Might sell the F450 and go F550 with liquid springs

[SoonDockin]

Love the F450 with the Arctic Fox 1140 for traveling. Just find the ride a bit rough on some of Americas moon scape of a road system. Been looking at suspension upgrades but as we are at the limit of payload, it makes sense to go with a higher payload and not worry about adding weight from new suspension.

Any one had seat of the pants experience with Liquid Springs? From what I have read, most are happy with the outcome.

[mbloof]

jimh406 wrote:
I'm glad someone likes adaptive cruise. I don't personally get that close to other vehicles when I carry my truck camper or tow.

I wonder how well it adapts for the heavier load when it applies brakes.

I have the Ford version on a 2018 Escape - love it on the highway/freeway - in town not so much.

As others have mentioned the onboard radar picks up cars in left turn lanes and triggers both a slow down/break and the 'collision avoid' warnings (I turned the collision break OFF). A bit annoying but in areas with heavy LEO patrols (with radar guns) CC can come in handy.

I've gotten to where I simply don't use it in town.

Out on the highway/freeway it works very well. Seems that many folks don't regulate their speed very well so it frees the driver from manually speeding up/slowing down with ether their foot or finger on the +/- buttons.


- Mark0.

[Bumpyroad]

SoonDockin wrote:
Biggest downside is the requirement to plate it as commercial here in OK. Now will that mean I need to pull into weigh stations with my truck camper on the back?

IIRC somebody addressed this type of issue earlier in this thread.
bumpy :S

[SoonDockin]

Biggest downside is the requirement to plate it as commercial here in OK. Now will that mean I need to pull into weigh stations with my truck camper on the back?

[Grit_dog]

Well, kudos to you for capitalizing on the current market AND get into a BETTER truck at the same time!
Will you be sending in your Ram Mafia application fee to 12V or shall we have him contact you regarding this? LOL

Congrats on the new rig!

[SoonDockin]

I am the OP. I just sold my F450 for the same money my new 5500 Ram Laramie will cost and more than the original sticker price. Next up is arranging for Liquid Spring install.

My goal was only to improve the ride quality. I loved that truck but it just didn't have any room to swap the suspension without further lowering the available payload. That combined with the simple and super silly fact its worth more than I paid for it. So selling a 27000 mile F450 for a 15 mile 5500 Ram was a wash. We also gain a lot of storage.

Not a payload issue. The F450 was the most stable platform I have ever had in an RV.

[Grit_dog]

Cliff and Michele wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I am surprised nobody mention Sulastic hangers.
I had them on my F350 with up to 9000lb camper and they did make the difference, for pretty small cost.
I was worry about their life span, but sold the truck after 3 years/30,000 miles and they were still in very good condition, even after Alaskan Highway.

Sulastic hangers do not increase the vehicle’s GVWR. You still have the same brakes, for example. That is a lot of weight for a 350 series truck. It would be a handful for a 550.

Since you're new here, you don't know Kayteg, but he definitely understands that. Remember OP started this about a harsh ride, not a lack of payload.

Although the OP has revealed his quest is more about getting a new truck than the current one lacking in capacity or capability. So the discussion did shift to him wanting an excess of available payload.

[Cliff_and_Miche]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I am surprised nobody mention Sulastic hangers.
I had them on my F350 with up to 9000lb camper and they did make the difference, for pretty small cost.
I was worry about their life span, but sold the truck after 3 years/30,000 miles and they were still in very good condition, even after Alaskan Highway.

Sulastic hangers do not increase the vehicle’s GVWR. You still have the same brakes, for example. That is a lot of weight for a 350 series truck. It would be a handful for a 550.

[Cliff_and_Miche]

jimh406 wrote:

Cliff and Michele wrote:
It does not have them yet. Will have lower and upper boxes, being custom built by Stablecamper. Also gonna had forged aluminum wheels and 35” tall tires.

Since you are going 35s, have you thought about Super Singles and possibly going even larger?

Fwiw, even my 225s are 33, so 35s just equate to 245s or so.

Going to go with Falken T285/65R20 which are 34.6” tall. After owning heavy trucks a won’t do super singles. The tires you have cannot be deflated for traction plus are 120psi so ride harder than 80psi tires. All compromises!

[Grit_dog]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I am surprised nobody mention Sulastic hangers.
I had them on my F350 with up to 9000lb camper and they did make the difference, for pretty small cost.
I was worry about their life span, but sold the truck after 3 years/30,000 miles and they were still in very good condition, even after Alaskan Highway.

Yo Kayteg! How’s it hangin? Haven’t seen you around in a while!

[Kayteg1]

I am surprised nobody mention Sulastic hangers.
I had them on my F350 with up to 9000lb camper and they did make the difference, for pretty small cost.
I was worry about their life span, but sold the truck after 3 years/30,000 miles and they were still in very good condition, even after Alaskan Highway.

[Grit_dog]

Reality Check wrote:


550 fan here, for sure. Air ride fan for sure, but I understand the limitations and compromises..

And you, iirc have a much heavier setup than what Soondockin has or is proposing. He won't be making use of a good % of his rig's gvw and gcvw if he steps up to a class 5, whereas you do.

[SoonDockin]

Liquid Springs is what is going on my next truck. F450 is worth what I paid for it, so no loss by selling and buying a new truck with more payload. This is not a payload reason. Its to get a much smoother ride under my camper. Liquid springs has a good track record of doing that. Plus the ability to level while parked.

There is no good reason to buy a 450/4500 cab chassis truck. Same money for a F550/5500.

Also I get more storage with a flatbed and upper and lower boxes.

[Reality_Check]

SoonDockin wrote:
...
Been looking at current stock on F450 and 4500 for grins. Seems they can be outfitted with 16500 gvwr. Not the 19500 a F550 or 5500 offers but a full 2500 above what my F450 offers. I am estimating an aluminum bed and liquid springs won't eat more than 1500 lbs. Leaving only 1k breathing room is nice but probably not a good move. It would be much nicer to have 3-4k of spare payload. Never know when I might find a vein of gold and need to carry out a ton or so.

Guess I'm missing the point here. If you're talking CC units, the only difference between 450/550 (4500/5500 in the ram stuff) is the spring packs (not so sure on the Dodge side, but I believe so).

If that's the case, and you're switching to an aftermarket system, what difference does it make?

I'm with Grit Dog here; do you want more truck just because, or are you looking for a softer ride? 'Cause those two don't ride on the same horse.

550 fan here, for sure. Air ride fan for sure, but I understand the limitations and compromises..

[jimh406]

Cliff and Michele wrote:
It does not have them yet. Will have lower and upper boxes, being custom built by Stablecamper. Also gonna had forged aluminum wheels and 35” tall tires.

Since you are going 35s, have you thought about Super Singles and possibly going even larger?

Fwiw, even my 225s are 33, so 35s just equate to 245s or so.