Neweby to Airbags, Leveling Help when Towing

[EddieK82]

I had loadlifter 5000's put on my truck and the man said he adjusted them to 10psi when not towing. From what I've read, in order to get the truck back to level when towing, I would measure the distance from the wheel to the well, then pump the airbags up so that it's the same when towing.

I'm on a slight incline in my driveway, attached the trailer and got to pumping and it took 80PSI to level the truck back to 12" like it was before I put the 5er on. The truck was at a little over 10" after sag before pumping. After getting back to level on the truck, I google to make sure I was correct how I did it and some people talk about the 5er being off level when you pump the truck back up to height.

Somebody who knows more than me, could you please give me an idea of the procedures for this so I'm safe going down the road? We leave tomorrow for Chesepeake Bay RV resort and this will be our test run before Orlando in 3 weeks.

[JeffD68]

I believe you're overthinking this. Leave the 10 psi in the bags and move the trailer to level ground. Increase the pressure in the bags until the truck appears to be level. Then take it for a drive and see how it feels. If it rides nice, you're done. If your truck suspension is stock, you definitely don't need the rear of the truck to return to it's unloaded height. It is designed to squat to level when under load. That's why your truck sits three inches higher in the rear.

For my setup, the magic number is 60 psi. Because I installed a 2 1/2" leveling kit on my truck, that 60 psi does take my truck back to it's unloaded height. When adjusted, my truck is very close to level, as is my trailer.

[Hoopy Frood]

The above is excellent advice, and almost exactly what I do. Take it to a level spot and eyeball it. Or if you're really picky, you can measure the rear and front ends of the trailer and compare
the numbers. I just eyeball mine, and it takes about 50 psi to level mine out. JMO. but 80 psi seems a bit high.

Come back and let us know what pressure you finally decided worked best.

[Summit1]

Much will depend upon the specific air bags being used and the specific tow vehicle. Just today, after inflating the AirLift 7500's to 40 psi and having mixed results, I decided to increase the pressures to 50 psi and noticed a better ride. Without getting into the details of how the rear suspension affects to front suspension and alignment, I will state that the ride is much better. The truck "appears" more level, and I am within an inch of the unladen measured height. I may try 60 psi at some point, but 50 psi seems pretty close. Keep in mind that the pressures I posted are when the truck is "loaded" (i.e., 5th Wheel hitched and ready to roll). Also some air bags do not require (for example) 10 psi when unladen as they have built in jounce bumpers. Just the same, I run 5-6 psi in mine when not towing for a bit of extra smoothness and stability.

[trailrydr]

i have the Loadlifter 5000's on my truck. My 5er only requires about 15#'s to level the truck after connecting my trailer. Once disconnected, I only leave the Air Lift recommended 5 pounds in the bags and the truck sits fine at its normal height.

I do however have adjustable height bilsteins in the front of my truck set at a 1.5" for non load leveling to start with. Like mentioned earlier, be sure to park truck and trailer on level surface prior to adding air to the bags and leveling truck prior to towing.

[traveldawg]

I don’t try to get my truck level. I adjust the air pressure for a good ride. That can actually be anywhere from 5psi to 60psi. I usually start at 35 tp 45 psi and adjust from there.

I’ve learned that the higher the air pressure The more the truck seems to bounce. Bumps & pot hole & highway seams are handled very well. It’s the dips and “frost heaves” that screw up the ride. When I encounter that kind of road (which seems to more and more common) I lower the pressure. On a nice road at 60psinthe ride is rally nice and smooth.

I have Rancho 9000’s and I run them at their stiffest setting when towing.

Try some different settings and find the ride quality you like best and don’t worry about all the level-ness.