New Ram 5500 Build
We were running over 13K on the rear axle of a 2019 Ram 3500. Despite it handling the load well (with mods), we knew it wasn't responsible to continue with that rig and have spent the last few months ...
Forum Discussion
I didn't notice any rubbing, but when checking everything over this week, I found that we made contact with the flatbed crossmembers coming up here:
I was initially going to put a 2" spacer above the bump stop to limit uptravel (circled in red, ignore the missing bolt -- I removed it prior to taking the photo to check size (M10)):
... but decided to look at other options instead. I had planned a full Kelderman air ride but there are a lot of things I'd rather spend $10K on right now. So I decided to stick with the factory suspension a while and look at helper options. I ruled out Air Lift, Pacbrake, and Hellwig bags because they're all inboard of the frame, and ruled out Timbrens and SumoSprings for the same reason and that the camper is perfectly level on level ground, as they would change that. I ruled out SuperSprings because the current springs are sufficient and they'd increase ride height all of the time. That leaves only Firestone bags, which are outboard of the frame, above the leaf packs.
I called up Firestone to get actual measurements of the brackets and everything will clear the flatbed mounts without modification, as well as give me 1" of clearance to the tire when fully deflated. That should let me safely run tire chains if I have sufficient air in the bags as they're narrower when inflated.
I ordered the Firestone 2404 kit with Pacbrake HP10327 compressor/ wireless control kit.
This set me back around $1K instead of $10K and will give me 3-4" additional clearance when needed above the tires/ under the boxes as well as let me level the rear of the rig from side to side and back to front when at unlevel sites. Unfortunately I'll still have to use front blocks in some situations, but the ride of the truck isn't bothering me enough yet to spend the additional $9K.
I've used helper bags on several trucks and despite what most people claim, I've found they reduce stability. I believe that's most likely due to moving your load support inward as almost all of the readily available kits are inboard of the frame, sitting on top of the axle with the upper bracket in place of the bump stop. This kit shouldn't have that issue, so I'm excited to see how it compares.
I was initially going to put a 2" spacer above the bump stop to limit uptravel (circled in red, ignore the missing bolt -- I removed it prior to taking the photo to check size (M10)):
... but decided to look at other options instead. I had planned a full Kelderman air ride but there are a lot of things I'd rather spend $10K on right now. So I decided to stick with the factory suspension a while and look at helper options. I ruled out Air Lift, Pacbrake, and Hellwig bags because they're all inboard of the frame, and ruled out Timbrens and SumoSprings for the same reason and that the camper is perfectly level on level ground, as they would change that. I ruled out SuperSprings because the current springs are sufficient and they'd increase ride height all of the time. That leaves only Firestone bags, which are outboard of the frame, above the leaf packs.
I called up Firestone to get actual measurements of the brackets and everything will clear the flatbed mounts without modification, as well as give me 1" of clearance to the tire when fully deflated. That should let me safely run tire chains if I have sufficient air in the bags as they're narrower when inflated.
I ordered the Firestone 2404 kit with Pacbrake HP10327 compressor/ wireless control kit.
This set me back around $1K instead of $10K and will give me 3-4" additional clearance when needed above the tires/ under the boxes as well as let me level the rear of the rig from side to side and back to front when at unlevel sites. Unfortunately I'll still have to use front blocks in some situations, but the ride of the truck isn't bothering me enough yet to spend the additional $9K.
I've used helper bags on several trucks and despite what most people claim, I've found they reduce stability. I believe that's most likely due to moving your load support inward as almost all of the readily available kits are inboard of the frame, sitting on top of the axle with the upper bracket in place of the bump stop. This kit shouldn't have that issue, so I'm excited to see how it compares.
