opinions on installing new rear springs

[bobndot]

Hi folks .
Being my 04' 2500HD GMC 6.0 gasser is 10 years old with 70k miles, I was thinking about a new set of springs.
I'm thinking new, because at 10 years of New England road salt use, the OEM spring pack will probably have hairline cracks at the pins , once I pull them to inspect them. (my spring shop usually does not rebuild a 10 yr. old pack)
I was thinking of adding 2 more leafs than the OEM pack. I'm hauling a Lance 845 that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000#. As of now, I plan to keep the Hellwig rear sway bar in place.

If I go this route, and it all looks to sit level in all directions , would you leave off the air bags ?
or...would the bags still offer me some stability ?

Bob

[RamTC]

ticki2 wrote:
Some random thoughts on your particular situation .

Depending first on inspection of the existing springs.

If the springs are sound and just lost some arch you may want to consider some one ton upper overloads instead of replacing or adding to the spring pack . Better ride unloaded .

Although I'm not a fan of airbags , in your case , and since you have them , there may be a hidden benefit to keeping them on . When the truck/camper are not in use , pump them up to max psi and they will take the weight off the springs during storage .

DIY, even overloads may need help, did all 4 mounts for $20

[bobndot]

ok tnx. wintersun and tiki, I will suggest those options to the shop as well .

Bob

[ticki2]

Some random thoughts on your particular situation .

Depending first on inspection of the existing springs.

If the springs are sound and just lost some arch you may want to consider some one ton upper overloads instead of replacing or adding to the spring pack . Better ride unloaded .

Although I'm not a fan of airbags , in your case , and since you have them , there may be a hidden benefit to keeping them on . When the truck/camper are not in use , pump them up to max psi and they will take the weight off the springs during storage .

[wintersun]

I have the same camper and a 2500HD truck and adding SuperSprings made a big difference in handling with the full camper load in the bed. $445 and one hour of labor was all it took and I did it with the camper in the bed. Only needed a couple of adjustable wrenches and a large C-clamp.

Unlike airbags they never need adjusting and can never fail. If even one of the two airbags fails your trip is over. No such worries with the Supersprings.

The Supersprings did not affect the ride of my truck when the camper was out of the bed which was a big plus for this approach.

[bobndot]

AidenJ wrote:
Hey Bob
Had new heavy duty pack installed on my 04 2500 Chevy a few years ago at Albany Spring. Not much different in price than adding a leaf or 2 and having them recurved. Unfortuntaly our Ak trip along with the salty Northeast roads took it's toll on the underside. Just replaced it with a new Ram
Dick

Hi Dick , I will inspect the shackles closely.
That's what I was assuming re: price. Being that my friend is doing me a favor, im trying to make this as easy and short (time-wise)as possible.
Good luck with the new Dodge, most everyone is very happy with new Dodge trucks.
I know someone that just bought his 2nd dodge, a new 2500 with the coils all around and he said it tows his boat real nice. The truck has been flawless, he is very happy with it . Just got back from fishing the Conn. Lakes in N.H. It was a nice break from elder care.

Tnx. 3 tons and Chet for that info. Sounds good.

[AidenJ]

Hey Bob
Had new heavy duty pack installed on my 04 2500 Chevy a few years ago at Albany Spring. Not much different in price than adding a leaf or 2 and having them recurved. Unfortuntaly our Ak trip along with the salty Northeast roads took it's toll on the underside. Just replaced it with a new Ram
Dick

[sleepy]

bobndot wrote:
Hi folks .
Being my 04' 2500HD GMC 6.0 gasser is 10 years old with 70k miles, I was thinking about a new set of springs.
I'm thinking new, because at 10 years of New England road salt use, the OEM spring pack will probably have hairline cracks at the pins , once I pull them to inspect them. (my spring shop usually does not rebuild a 10 yr. old pack)
I was thinking of adding 2 more leafs than the OEM pack. I'm hauling a Lance 845 that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000#. As of now, I plan to keep the Hellwig rear sway bar in place.

If I go this route, and it all looks to sit level in all directions , would you leave off the air bags ?
or...would the bags still offer me some stability ?

Bob

My GMC is a 2003 model 3500 crewcab, duramax allison

My very heavy Lance 1161 camper is on the truck year around.

The camper is side entrance... over the 11th year we noticed that the camper would squish down in that corner a little when we were on the steps... never before.

I took it to a spring shop in Knoxville, TN in Februrary of this year... they added 2 leaves on each side and rebent everything that needed it. They did a beautiful job. Even painted the springs like new.

I have my original Firestone air bags, they left them in place, and I am still using them.

I have to say, "My truck is perky again!"

We took it on a 49 day trip to Brownsville, TX and Mexico since then... WOW! Just like new.

It cost about $600 and took about a half day.

Get advice from the spring shop in your area... those guys are good.

Chet

[3_tons]

A couple of rides in GPascazio's F350 DRW, made an add-a-leafs believer out of me...After adding 2 leafs per side, I'm very satisfied with improved stability, ride and handling.

3 tons

[bobndot]

Thanks to all for their input, much appreciated.

I really don't want the expense right now but my spring pack appears to be more flat now that its 10 years old.
The rig seems to rock n roll a little more than it once did . Just the opposite of myself. 🙂
I can take advantage of my friend doing this for me , so its really just his dealers cost of the springs. Its probably easier to buy new and swap rather than rebuild the pack , but i'll know better once we get into it .

Super Dave, my camper is always on the truck ,the extra leafs should not matter in my case, I do have Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, they might help a bit.
The camper will come off when I jack the truck up to inspect and install. Even though I work the jacks every now and then , wish me luck in waking up my electric jacks .

I have upgraded my tires, i'm not overloaded on my rear axle anymore .

I'll know better once the camper is off and the truck is in the air. I will do a follow up as to how it all worked out. I'm doing it at my friends medium duty truck shop, so I have to work around his schedule.

thanks again , Bob

[Boatycall]

cigar 100 wrote:
call me old fashioned, but i still prefer springs over air bags to handle the weight. go to your spring shop and have them inspected. if they are reputable, they won't try to sell you something you don't need. good luck.

x2.

I'm not a fan of bags. The number of times you'll hear people say thier bags leak or popped will outweigh those who say thier springs failed. My uncle has bags on his Dodge. Had to air them back up every day during a 2-day each way road trip.

[cigar_100]

call me old fashioned, but i still prefer springs over air bags to handle the weight. go to your spring shop and have them inspected. if they are reputable, they won't try to sell you something you don't need. good luck.

[Super_Dave]

Bob, you don't mention what percentage of the time your camper is on your truck. I avoid driving my truck when it is unloaded because of the stiff ride. If you make split use of your truck, something to consider.

[H2oSprt]

I have the same truck, I added super springs to my original spring pack. Best suspension mod to date.

[mkirsch]

If you already have airbags, it's a small matter to reinstall them afterward.

The 4x4 guys are fond of saying: Better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.