Sway Bars and Air Bags
First please forgive me as I am still researching the purchase of my first truck camper. I plan to install both the front and rear Hellwig sway bars on my 2014 F350 4x4 short bed truck and want to kno...
Forum Discussion
Redsky wrote:
The Ford trucks are flex the most but a short bed could easily be stiffer than the long bed trucks and you may not need to install heavier duty anti-sway bars. Older trucks flexed more and needed help. My 2011 with a 4,000 lb. camper load is fine with the factory anti-sway bar in the front and does not need one in the rear.
The stock leaf packs should support the load of your camper or Ford screwed up on the rating which is doubtful. If the camper in the bed causes the truck to be lower in the rear than in the front then add more spring capacity with overload springs like the SuperSprings and preserve the normal handling of the truck.
The stock shocks may be OK but expect them to need to be replaced after 30K miles and then go to Bilsein or Rancho shocks.
Ford has more options for towing and hauling than the other two US truck companies combined but to me it makes also makes it confusing to know what comes with which option collection and what is left out.
Air bags help to level a truck but they also destabilize the truck. The place to use airbags is if one side of the camper is several hundred pounds heavier and causes the truck bed to tilt to one side or when hitched up to a 5th wheel trailer to make the height compatible.
I am opposed to anything like an airbag where if one of the two fails you have an unsafe vehicle for the remainder of the trip. I would only use components that are not going to fail or can be easily replaced, like a shock, at the next town.
I disagree with your comments on air bags.
Air bags are designed to increase stability, reduce sway, reduce body roll, reduce suspension fatigue, helps prevent bottoming out of the suspension.
Saying that air bags destabilize the truck as a blanket statement is just nonsense.It could happen if used improperly, but the whole purpose of air bags is to stabilize the truck and that is just what they do for me.
Why would one air bag going flat why would the vehicle be unsafe?, simply deflate the good bag and you are good to go.
Swapping out a blown air bar isn't much harder than replacing a rear shock, and it easier than replacing a shock that is inside a coil spring.
