Suspension mod's to carry 2005 1181 Lance

Christl wrote:

kerry4951 wrote:
The upper Stable Loads are bolted in place and stay in that position. They engage when weight is added to the bed. The lower Stable Loads are the adjustable ones. You use a 3/8" socket drive to engage and disengage them as needed.

Kerry4951 - Would it be possible for you to provide a picture of both or a link where I can see them installed? christl

This page may be of assistance: Torklift's StableLoad page

after our first day with our truck camper (same model as yours) we ordered a larger sway bar from Roadmaster.
Even though we already had stable loads, air springs etc, the larger sway bar made a HUGE difference with the swaying.

I have a lance 1181 that is carried on my 2012 Chevy dually diesel. I spent countless hours researching and testing suspension set ups. Keep in mind GM made significant changes to the HD pickups for 2011, so comparing trucks prior to 2011 is like apple and oranges. Here is what I found works best for me.

My goals were to have the best possible handling while hauling camper, BUT not to sacrifice ANY empty ride comfort.

Final set up.

Torklift stable loads, upper and lower.
Hellwig Big Wig stabilizer bar
Ranch rear shocks
1 additional rear OVERLOAD spring
Lance cabover shocks

I tried many combinations. The first 3 are must haves to me. I remove the upper stable loads and swing the lowers out of the way when not hauling. It requires a floor jack to gain the clearance, but the empty ride improvement is worth it to me. I also remove one side of the stabilizer link to further improve empty ride comfort. Takes me 10-15 minutes to disconnect or reconnect everything. The lower stable loads will make a clicking noise when disengaged. I can only hear it at low speeds with windows down.

The additional rear overload is worth the handling improvement, not huge but noticeable. Very easy to add, I went to a local spring shop where they had some factory take-offs. When not hauling, I remove the upper stable loads, then the overload spring does not make contact unless you hit big bumps. I tried adding 2 factory overloads for a total of 4 on each side but that was too much and harsh even while hauling the camper. Once I decided on the 1 additional overload spring, i trimmed about one or 1.5 inches from the upper overloads. I wanted the lower spring pack to be fully engaged before the upper overloads. Worked great for me.

Overall, I like my set up because its easy to return to stock like ride. Airbags give a harsher ride even when empty, small but noticeable even at 1-5psi. They also CAN leak and CAN cause headaches. Timbrens can also be noticeable when empty. Only an inch or 2 of empty travel before contacting the Timbren.

Goodluck.

If your interested check my review of torklift quick disconnect stable loads. These go between your lower spring and the spring pack. The ones another post mentioned they are turned into the spring pack with a 3/8 inch drive socket. Put them in when hauling and remove them when not.

Torklift Quick disconnect review

kerry4951 wrote:
The upper Stable Loads are bolted in place and stay in that position. They engage when weight is added to the bed. The lower Stable Loads are the adjustable ones. You use a 3/8" socket drive to engage and disengage them as needed.

Kerry4951 - Would it be possible for you to provide a picture of both or a link where I can see them installed? christl

Christl wrote:
Hi rickjo, thanks for response. My truck is a dually. I am trying to not make same mistake again and become overloaded while upgrading to this larger TC (don't want to spend thousands on mod's.). Owner indicated they are only using torque lift stable loads to engage springs earlier and I wanted unbiased opinion. Can you provide amount of air you are putting in the air bags and explain how the air bags improve drivability in addition to the larger bump stops or are you mainly using the air bags to level load right to left - thanks

I run my airbags at 90# with the camper on. For those times when I am using the pickup as a "truck", I lower to 5# and I do get a SLIGHTLY gentler ride. An empty dually is never smooth. I try to think of the airbags as keeping the rear end at a proper height, whatever that is... Springs and shocks provide the rest of the stability.

Rick

The upper Stable Loads are bolted in place and stay in that position. They engage when weight is added to the bed. The lower Stable Loads are the adjustable ones. You use a 3/8" socket drive to engage and disengage them as needed.

Thank you everyone for the responses as now I know the truck can handle the weight readily with few modifications to the suspension. I have timbrens on my 1500 GMC now and know what they are, how they work and what they cost and I am happy with the results. I am familiar with what I believe are upper Torklift Stable Loads to cause to engage the overload spring earlier under load and that the Stable Loads can be swung out (disengaged) when under no load. I am not familiar with what are Torklift lower stable loads? Can anyone enlighten me? In addition, is it likely that I will need a sway bar (where does it go and what does it do)?
I just read Sleepy's post this week and wondered if adding another leaf to the rear spring packs wouldn't address these concerns in a similar manner? cheers

I would look into timbrens instead

Our camper certified dually had airbags put in when we purchased the camper, and we upgraded the shocks to Bielsteins and put in upper stable loads. That improved the ride a lot. We just had the lower stable loads put in. There was a significant improvement in bounce and the ability to take bumps. Although probably oversize lower bump pads would work as well since we rarely take the camper off the truck.

Personally, I don't see much of a change in ride with the airbags inflated or not, but our passenger side is a couple of inches lower, so the airbags even it out a little.