Hello, I am ready to buy a new truck and test drove an f350 srw powerstroke and a chevy 3500 srw duramax. I notice the chevy seemed to have much beefier leaf springs with more leafs. Do fords sag a lot more than the chevy does or does ford just have a different design? I do not want to have to modify the truck with airbags or anything. If a 65k dollar truck needs mods brand new then it is not the right truck in my mind. Thank you!

It depends on the weight ratings and load. If you watch a few Fords and Chevys/GMCs (F350 or 3500s) going down the road with TT and or 5th wheels some sag and some don't.I'm guessing if you were able to find a Ford and GM with identical weight capacities and towed the same trailer with both (an apples to apples comparison) both would sag equally or not sag.Your best bet is to determine what load you will be carrying and then get a truck that has more than enough capacitiy for the load. The worst truck you can get is one that is at (or over) maximum capacity when loaded.

Hooked up my trailer the other day and it didn't sag enough to hit the overload spring.

Different spring rates for the two vehicles will dictate to number of leaves per side. Since your comparing different manufacturers unless you can find the design specs for each brands spring packs there is really no way to compare by just looking

The F350 SRW can be configured with a 4 or 5 leaf rear spring pack. I never understood it, but both spring packs are rated the same. I had the larger spring pack on my F250 (same as on F350) and it was very capable.https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2015/15_SD_Pickups_SB_Updates.pdfI always felt the GM's had the best unloaded ride, but I do not know the deflection of the suspension loaded.

Leaf count is meaningless. My 12 Ram 2500 has 5, a 3500 has 4. Like mentioned above, spring rate is the only way to tell which will sag less.

F350 srw vs chevy 3500 srw rear sag? | Good Sam Community

ksss
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
It is correct that the leaf count alone is not everything but it is a factor. I ordered my 2015 3500 with the 10,800 option (SRW). It has a pretty substantial leaf stack with a substantial overload. I am still braking it in but will soon be pulling trailers with high hitch loads, I anxious to see how well it works.
ROBERTSUNRUS
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
:) Hi, counting the leafs of rear springs is meaningless; Length, width, and thickness makes a difference. The metal used makes a difference too. My new F-150 only has three leafs. Decades ago, trucks had huge stacks of leafs, like ten or so.
Justpullin
Explorer
Feb 08, 2015
It would be awesome if there was a video out there with a comparison of even pictures (that are honest and not rigged)
4x4ord
Explorer III
Feb 07, 2015
Mine sags. I have never seen it as a problem though. How much weight do you plan on hauling. I probably haul around 4000 lbs of payload quite often. Here's a pic of 2400 lbs on the receiver which is (without measuring) likely putting about 3200 lbs of weight on the rear axle while it is taking about 800 lbs off the front:
spud1957
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
Justpullin wrote:
They also both had 3.73 rear axle ratios. I guess it must be different spring rates.

Nope. 3:73 gears only available in the DRW Ford.
Bedlam
Moderator
Feb 07, 2015
Mine didn't sag much, but I had StableLoads that engaged the overloads sooner. I was carrying 7000 lbs on the rear axle in this picture:
Justpullin
Explorer
Feb 07, 2015
The gvwr of both was 11,500 so I would imagine they were both apples to apples. They also both had 3.73 rear axle ratios. I guess it must be different spring rates. I just heard fords sag more, must be a roomer.
Bedlam
Moderator
Feb 06, 2015
I know it is cheaper for them to use less leafs, but never saw a benefit to using more unless you wanted to adjust and remove or replace some. Then, the larger leaf pack would give you more granularity.
goducks10
Explorer
Feb 06, 2015
Leaf count is meaningless. My 12 Ram 2500 has 5, a 3500 has 4. Like mentioned above, spring rate is the only way to tell which will sag less.
Bedlam
Moderator
Feb 06, 2015
The F350 SRW can be configured with a 4 or 5 leaf rear spring pack. I never understood it, but both spring packs are rated the same. I had the larger spring pack on my F250 (same as on F350) and it was very capable.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2015/15_SD_Pickups_SB_Updates.pdf

I always felt the GM's had the best unloaded ride, but I do not know the deflection of the suspension loaded.

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F350 srw vs chevy 3500 srw rear sag?

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