Gasser rides like lumber wagon

You most certainly can add airbags to a gasser chassis. Please check out https://kelderman.com/taxonomy/term/50

On page two, you'll see workhorse chassis, but I think you are better off calling them.

I added Keldermans to my F53 and loved them.

opnyn8d wrote:
Had a rough, rocking, and noisy ride with my F53. And, yes, I had 4 position weights done, tires inflated correctly, load balanced, everything correct. Added Air Lift air springs, made a difference. Not up to DP ride level, but much better than originally. About as good as my previous pickup and trailer. Local places wanted a few hundred bucks to install, so I put them on by myself (good thing I am retired, and have free time). Still trying to find the perfect pressures. Anyone with more experience have suggestions?

I have four corner AirLift springs and I also have a dash switch to adjust the air pressure on the front or the rear as conditions change. We travel a lot in the Western states and Great Plains so we are driving in windy conditions quite often.
When the roads are smooth and there is not crosswinds, I will generally keep my air bags at the lowest setting, around 20-30 PSI. As the winds increase, I will adjust the air pressure up to what is needed to maintain stability. If the winds are very heavy, like 50 MPH crosswinds, I will pump up the air bags to 80 psi and I can still travel safely. In the Great Plains, if you don't adapt to the winds, you can spend a lot of time just sitting and waiting for the winds to subside.
If the wind is not a factor, but the roads are fairly rough, I will usually run about 50 psi. With rough roads you really can't improve the ride too much but at 50 psi I feel that it helps to prevent some of the jarring from the big pot holes.

opnyn8d wrote:
Had a rough, rocking, and noisy ride with my F53. And, yes, I had 4 position weights done, tires inflated correctly, load balanced, everything correct. Added Air Lift air springs, made a difference. Not up to DP ride level, but much better than originally. About as good as my previous pickup and trailer. Local places wanted a few hundred bucks to install, so I put them on by myself (good thing I am retired, and have free time). Still trying to find the perfect pressures. Anyone with more experience have suggestions?

I had the Firestone air lifts that come with the coach on the rear only and they told me to put 90lbs of air on them. This was on my gasoline coach I used to have.

Had a rough, rocking, and noisy ride with my F53. And, yes, I had 4 position weights done, tires inflated correctly, load balanced, everything correct. Added Air Lift air springs, made a difference. Not up to DP ride level, but much better than originally. About as good as my previous pickup and trailer. Local places wanted a few hundred bucks to install, so I put them on by myself (good thing I am retired, and have free time). Still trying to find the perfect pressures. Anyone with more experience have suggestions?

Clay L wrote:

J-Rooster wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Why not?

Harold the "P" Chassis is Ford not Workhorse!

The Ford chassis is an F. The P chassis series was Chevy.

See HERE and scroll down to item 5.

Harold was responding to my post when he said that. I didn't realize GM still called it a P chassis up to 2009. No need to school Harold on a P chassis. From reading his posts on the P series he has forgotten more than most will ever know.

I put new tires on mine, G instead of F the dealer put them at 100psi....)MG what a ride. I lowered them to 90psi like I had the F,s and it made a world of difference.

J-Rooster wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Why not?

Harold the "P" Chassis is Ford not Workhorse!

The Ford chassis is an F. The P chassis series was Chevy.

See HERE and scroll down to item 5.

There are a few different solutions as mentioned here. If you do the basics with air pressures, loading, shocks, etc. then you can decide if you want to go to a mor-ryde or kelderman system. I installed a kelderman system on our '08 when new, and would not hesitate to do it again. It's one of those things that cost, but if you keep the rig for a long time, it's worth it. If you trade every two years, maybe not.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

427435 wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Shocks do nothing to smooth out a ride. Any roughness is with the springs, tires, or if the suspension is bottomed out and the rubber cushions between the axle and frame are hitting.

I disagree. Both worn out shocks and stiff shocks can make for a harsh ride.

As he said in the OP, the shocks were a year old. I doubt if they are worn out. If the new shocks were gas charged, they might cause a the OP to feel the road cracks a little more, but other than that the shocks would just do their normal dampening to prevent porposing, not create a lumber wagon harsh ride.
Pointing the finger at one year old shocks is a waste of time and money. .

I agree if the shocks were Koni FSD's. Before I put them on, mine rode harshly over tar strips etc. When I took the OEM shocks off, there was no dampening left in them----------the front axle was just bouncing along.

I think the OP will see a bunch of improvement when he drops the tire pressure. His 19.5 tires, at 80 psi, are rated for 20,940 lbs combined (per Goodyear's chart). As long as he doesn't have the weight concentrated in one corner, he will be fine.

427435 wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Shocks do nothing to smooth out a ride. Any roughness is with the springs, tires, or if the suspension is bottomed out and the rubber cushions between the axle and frame are hitting.

I disagree. Both worn out shocks and stiff shocks can make for a harsh ride.

As he said in the OP, the shocks were a year old. I doubt if they are worn out. If the new shocks were gas charged, they might cause a the OP to feel the road cracks a little more, but other than that the shocks would just do their normal dampening to prevent porposing, not create a lumber wagon harsh ride.
Pointing the finger at one year old shocks is a waste of time and money. .