Tork Lift Stableloads?

raztec wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the upper stablelift overloads?
How about anti-sway bars?
Which would you do first to decrease the sway and give the truck some stability especially going off road?

Carrying a heavy load and reducing sway in a 3rd Gen' RAM requires a multi tiered approach. IMO, given the weight of your camper, your truck needs; airbags, extended overload bump-stops, and a Roadmaster anti-sway bar.. Depending upon what you have at the moment, a new set of shock absorbers would probably help too.

If you are constrained by your budget then I suggest that your first purchase be the anti-sway bar. Then, while you're saving up for that set of StableLoads... you can easily and cheaply extend your factory bump-stops with a couple pieces of 2" square tube. Here's a pic:


As others have mentioned, over inflating the air bags will cause excessive sway. Use just enough pressure so that the bump stop is still barely in contact with the overload spring. In my truck that's 40-50 PSI.

What exactly do you mean by "going off road"?
A well set-up truck & camper and some driving experience will get you through some amazing terrain... but hoping you're going to have no sway with a 3000 TC on board is wishful thinking ;)

And finally; You're not the first one to tackle this problem. Be sure to ask plenty of other 3rd Gen Ram SRW 3500 owners what they've done... The Cummins forum is a good one, so is Diesel Truck Resource..

Cheers,
-Mark

serpa,
I didn't even know that there were 'lower' Stable Loads until you mentioned them. I went to the website and can see they would be a pain in the behind.
I've been using the 'upper' Stable Loads for a couple years and they were the icing on my leaf spring cake. No moving parts (other than deforming rubber/plastic); nothing to adjust or fiddle with.
I agree with the poster above that there should be a lot of step-by-step trial and error when it comes to beefing up your suspension. It's called 'fine tuning', like adjusting the strings on a violin. Try not to be tone deaf. Just try to avoid any upgrade that has a lot of recoil. That would be air bags and extra coil springs. Only dumb old leaf springs have a minimum of recoil.
As far as adjusting your suspension for rough roads, I recommend releasing one side only on your rear anti-sway bar, just like i did for 40 years with jeeps, land cruisers, scouts, and pick ups. Only one nut removes one side. Yes, you may have to lay in the mud, but only for one nut. Use a plastic zip tie to hold the swivel bar end to the main bar. My extra leaves and Stable loads do such a great job, I detect a small difference using or not using the factory anti-sway bar on the highway.
So, tune that fiddle.
regards, as always, jefe

What's the difference between Timberins and just plain airbags? Seems like they do the same thing.

The Stableloads simply engage your suspension earlier and seem to be the best thing if you have airbags as well.

Thanks for the info about the Sway Bars not being favoured for off road use. I think I'll definitely stay clear of those.

I'd have to vote against the StableLoad Quick Disconnect. They are sort of a pain to engage/disengage.
I should have gone with my old trusty timberins.
StableLoad Quick Disconnect:
1) lay on the ground (dirt/mud/wet)
2) have ratchet and extension handy
3) Pull carter pin with fingers or pliers if required.
4) Tap pin out since it doesn't always slide out.
5) Insert ratchet and turn into position aligning hole
6) drop in pin and hope hole is aligned.
7) Insert carter pin
8) repeat climbing on the ground 3 MORE TIMES for each StableLoad Quick Disconnect. Last time I needed to engage them, it was wet and dirty out. Sort of sucked. You cannot engage while the TC is on the truck also. I've loaded and then forgot and had to take the weight off the truck and engage them.

They suck enough for me to probably sell and get timberins next summer.

vote for stable loads. I broke a airbag mount, I was an hour and a half from the barn at a horse show and needed to tow a load of Horses behind the truck and TC back home. It was windy but I aired down to 10psi took it easy and drove home with no issues of the leafs, stable loads and Rancho XL 9000s dialed up to 9. Would have sucked not to have the help of the Stable Loads

Dome wrote:
mine don't engage till there is a load on. then I pump up the air bags till the stable loads just touch the spring. for me thats about 30# pr. side. I guess the load would determine how much air one would use.

Same here. Works like a charm. The bags carry 90% of the weight and the Stableloads resist leaning in corners etc. I went ahead and cut off the extra 2" of stud which makes them a breeze to remove when not hauling the TC. I use the bags to raise the rear end enough to wiggle the Stableloads out and then air down. The overloads don't seem to touch with 10 psi in the bags so no reason to re-install the OEM pads. and I get a softer ride.

ggadwa wrote:
Another vote for Tork Lift Stable Loads.

I installed the Tork Lift Quick Disconnect Stable Loads just prior to our last trek. Traveled down to Reno and then through northern California and eastern Oregon. Lots of wind and all kinds of road conditions. The Stable Loads with all three shims in place really firmed up the rear end and very nicely augmented the suspension for almost no sign of sway or roll. Suspension consists of Timbren Suspension System, Ford stock sway bar and Rancho 9000XL shocks and now with the Stable Loads. I am very pleased with this set up. I also had my Enclosed Harley Hauler Trailer along behind on this 2000 plus mile trip.

GARY and LAURII

No Stableloads....
If your truck stock set up is matched to your camper weight, then it is better to let your suspension do what it was designed to do.

Now that said, all trucks suspensions are not created equal, and what our TC's weigh, well that is another matter.

My new 2013 RAM 3500 Crew Cab Dually has a rear suspension is incredibly beefy and more importantly, a frame that is stiff. My camper capacity is rated at 4,784 lbs,payload capacity at 5,250 with a GCWR of 14,000.

I put on lower stable loads before putting my Eagle Cap 950 on her, after two weeks I disconnected them. What I got was a much better ride both on and off pavement. Any dually should remove serious sway issues as compared to a single wheel truck. Both my upper and lower overload springs are in full contact with the camper in the truck. Why buy something that engages them sooner? Swaybars have the ability to prevent both tires from maintaining contact with the surface of a dirt road that has some uneven terrain, that is why many off-roaders disconnect their swaybars when going off-roading.

If you have overloaded your truck and it is sagging in the back, then sure, throw some stable loads on them and maybe some airbags, but I recommend going stock and see how she rides.

You need to realize that we are driving an 11' high vehicle in some cases, they ARE going to rock an roll! Get used to it.

Another vote for Tork Lift Stable Loads.

I installed the Tork Lift Quick Disconnect Stable Loads just prior to our last trek. Traveled down to Reno and then through northern California and eastern Oregon. Lots of wind and all kinds of road conditions. The Stable Loads with all three shims in place really firmed up the rear end and very nicely augmented the suspension for almost no sign of sway or roll. Suspension consists of Timbren Suspension System, Ford stock sway bar and Rancho 9000XL shocks and now with the Stable Loads. I am very pleased with this set up. I also had my Enclosed Harley Hauler Trailer along behind on this 2000 plus mile trip.

GARY and LAURII

Another vote for the stable loads, they work very well.. or anything you want to make that fills the gap between the spring and the bump stop..

The ride will be much more harsh.

The less gap the less the load can sway as the spring pack essentially becomes one large spring when the stable loads close that gap .

mine don't engage till there is a load on. then I pump up the air bags till the stable loads just touch the spring. for me thats about 30# pr. side. I guess the load would determine how much air one would use.