How many psi in air bags?

Stereo

Adventurer
I finally put my Skamper on my extended-cab Tacoma 4WD last night while being ravaged by mosquitoes - and too late for photos. I installed Firestone Ride-Rites but I'm unsure how to gauge how much air to put in each side. I haven't weighed everything yet but I won't be going over 1500 wet and hope it is hundreds less. Do I add just enough air 'till everything's level? Or more?

Thanks!
 

Jeff Wanamog

Off Road Camper Guy
The problem people have with air bags is when they are used to add ride height above normal. When I put my FWC on my Tacoma, I put around 40 lbs in. But what I do is measure side to side and use the bags to also compensate there too. But I have a spring pack with ten leaves. Most of the time I have seen people having problems with air bags is when they run 100 lbs. and could not run down the road with out the bags.

Hope this helps.
Jeff
 

bob91yj

Resident **************
I adjust mine to keep the spring packs just off the overload spring on my GMC HD. Overload spring designs vary so that may not be a good answer for your application. I have a 45 gallon fuel tank on the driver side of my rig and all of the appliances in my camper are on the driver side, so I generally have more air in the driver side bag than in the passenger side. Works for me, YMMV.
 

cnynrat

Expedition Leader
We have air bags on our F350 that's we use to carry our Bigfoot camper. A little different situation as we're talking about a 3000# camper, but we run about 70 psi in them, which puts us pretty level. We've had them for 10+ years with no trouble. Without the camper on we keep about 10-15 psi in them. I have read that running them with no/very low pressure can lead to early failure.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
I run 35# in my Carli Long Travel airbags. Just enough to level the load. Airbags elevate the load,nothing more. I'm installing a Hellwig swaybar next week to lessen the minimal roll I get from the Northstar. Thuren could tighten up the rebound on the Kings more,but that would kill the ride offroad and highway.
 

NothingClever

Explorer
FWIW, here's my experience on a recent trip.

'02 Tacoma ExtraCab 4x4: unboxed frame
FWC Fleet model: ~740 lbs unloaded, ~1,000 loaded
Bilstein 5100s
Alcan leaf pack (9 leaves): primary load bearing component of the suspension system
Ride-Rite airbags @ 50psi: load leveler and cornering stability

While at home driving around town on paved roads, the load (my camper) will ride fine at 30lbs or so. However, when I go touring (FS roads, greens and blues only), everything works better together with the bags at a higher PSI. If I go too low, I get excessive jounce on 1st gear roads and things are too mushy with a lot of body roll in 3d, 4th and 5th gear (high speeds) washboard roads.

Don't overlook the value of running your tire pressure lower than normal if you're going to be on a lot of dirt roads. I ran my E-rated tires at 26 lbs for 2 weeks. This gave me adequate traction on more technical blue trails, allowed me to maintain great traction at high speeds on dirt roads and allowed me to connect FS road sections with worry-free highway runs.

Best of luck...you'll figure out the right combination for your truck and system.
 

Stereo

Adventurer
Does psi in air bags or tires impact roll?

I took out the Skamper this weekend for it's maiden voyage (at least for me on my Tacoma). I didn't have a chance to read all your responses before I headed out so I watched the bed and put 35 psi in the bags. I figured my load was pretty even from one side to the other 'cause we weren't hauling water in the tank and my battery's on the passenger side.

We got on some bumpy forest roads and I found that the camper swayed side-to-side excessively - though I have nothing to compare it too because this is my first camper. I had to go really, really slowly or else I felt like I'd put too much pressure on my hold downs (though the Torklift Anchor Guards did great given the amount of roll). I would prefer to get bounce up and down rather than rolling side-to-side. Would the handling change with more or less air in the bags? NothingClever, by excessive "jounce" on 1st gear forest roads - like what we'll be doing - is that bumpiness, or rolling that was remedied by more air in the bags? Highway driving felt fine.

I also assumed - perhaps improperly - that I should air my tires to maximum (45 psi per the info on the tires) to help support the load. They're passenger rated, though the load rating exceeds my needs. I'll be changing them out to C- or D-rated when they're beyond they're usable tread life, probably by the end of the summer. Could the high psi have caused the rolling? NothingClever, I see you actually suggest dropping the pressure way down!

On the positive side, the way I ran the truck/camper yielded me 18.5 mpg which included a 5000 foot elevation gain, trolling back roads in 1st and 2nd, and the trip back down the mountains. Considering that's what I average with city driving, I was thrilled. However, I was disappointed the V6 couldn't take the steeper highway grades in 4th gear, but I'm no stranger to being a turtle on the hills having always had small, 4-cyl engines prior to this truck.
 

NothingClever

Explorer
We got on some bumpy forest roads and I found that the camper swayed side-to-side excessively - though I have nothing to compare it too because this is my first camper. I had to go really, really slowly or else I felt like I'd put too much pressure on my hold downs (though the Torklift Anchor Guards did great given the amount of roll).

You'll never solve all the undesired load movement of a camper in a small pick-up. Even if I boxed the rear of my frame, I'm still going to have some sway and rocking on bumpy roads. Bumpy roads to me means buried rock, loose rock, big ruts, etc (washboard roads are another category, IMO....I was actually drifting a la PPIHC over the past two weeks on places like Cottonwood Pass :bike_rider: ).

I'm glad I went with E-rated tires. Before I got my new leaf pack, all I had helping out were the 5100s and the air bags over the P265 tires (OEM). When I switched over to the E-rated tires, I IMMEDIATELY felt a HUGE difference in the handling of the truck (much more stability while cornering). The E-rated tires will allow you to drop your pressure and they'll smooth out the road quite a bit.

Would the handling change with more or less air in the bags?

Yes, it will change. You will get less side to side and up and down movement if the bags are NOT connected (separate bags with separate Schrader valves = best).

NothingClever, by excessive "jounce" on 1st gear forest roads - like what we'll be doing - is that bumpiness, or rolling that was remedied by more air in the bags?

Both. Your bed/load movement will quiet down quite a bit with more air.

Could the high psi have caused the rolling? NothingClever, I see you actually suggest dropping the pressure way down!

Yes, I think so...on higher pressure tires, the contours of the road will get transmitted more efficiently to the suspension, which, if mushy (technical term), will translate into undesired body movement. If you air down on sidewalls that can handle it (LT tires / E-rated sidewalls), the tire will conform to the contours of the road better and scrub off a lot of the undesired movement.

However, I was disappointed the V6 couldn't take the steeper highway grades in 4th gear, but I'm no stranger to being a turtle on the hills having always had small, 4-cyl engines prior to this truck.

Rather than succumb to KC's murmurings of a supercharger, I went with a 4.88 re-gear of my front and rear differential. I can scoot up any pass in Colorado without sending my tach needle over 4k RPMs. Yeah, I might have to switch to 3d gear but my engine's not straining at all.

Best of luck....keep tinkering, you'll get it dialed in.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Tires being the contact point between the truck and the ground,I'd err with the stronger tire considering the camper. Flat resistance will be enhanced and the thicker sidewalls enable better highway handling. You'll also be able to safely air them down with less fear of sidewall failure. A blowout is an irritation at the least and catastrophic at the worst.
 

Stereo

Adventurer
So much to learn.

I appreciate all the great information. I was on the verge of buying new tires (as discussed on another thread) but was then convinced to use what I had to finish out their life. Reading your feedback, coupled with my ride experience, is convincing me that I should get a new pair of D- or E-rated tires sooner rather than later.

I'll look into re-gearing, but for now, I'll just be a patient driver. I definitely won't consider turbocharging 'cause I'm a gas miser.

...drifting a la PPIHC...
What's that stand for (if you're permitted to say :sombrero:)? Any drifting on Cottonwood Pass sounds scary given the narrow, dirt road, hairpin turns, and lack of guard rails. :Wow1:

Now I need to learn how to use my clutch better so I don't burn it up when I'm having to go really slowly up steep rises on the bumpy backroads. I'm used to my prior vehicles stalling out when RPM's went close to idle, but my "new" V6 truck keeps running so I'm learning I can shift completely into 1st as I'm SLOWLY attacking a particularly bad patch on a steep grade of forest road. With my old small-engine, 4cyl vehicles, I could only sort of ease off the clutch as I tried to make a very controlled, slow acceleration on hills. I never smelled the clutch under those situations with my prior cars but I did with the truck this weekend. I looked like a total rookie even though I've been driving clutch for 30+ years - and having them last a LONG time. I only changed out my clutch once over 301k miles on my previous Toyota pu.
 

NothingClever

Explorer
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.....do a search on Google videos and behold the second oldest race in NA.

Regarding rocky roads, I've found the right technique FOR ME is to go ahead and shift into 4L where the road gets rough and then row around between 1st, 2nd and 3d gear. Although I had my truck re-geared, the advantage sought was more for 3d and 4th gear in 2H on paved mountain passes. Trying to take a camper up an unmaintained dirt mountain pass in 2H would still throw Mama and the baby around while turning my 4WC into a camping equipment blender and test the turnbuckles more than I care.

I watched so many people over the past two weeks trying to fly up dirt passes in 2H and while it was probably fun for the driver, the occupants looked like they were merely tolerating the experience. I might be a bit slower but my truck doesn't rattle and my shocks won't need replacing for another coupla 4-5 seasons.
 

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