Will Reducing Air Pressure in Suspension Air Bags Reduce Sway on a 5th Wheel Trailer

Updated 06/19/2014 | Published 06/18/2014

Question:

I have recently upgraded from a travel trailer to a 5th wheel. Im pulling the 5th wheel with a 2012 F250 that has air ride bags on it. In the past when I pulled my travel trailer I would add 50 Lb.s of air pressure to the air ride bags to level out everything. I just pulled my 5th wheel with the same 50 Lb.s or air pressure in the air bags and seemed to sway a lot. My question is if I reduce the air pressure in the air ride bags to say 35 Lb.s will that help reduce the sway in the 5th Wheel? I have no way to add weight in front of the axial.

asked by: Michael

Expert Reply:

You can experiment with different amounts of air pressure in the air bags to get to the best ride quality. More pressure would make the bag stiffer and there would be less trailer at the front of the trailer (mostly vertically but also some side to side) and rear of the truck.

A bag with less pressure would have more give and could be more of a cushion and absorb some of the force that is causing the sway.

When the trailer does start swaying you will want to reduce speed and keep the truck going as straight as possible. A lot of people will try to speed up to stop sway but that actually makes it worse.

expert reply by: Michael H