Do I dump air suspension in my flatbed (truck) while load and offload?

Lift And Load Transport · Mar 9, 2021

Ridgeline said: ↑

A - yes
B - sometimes
C - yes
D - no
E - never

never ever drive with your bags deflated ... never ... especially loaded.
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Thank you Ridgeline! Sorry for the delay in appreciation. Was on the run with loads, read your response, and haven't replied. Didn't know about the 'thank you' button for a quick reply! haha

Lift And Load Transport · Mar 9, 2021

AModelCat said: ↑

Generally speaking, never drive with the suspension deflated. Suspension geometry changes when deflated, which causes vibration and eventually driveline damage. It can even cause the bags to seperate over time.

Its perfectly fine to idle along at low speed a short distance while deflated. Example being moving away from a dirt pile when dumping a dump truck.
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Ah.. thanks. Yeah I've had to idle forward so customers could lock the gates. Had a top heavy load once and was unsure if deflated and rigid while moving it was safer than bouncing airbags in potholes. Guessing I should have inflated. Load wasn't strapped yet.

Lift And Load Transport · Mar 9, 2021

Dave1837 said: ↑

I don't have any experience with a straight truck, but I think it's universal to all air ride trucks to keep the bags inflated any time it's in motion. It's hard on the drive line to drive with them deflated as it changes the pitch/angle of the driveshaft, which is why proper ride height is a must. I never dump the air in my trailer while loading or unloading and have never had any issues whatsoever, even with a 46k coil. When weight goes on, it adjusts, when weight comes off, it adjusts.

I only drop my tractor air when I need to change the angle of the front of my liquid tank trailer to ensure its level (center unload), and after I unhook from a trailer
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This is helpful insight. THank you!

SmallPackage · Mar 9, 2021

The only time we ever deflated the rear on the straights we used were when we handloaded/ unloaded from the ground level. It just brought the tailboard down lower and made it a more comfortable level so we didn’t have to lift up tires and boxes higher. That was 50% of the drops. Some docks we backed up too sat lower so we deflated but that was 1% of the stops. Otherwise never touched the switch even at our warehouse loading dock.

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