Does adding air bags worsen the ride even with low pressure?

[JimKIII]

I'm considering having some air bags installed on my truck in anticipation of buying a popup camper. I also will be taking a long road trip in a couple of weeks and MAY purchase the camper somewhere along the way.

Until I actually get and install the camper, I will be inflating the airbags at a minimum - say ~5lbs.

With that said, will those deflated air bags cause my truck's ride to be noticeably worse? Right now the 2022 2500 rides like a Cadillac; quiet and smooth.

 

[AH64ID]

The ride will change, but likely it will be imperceptible in most scenarios. The minimum pressure for airbags is usually 5 psi, which isn’t enough to do much on these heavy trucks. I never noticed them empty on my 05 3500 and only barely on my Tacoma.

You will notice the improvement with a camper though, particularly in side to side sway since the airbags mount outboard of the coil springs and provide stability.

 

[Jnrcarson]

Definitely noticed a difference in my truck pre and post air bags. But as stated not enough to matter, especially if it’s just your tow or camping rig.

 

[JimKIII]

Thanks! I appreciate your comments.

 

[wrvond]

I have the AirLift Load Lifter Ultimate air bags on my truck. They have an internal jounce bumper which allows the airbags to be operated at 0 psi when the truck is not loaded. Even though there is 0 psi in the bags, there isn't a vacuum so I imagine that under compression there is still going to be some resistance. That said, they haven't adversely affected the ride on mine.

 

[sstoner911]

I'm considering having some air bags installed on my truck in anticipation of buying a popup camper. I also will be taking a long road trip in a couple of weeks and MAY purchase the camper somewhere along the way.

Until I actually get and install the camper, I will be inflating the airbags at a minimum - say ~5lbs.

With that said, will those deflated air bags cause my truck's ride to be noticeably worse? Right now the 2022 2500 rides like a Cadillac; quiet and smooth.

I would say on a 2500 it won't be much of a change. On the DRW trucks it can make the ride a bit stiffer unloaded. I usually kept them at 5psi unloaded.

 

[whitexc]

I don’t feel like the Timber Grove bags on my CCSB 2500 make the ride any more harsh at low fill (3-5 psi). The benefit outweighs any change in unladen ride.

Depending on the size of the pop-up camper, your truck would likely be fine without bags. Good luck, happy camping and safe travels.

 

[johnmyster]

FWIW, my old truck had a leaky line and I'm sure that for most of its life the bags were at 0 psi. Until I eventually fixed the line. No damage to the bags over years of said abuse. No internal bumper model.

I don't think you need to be paranoid about the ride being worse.

 

[Jmonty]

Same as everyone else, I couldn't tell any real noticeable difference from before or after I put 7500xl bags on my 3500 and I run mine at 0psi.

 

[cj8rockcrawler]

On a side note, I set my bags back to 5psi and turn off the compressor before I disconnect my trailer on 2022 Megacab. With the daystar cradles, this leaves the bags disengaged on the small bumps while unloaded and then they'll engage with more travel on the big bumps. I do notice a difference vs. setting them inflated to 5psi after the trailer is disconnected.

Neither scenario rides as well as my 3rd Gen with Carli long travel bags though!