Arctic fox 990 rocking back and forth

[Wingit1971]

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the truck camping world and have a few questions

I have an 2017 arctic fox slide in on a 2015 f350 SRW with airbags and rancho 9000xl shocks. I upgraded the the rims from 18's to 20's and put on bf goodrich ko2 265/70r20.When I bought this whole package it didn't rock back and forth at all, now it will rock side to side 2-3 times when until it smooths out . I have it loaded fine and the tiedowns are snug. Trying to figure out what's wrong. You would think the upgrades would've helped it. going around curves isn't a treat either. I have 55psi in the airbags and it leveled just fine and have a very slight bulge in the tire but nothing to write home about. I want to use this as a beach buggy in NJ but there's no way I can do that with this sway/ rocking. Any feedback would be helpful. This is dry weight... 4k Hate to see adding an extra 1k loaded would do.

Thanks.

[greenno]

Good to hear it all worked out.

[Wingit1971]

Update... This is what I have installed on the truck now. Hellwig sway bar, Stableload upper and lowers, airbags, Rancho 9k shocks and a Fox 2.0 steering stabilizer. The truck is overweight by a lot, but I've had it on the beach in deep sand, rear tires at 35psi and fronts at 20psi fully loaded without issue a good part of the summer. 85 miles both ways. I've talked to a lot of folks who carry a heavy campers like mine on SRW trucks and they have don't have everything I have on mine and have been fine for years. SRW 1K trucks seem to handle the weight just fine on/off road.

[JimK-NY]

This is an older thread so I have no idea if the OP has resolved the swaying issue. It does appear that in spite of all the arguments, I was about right on the overall weight of about 5600#. That is close to 9000# on the rear axle. With that amount of weight airbags and sway bars and HD shocks don't cut it. The OP needs a serious upgrade to the spring pack with something like SuperSprings or a complete rebuilt of the OEM spring pack.

[Geo_Boy]

Put Bilsteins on it .

[cheftim]

I have a 2017 AF 990. (looks like I need to update my sig)

Had a 2017 F350 Ext cab, Ranchos, airbags, Stableload uppers.
Spent way too much time messing around with airbag settings. Never felt comfy. You can search my handle for some of the discussion.

Upgraded to a 2020 F350 Crew cab.

Put on the 18" Method NV wheels rated for 4500 (I believe) as well as the Toyo F rated 4000lb Tires.

To that I added the Stableload lowers and some other replacement upper stops that were cheaper than the SL uppers.

Did this after consultation with the folks on this forum.

Real test (the SO) passed immediately on first ride (and for me too).

My opinions:

Air bags suck for this setup. You're well overweight. (Cat scale for me for the weekend is around 12k). Hunting and pecking for the right air pressure drove me nuts.

Lower stable loads removed all of the sway. I've driven commercially for years in the past so I'm accepting of the changes 5k of weight (even AF states ~4800 loaded) in the bed makes and this setup is awesome.

My suggestion to anyone with a heavy camper for the truck and the truck is not a dually, install stainless steel lower stable loads as your first task. You need to engage the lowest spring in the pack (the stiffest one) early. You CAN drill the springs yourself but you have to be creative. Took me about 45min/hole including setup time and working solo.

The tire/wheel combo provides me the mental comfort that, although they're close to limits, are within limits. Can't say that I can feel a difference in the stiffer side-walls from the stock tire/rims, but it follows logic that there is.

I almost went the 19.5 route until folks here caught the fact we go on sand and saved me ton of aggravation.

One last addition I'm making is a rear shock change because I do go on sand and the stocks aren't up to the task. Now, Bilstein vs Rancho? I haven't had bad luck with the Ranchos in the past. I'll post update on that.

[Wingit1971]

Okay... I installed Torklift uppers and lowers and a hellwig HD sway bar and it still rocks pretty good coming into my driveway, but the cornering is 100% better. I only need 25lbs in the airbags as well. I loaded it down and took it to the scales and the camper and gear Added an extra 5600lbs. So, yes it's overloaded, but seems to be handling it pretty well other than some porpoising here and there. I haven't taken it in the deep sand yet, so the jury is still out because i have to air the tires down and it can get pretty bumpy. Hopefully the ko2 tires and the roush rims can handle it.

[Wingit1971]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to start with the torklift stabiloads first and go from there. I'll update this post with the results.

[greenno]

To the original poster. Sway is a factor of going laterally side to side. I have a 2019 F350SRW CCLB and I have no issues at all.
Mods I have made to get to this point, ( sit down not cheap).
1. New 8 leaf spring pack specifically designed for this camper load. $1,962.
2. Big Rig Sway Bars front and rear. $1000
3. Airlift 5000 airbags w/onboard compressor. $1000
4. Toyo Open Country M/T tires 35'x12.5"x18" and Method NV305HD rims. $3,350

Also have a BDS dual steering stabilizer set-up and are running Fox 2.0's all around.

Running without camper around town is fine as it rides better than my buddy's stock 2020 F350 dually.
Mine loaded to the hilt is a hair over 5k and I always run with a full H2o tank (59g) as it helps anchor the bottom to the bed and handles better as it counters the weight that sways up top and I have 510w of solar up there too. Just got back from a trip down Baja way and off-road it handled like a charm. Usually air up 40lbs in the bags to smooth out the bumps. Hope you get it squared away.

[StirCrazy]

JimK-NY wrote:
Maybe my stuff weighs more. I have a 75' HD extension cord that has come in real handy. I bet it weighs a good 25#. Yup, solar panels, have 2 of them. With mounting brackets and hardware, they are surely in the 100# range. I also upgraded the 75# little battery to dual AGM batteries that weigh a total of 300#. I also have a Honda generator and a couple of cans of gas so I can fire up the A/C and charge batteries when camping in the shade.

I guess you plan for 3-4 day trips. I go for that many months and we initially full timed in our truck camper for a couple of years. That adds to the necessary food supply. Typically I can eat out of camper storage for a couple of weeks. I also carry enough clothing to handle 3 1/2 seasons and to avoid Laundromats for up to about a month.

No, I dont plan for 3 to 4 day trips, but I do plan for being by a store at least every three or 4 days, or at least once a week) . I have a small fridge so I do more grocery trips and such. I like fresh food. even if I am heading out into the bush for 7 days it doesn't realy change the food I initialy pack as it will hold me for 7 days no problem. if for some reason I am going longer I still have 1500lbs of capacity to pack more, I just dont know how I would carry a genny and all that extra stuff as I have no storage room left except the inside of the camper and it would be a pain to unload that just to get in to make lunch or use the washroom. but the other restriction I have is the size of the tanks, about a week is the max and I would have to dump and get more fresh anyways (if im by myself, add the wife and were proablry down to 4 days)


Steve

[Grit_dog]

sweeperman210 wrote:
This spring i picked up my new to me AF990 with my 2020 f350 cclb camper had no water propane 1 bat, took truck over cat scale and it was 12340 lbs I traded in the 2020 two weeks later for a 2021 f350 cc dually no more sway

Given the Covid market, that should have been a profitable deal if you had the 2020 for a while and got a good price on it.

But in any normal economy, this would be considered more dollars than sense!

[Geo_Boy]

Wingit1971 wrote:
on another note.... I'm having a problem with the fridge running on LP. The error code is F (Burner not lighting?) Any advice on where to start troubleshooting that would be great.

TY!

Your burner is dirty, probably from rust/carbon falling down from the chimney. Pull the sheet metal box away from the burner and blow out and vacuum up the debris.

[sweeperman210]

This spring i picked up my new to me AF990 with my 2020 f350 cclb camper had no water propane 1 bat, took truck over cat scale and it was 12340 lbs I traded in the 2020 two weeks later for a 2021 f350 cc dually no more sway

[Grit_dog]

Or, in short, some people exaggerate, some pack rock collections in their camper (seen it here…only on rvnet…), some pack for 3 weeks in the bush, some should switch from beer to whiskey and if they need 50lbs of whiskey, seek counseling, and some pack light.
The one common theme is, use a little common sense, but calorie counting everything you put in your camper down to the nearest pound means, either you’re expert level ocd, for which I’m sorry, or you have far too much time on your hands and should pickup another hobby.

[JimK-NY]

Maybe my stuff weighs more. I have a 75' HD extension cord that has come in real handy. I bet it weighs a good 25#. Yup, solar panels, have 2 of them. With mounting brackets and hardware, they are surely in the 100# range. I also upgraded the 75# little battery to dual AGM batteries that weigh a total of 300#. I also have a Honda generator and a couple of cans of gas so I can fire up the A/C and charge batteries when camping in the shade.

I guess you plan for 3-4 day trips. I go for that many months and we initially full timed in our truck camper for a couple of years. That adds to the necessary food supply. Typically I can eat out of camper storage for a couple of weeks. I also carry enough clothing to handle 3 1/2 seasons and to avoid Laundromats for up to about a month.

If you are a weekend camper, I guess it must not make much sense what is needed to travel for longer periods into the weeks or months. The last time I was in your area I stocked up and spent the night at the Kamloops Costco. After that I went up north of Banff and then it was a couple weeks or so before I made it to Jasper for the next grocery stop.