So I thought it would be a good idea to put Timbrens on my truck. The Lance 1055 camper is tall and a bit top heavy. It didn't ride bad or sway badly, but I thought that this would help for stability. And they do! No sway or roll, however now it seems the truck rides like a washboard over the smallest bumps like it never did before. Is this overkill? Should I readjust the rancho shocks to a lower number? I have them on nine before the Timbrens and did not change the setting. Have any of you experienced this issue? The freeways through Pasadena and Glendale were shear torture for the first time ever! The bouncing and jarring over the smallest bumps in the road has become really annoying. Thanks for any help or insight you can provide. Dak

Without the camper, try 5# of air or the minimum as directed by the manufacturer in your Timbren air bags and your 9000's on #3 or #4.Comfy ride for me.You really got to play with the setting. Drive the same route of bumps until you find what works for you.Keep in touch,Ben

MN Ben wrote:Without the camper, try 5# of air or the minimum as directed by the manufacturer in your Timbren air bags and your 9000's on #3 or #4.Comfy ride for me.You really got to play with the setting. Drive the same route of bumps until you find what works for you.Keep in touch,Ben1) Tembrens do not use air...2) Empty with no load in the bed there should be about 3/4" clearance between the Tembrens and frame rails.... If not, you may have the wrong model Tembren.3) Does your 3500 have factory overloads?? If so, are they engaging properly when under a load? If not, add stable-loads to engage the overloads.

Yes, try turning your ranchos down. That's why they are adjustable! It should help at least some, especially unloaded.Also, this is a good example of why doing 2 suspension mods at once my not be a good idea. You won't know which one is helping or hurting you.

Good morning all, thanks for the replies. To answer a few questions, yes the proper clearance was achieved netween the bed rails and the Timbrens, yes I have facory overloads and they do/are engaging properly. I didn't put both the Ranchos and the Timbrens on at once. I've been running the Ranchos for a couple years with this Lance amd my last camper. The sway wasn't "bad", but I wanted a little more stability which is why I added the Timbrens. Perhaps the way it was was what I should have been happy with. In any event, this afternoon before the next leg of my trip I'll crawl under and turn down the Ranchos. Thanks again !Dak

Ok several replies from folks who don't understand Timbrens or what you have going on. First, you were looking for sway control, not more load carrying ability. Timbrens won't help sway(not really sway, but body roll) other than adding more spring rate to the back end making it stiffer. And that's what they did for you. Forget about the shocks. Loaded with the camper, they don't affect how stiff the truck rides. They don't carry load. How much did the truck sag before the Timbrens and how much of a gap did you set between the Timbrens and the bump stops? This is where you need to look. I.e. If the truck dropped 3" before installing and you have 3/4" gap empty, then you're sitting hard down on rubber blocks that make it ride rough. Period. If you can get some more gap in the Timbrens, take out spacers and washers so the gap is a little less, the same or a little more than the amount of sag, loaded w/o Timbrens, then they will engage later in the spring travel, or only when you start rolling to one side. The bigger the gap, the less load they take and it sounds like you're sitting down hard on them. I did this on my last company F150 because it was always loaded and sometimes woefully overloaded. The Timbrens kept me from going down the road doing the Cali lean when overloaded at the expense of riding like a wagon the rest of the time. It's what they do.

Rough ride with Timbrens and Rancho 9000xls | Good Sam Community

egarant
Explorer III
Jun 03, 2016
I tried the Timbrens TWICE.

They do in fact stop a lot of the sway from side to side, but, like you, the bounce was incredible.

Return them.

Regarding Shocks, I have used the factory OEM's, Bilstein's, Monroe Magnum's and currently Rancho RS-9000XL's.

In every case, they worked fine with the camper off, and they felt completely overwhelmed with the camper on. There is apparently just no way for a manufacturer to valve a mass produce shock to adjust to a truck carrying its MAX GWR.

I am about to order some Factory FOX 2.5 adjustable shocks and see how they do.

Good luck!
Buzzcut1
Nomad II
Jun 03, 2016
Owning the same camper. I understand the weight and ride issues you face. I went with upper and more importantly in my opion,lower stable loads. I love the ride quality that they give me.
3_tons
Explorer III
Jun 03, 2016
mkirsch wrote:
Yup, Timbrens are one step above shoving a chunk of well casing between the axle and frame to hold the truck up.

They're little more than bump stops, so if you're wondering why your truck is riding like it's down on the bump stops, now you know!

Having had 'real world' experience with tembrens on two different trucks (SRW & DRW) with two different campers over a 11yr period, tembrens are similar to bump stops but the centers are hollow to allow for some give. My initial set rode rough indeed but it turned out to be the wrong tembrens for my truck, once corrected, the tembrens worked fine, no effect when unloaded, when loaded, helped reduce side sway (no dreaded sympathetic side sway requiring other fixes) and carried the TC well with never any maintenance issues.... I would recommend tembrens to others as an effective low cost suspension fix (assuming proper installation)... I would not recommend hypothetical pump casings - lol!!...Full disclosure is that adding more leaf springs ($800) proved to be the cats meow and less abrupt over poor roadways than tembrens...
dakonthemountai
Explorer
Jun 04, 2016
Ok. So here is what I'm doing on the second day of vacation... :( I'm at Xtreme Auto Sports in Canyon Country having an Air Lift brand air bag system installed. it's not cheap but I could go no further the way things were. Got the load Leveler 5000 and in the dual controller in the cab kit. I'll report on the rwsults after the next leg of the trip...

Thank you again for your comments and suggestions. It was MUCH appreciated and helpful in my final decision....

Dak
TDWebster
Explorer
Jun 04, 2016
dakonthemountain wrote:
So I thought it would be a good idea to put Timbrens on my truck. The Lance 1055 camper is tall and a bit top heavy. It didn't ride bad or sway badly, but I thought that this would help for stability. And they do! No sway or roll, however now it seems the truck rides like a washboard over the smallest bumps like it never did before. Is this overkill? Should I readjust the rancho shocks to a lower number? I have them on nine before the Timbrens and did not change the setting. Have any of you experienced this issue? The freeways through Pasadena and Glendale were shear torture for the first time ever! The bouncing and jarring over the smallest bumps in the road has become really annoying. Thanks for any help or insight you can provide.

Dak

Yes, adjust the 9000's down, if they are as rigid as you say they are, you could, over time, do damage. Shocks are there to arrest movement, not stop it, might try starting in the middle, drive around town, then readjust and try it again. Let the timbrens do the work.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
Jun 04, 2016
I had my Ranchos on 9 but the ride was rough. Washboard roads were impossible. I got a set of supersprings to help and was able to set the shocks lighter. As I remember I am using about 5 in the front and 7 in the rear. Now the ride is very pleasant.
AnEv942
Nomad
Jun 05, 2016
Hopefully update is positive!

Cant help but remember leaving our wedding reception in Fresno many years ago heading home to the coast and then honeymoon..
Didnt get out of town with my new bride and our our haul- decided I now had too much lose risking bald tires on our 52 Ford. Stopped and got new tires.

Hope the rest of your trip is great!
dakonthemountai
Explorer
Jun 06, 2016
Short post... No wifi except at this rearaurant. LOVE the air bags!!! Difference is night and day from any truck/camper combo in decades of travel! Getting to Big Sur was a pleasure! Thanks again all for your help! :)

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Rough ride with Timbrens and Rancho 9000xls

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