New user, TC Tire questions

skimopow wrote:
Great information rider997, thanks!
Our intended use will be similar to what you describe, dropping the camper at camp and using the unloaded truck to drive to trailheads for biking/hiking/skiing/etc.

My engineering background had me questioning the damping of the timbrens, I'll have to do some additional research on the super springs. One of the reasons I liked the stableload concept was that it leveraged the existing progressive spring pack which has excellent sway control/damping by design. I am unsure how much negative rake I will have once the camper is installed and if the stableloads will correct it. I was under the impression that removing the pin to dis-engage the stableload was trivial but maybe I am wrong. Obviously, the camper would need to be removed. My truck will not drive a lot of miles without the camper, really only up to the ski resort when conditions dictate or out on forest/logging roads. It is not a daily driver. I liked the idea of being able to remove the suspension modification for these uses.

You will lose "some" articulation with any spring augmentation method (with the exception of what you note, which is using the switchable lower stableloads). The problem is that any settling of the spring pack, a pebble under your tire, cold or hot weather, etc., will make it impossible to engage/disengage them without jacking up the rear of the truck. I do run a clevis pin for one of my sway bar end links so that I can disengage one end of the swaybar and I do not lose excessive articulation offroad. It's a 30 second process to remove the pin (and generally a 5 minute process to replace it since it requires good registration between the bushings on the end link and sway bar). I would say that 75% of the time, especially during ski season, we don't remove the camper. During the summer though, we regularly do. A 1-ton truck is no Jeep, but I like to keep a "reasonable" amount of versatility. FWIW, I actually like to keep the camper on when we're in heavy snow because it gives you incredible traction. I can definitely drive up grades with the TC in the bed that I'm quite sure I wouldn't be able to surmount unloaded even with my mountain/snowflake snow tires (in 4wd naturally).