplied to the proper bag so the vehicle rides level at all times. This keeps from having uneven tire wear, prevents added stress, and improves handling.

My helper bags are hooked up to a tank/compressor/switch but unfortunately I only have one switch that controls both fill and dump of both bags simultaneously so I can't control the bags individually. When I switch to full air ride I will be running Accuair's E-level system so I can control each bag individually, have preset heights, and will always be level.

Oh heck yea...I've seen the auto level systems. I'd LOVE to add that with a compressor and a 2 to 3 gallon tank with some remote air hose connections.

I don't really think it will cause an issue, but, over time, it might. In order to lift the entire drivers's side of the truck up 1/2" with the air spring only pushing on the back corner, it will put a torque (specifically a twisting force) on the frame. I suspect that I would have to have the bag push at least 500 lbs to raise the entire side of the truck 1/2". Recognizing that the frame is really strong, I don't think this will cause an issue, but wouldn't bet on it.

It is quite common to need different psi's in each bag. This is particularly the case for guys who run slide in campers, or any situation where you have an uneven load. It is also common for some people pulling 5th wheel trailers.

I would have more concern if you were running more than just 11 psi difference. If you needed to run 100 psi on the drivers side and 17 psi on the passengers side I would begin to think you have some issues that need addressed.

As Milt IV mentioned there are products designed specifically to independently control each air bag and level the truck automatically. We also offer auto-leveling controllers, SmartAir. We offer a dual and single option for people just running rear bags and those running bags on all four corners.

Is there a more technically correct way to level the truck between these two methods; A) add a lot of air to an unloaded truck and let air out to level, or B) load up the truck then add the desired amount of air??

I did some playing around with filling my bags differently on my return trip and had different results. I ask also because I just remembered I had a load of top soil a few months back in which I forgot to add air before going to the yard to get the dirt. I added the load, then added the air. It was a heavy load. I pumped up the psi to around 90 and the truck never moved. The bags wouldn't lift that load any amount. But I was thinking had I added the air to begin with, it would have supported it, thus my above question if it makes a difference?

My recent trip wasn't heavy enough to try that experiment again, but just reminded me of it.

Sorry for the delayed response for some reason the thread notification just popped up this morning.

You can add the air before or after the load. Typically it is done after the load simply so you can see how much air is actually needed.

The problem with adding the air first is you will have a terribly stiff ride on your way to get the soil.

If you put in 90 psi and it didn't lift at all, then you were probably way overloaded. The 90 psi would have lifted your truck quite a bit without the load but would have squatted just the same once you added the soil.

eehhhhhhaaa...I hate to disagree with you given your background, but I have to respectfully disagree the rear would have squatted that far with that load had I started with air in the bags. Yes, you are absolutely correct about the load being too big; but I knew it going in and only had a couple miles at slow speed to go on country back roads. Anyways, it made me wonder. For a normal load, I think I agree it wouldn't matter.

In some way you are both right... but you are thinking wrong.

If you have 90 PSI in the bags it wouldn't matter whether you put it in before or after you loaded the truck.

BUT - if you put 90 PSI in the bags, and then increase the load in the truck substantially, then the pressure will be higher than 90 PSI due to the compression of the air bag.
(I think... how much side expansion is allowed in the air bag?)

So one question for our sponsor - how does the air bag handle this? Is there a valve that releases extra pressure if it exceeds 100 PSI? Or would this be a potential failure of the air bag due to overpressure?


(sorry to resurrect an old thread... I'm doing some research!)