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StirCrazy's avatar
StirCrazy
Moderator
Sep 28, 2025

Re: Camper Package on F-350

stable loads are not a substitute for real springs, they just engage them earlier they don't add anything to the actual spring rate, so yes springs are the issue.  just changing out the springs to the ones from a dually of that year will make a world of difference, you can also beef up the overload to one rated for a little more weight.  

the V10 was a decent motor, but not decent enough to stick around, it had some inherent cam shaft oiling issue when they idled to long, we had them for work and 90% of the time they were idling 24/7, so we saw that problem haha

to me being 500lbs over isn't a big deal, some might think the sky is falling but as long as you compensate for it with the spring rate and such it would be fine.  the actual weight handling of the axel is more than ford rates it for.  so if you were to go to a spring shop, or if your a handy guy do it your self you would probably be happy with out spending money on a new truck, unless you just want a new truck. 

1 Reply

  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator III
    Sep 28, 2025

    Agree stiffer springs = less body roll. That’s obvious. If you put 12klb rear springs on a srw 1 ton it might not move even 1/4” in a turn. Great. 
    But to say that stable loads don’t increase spring rate, while technically correct, is not totally accurate in real world applications. Sure if you max out/sag everything to the bump stops that’s correct. 
    But by engaging ALL the springs sooner in the suspension travel it increases the effective spring rate sooner which provides increased stiffness and better handling. 

    And the V10, hell I’m not even a Ford guy like you and I can give that motor more objective credit than you did. It didn’t “stick around” because the whole Triton platform got changed in favor of better technology that yielded better mpg with more power out of less displacement. It was simply technological advancement.
    Thats like saying the 6.2 didn’t “stick around” long. It was/is may be the best light duty HD pickup gasser. But Ford upped the ante.
    I too ran/was assigned/over saw alot of Triton motor trucks including many V10s. For that era they were a close second to the LS overall. And yes it’s possible to use / abuse a motor beyond its design or performance capabilities. Calling it “decent” because it suffered from minor cam oiling issues sitting at 10,000hours on a 10k hour oil pump at the lowest possible rpm’s and oil pressure due to rpm and age is not the engine’s problem. It’s just being abused. (They’re tools, like anything else…if you only towed max capacity uphill other stuff would wear out quicker than what it was designed to do….)

     

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