jefe 4x4 wrote:
Sonuvabug, Nice closure on your quest. As you can see with the many and varied responses, there are a lot of ways to skin your cat. Many of us have gone through an evolution of camper supporting suspensions. One thing you can do which will be of value to all is give us a report after doing a long trip both with and without the camper. jefe
Thanks jefe. The ride impressions are based on the 2,100 km. (1300 mi.) trip we took immediately after installing the Sumo Springs with the TC loaded and pulling our cargo trailer. The TC is still on the truck so I can't speak to ride characteristics when the truck is unloaded nor can I provide pre/post exact measurements ... yet. I will edit my post once we unload the TC, have a chance to drive it and then I'll provide the exact pre & post measurements.
I realize it's been 2 years since I started this journey ... part of that time was spent researching/ruminating and much of the time was spent NOT camping as we had an unexpected family situation we had to work through.
UPDATE - October 21, 2016 - Unloaded Truck RideI've had a chance to drive unloaded on many surfaces now ... highways, city streets, gravel roads etc. and unloaded, the truck rides exactly the same as before the Sump Springs were installed. I still have that common Ford SD "clunk" found underneath on the front, drivers side. I'll have to chase that down as it really bugs me. BTW - new front anti-sway bar bushings didn't help to rid of that clunk.
Unloaded, the Sumo Springs sit about an inch above (not compressed) the bottom bracket so they do not come into play when unloaded ... nor is there the constant "slapping" that some people report with other products that leave a gap when unloaded and "bounce" off of the lower bracket when driving.
I do not have final measurements because I forgot to take them before I uncoupled our cargo trailer and unloaded our TC for the season. When I get set up again next spring, I will take those measurements. Unofficially, it appears my "loaded" sag was reduced about 2" (almost half of my 3.5" total sag before the Sumos).
Unloaded the truck looks like it's sitting marginally higher (1" or less) than before. Again, I'll post exact numbers next season.
I'm a very happy "TC" camper with the Sumo Spring solution.
