Air Bag Question

For camper / trailer towing do you guys air up your "Firestone Type" air bags before or after putting load on/in truck? I have been doing after but someone told me that is incorrect.

 

I think it depends on what,.specifically, you are asking.

If for normal use (anything adding weight without use of a WDH), it would make sense to have them inflated before so they are helping carry load straight away.

If for towing, and assuming your WDH is all set up for whatever pressure you run, Id do it after connecting the WDH so you aren't having to fight the extra unloaded height during engagement. The order doesn't really matter, though, since they are just helpers with the WDH doing most of the work.

*** For a WDH, the most important thing is to know your pressure and set up the WDH at that height/configuration. Over or under inflating the bags will directly impact the distribution of the hitch ***

 

For our style with leaf springs, just air up after to get the height back.

in the past I had the airbags that go inside coil springs (on a 4Runner). They recommended airing up before the load, probably as there was more of a chance they would get pinched.

 

Towing 20' small camper that does not seen to require a WDH as it towed rather well on the highway. Added a Sway Control and Air Bags to try and control things a bit as the wife gets Motion Sickness easily.

 

Read the manual and get a tongue weight. You may be good, you may be surprised. The porpoising is a sign you could use one, but the numbers always tell the truth.

Regardless, as stated previously, if you aren't using a WDH, I'd inflate before.

 

Thanks

 

I have firestone bags on my 19 to tow my 20' trailer and truck around. I air them up before I load because its easier to get the truck closer to the garage without the trailer on it (no built in pump). I like to air them up first, as installing the airbag required removing the bumpstops and I *feel* better having air in them before I load them up.



The tongue weight scales are also great. Not too expensive and provides a great piece of mind. https://irate4x4.com/threads/tongue-weight-scale.397413/

 

I do both, mainly based on when I remember to do so. I recall reading somewhere that airing them up first, and then deflating them to desired ride height/quality is the correct way to do it, but can provide no documentation for that.

 

I always did mine after adding the weight, to get back to the desired height.

 

Well just went on a camping trip with my 1/4 ton SR5. Air bags at 40 psi with sway bar only towing around 4K. Very nice and NO need for a WDH!

 

I'm genuinely curious, if there's no need for a WDH why would it need airbags?

If it's working well for you that's awesome, this just seems kinda backwards to me.

When I got my trailer (similar size but a little heavier) the first couple of trips were sans WDH and had a lot of porpoising &/or conflicting bounce between truck & trailer. Added the Andersen WDH and what was two separate objects hooked together now felt more like one cohesive unit.

 

Simple. Air Bags were added just to keep things level and reduce bounce on a single axle RV, no other reason. Wife happy and that's all that counts. Worked perfectly for me and I do not have your rear end dip..

 

This was a previous iteration of camper, but towing an old Merc from Billings to Flagstaff had no issues. Bags were at 35-40 most of the time, depending on temps, and it was a nice stable tow.

And then towing the 40 for a few hundred miles:

 

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

Hey I'm 62, of course I have a little rear end dip.

Ohhh, you meant the 1st gen pic huh? Yeah that was before deciding I needed the WDH.

Glad you guys enjoyed your camping trip, where'd ya' go?

 

500 mile trip. Air bags, sway bar and NO WDH. Was passed by and went by tractor trailers at 50-75 mph. No issues.