5 to 10 PSI here, empty. Over time they seem to pump up somehow.

10 takes the harshness out of the bumps

 

I tow nearly every day for work. I just leave 35 lbs in them (unloaded) and when bumper pulling a heavy trailer, it ups the pressure to 45 when you hook the trailer up.

If I was to not tow all the time, I'd leave 10 lbs in them.

 

With my firestones i keep about 8 psi when empty, and just recently pulled a load with 60 psi. To be honest I don't know if they help much empty, but when loaded up they work as advertised.

 

mine won't hold air more than a day or 2 i run them empty all the time for 130k miles. Still work great. (they leaked from day one in the fittings). Depending on load determine air pressure. I bring the truck back up to level and if the front is still floaty I give it more in 5 lbs increments.

 

I keep mine at 5-7# with an empty truck. I check them in the morning so they usually have more pressure in the afternoon.

As for when loaded I put enough air in them to let the suspension compress about 1-1.5" so the thick leaf in the pack has a bigger role in supporting the load.

 

thanks for all the replys right now i have 10psi in the bags and that seems to be working for now in a few weeks when i load up the fifth wheel and air the bags up then we will see how everything works and feels

 

I run mine around 20psi empty and 65 with my truck camper in the back.

 

I run 10lbs empty and with pin weight of 1191 lbs I run 28 lbs. I have the Firestone air bags with the compressor so changing air pressure is a snap.they are set at 10 psi and as soon as I start the truck the compressor will top them off at 10 psi. I have removed my helper springs and they are not going back on.These air bags are awesome.I can level my fiver for towing and have used them to lift a fiver with tow straps . The guy got two tires off the side in a ditch at the campground and I was able to lift the bumper off the shoulder and tow him out. Bowtie duale lol was a happy guy.

 

I have the Firestone's. Firestone says to run minimum of 5 PSI. I don't have onboard air so I keep mine at 25. It still rides good and it takes a pretty good load to make it squat.

 

I run 5psi empty with my Firestones. and about 25 to 30 when hauling my 5th wheel.

 

Holy cow thats a lot of empty air! My ride is 10x worse when I leave that much air in them!

 

 

I have Firestone airbags on my 1st Gen and I run between 35 - 40 psi in mine, but I also removed 1 leaf from my spring pack that lowered my spring rate by 800 lbs.
I was told with the particular airbag I have that every 1psi = 50 lb spring rate.

Also it is not good to run them empty, they can get folded in on themselves and damage the sidewalls causing a leak.
Keep at least 5-psi when they are empty.
I have ok been under trucks when the bag explodes, they are dangerous.
Jim

 

I keep mine puffed to where they aren't folded over to avoid them rubbing out from road debris. 30 psi and it's like riding a rock....