My previous rig was a Northstar Igloo on a 2010 Dodge crew cab 4x4 2500 diesel. Due to a traffic accident I am replacing the truck with a 2018 Dodge crew cab 4x4 3500 diesel. The GVW of my rig will be just about the 12300 pound rating for the 3500 with about 7200 pounds on the rear axle. The 2500 definitely needed help with that weight. I put on Rancho shocks and Firestone airbags. The airbags added lots of sway to the ride so I kept the pressure so low they probably did very little good. After a couple of years I added SuperSprings. That made a huge improvement and finally gave me a decent ride with little sway. Now I am not sure what modifications, if any, are needed for the 3500. My dealer is recommending airbags again. I don't even want to try that based on the sway problem from last time. I am not sure if Rancho shocks are worthwhile since I never drove with the OEM shocks. For a suspension boost I am thinking of Stable Loads or SuperSprings but I am really not sure if I need either.Recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have a SRW GMC 3500 crew cab 4X4, sort box, and haul a Northern Lite 8-11 drybath Camper. All I added were Timbren SRS rubber overload springs. You would have to go on line and see if they have any that for your truck. Airbags aren’t the best thing around here, as we spend lots of time off road camping, and there is a very good chance that you will pop an airbag on gravel logging and Mining roads. The no maintenance Timbren SRS rubber overload was a perfect fit for us.Soup

I'm curious. On your airbags, was there one air inlet hooked up to both bags, or did each side have it's own?I've seen a bunch of posts that said that a single inlet allows air to move from one side to the other, which is why the airbags don't seem to help with sway at all, but that the double inlet doesn't have that problem.

On my previous 2016 Ram 3500 SRW I just had a BigWig sway bar. My Bigfoot is approaching 4500# wet and heavily loaded.

Optimistic Paranoid wrote:I'm curious. On your airbags, was there one air inlet hooked up to both bags, or did each side have it's own?I've seen a bunch of posts that said that a single inlet allows air to move from one side to the other, which is why the airbags don't seem to help with sway at all, but that the double inlet doesn't have that problem.The right and left airbags were independent. I believe the RV dealer set the pressures at about 50 pounds. The sway was really bad but that was my first experience trying to drive with a camper on the truck. Later I tinkered and lowered the pressure to the 20 pound range. I also cranked up the Rancho shocks to maximum. That helped with the sway but the shocks made the ride really bad and every tar strip in the road was very annoying. On my first cross country trip, I stopped at the Northstar plant. Rex recommended setting the bags so the passenger side was 1 1/2 inch higher to compensate for the crown in the road. We left with about 45 pounds on the left and 65 on the right. The sway was horrible again so I dropped back to about 15 pounds on both. I did not check the bags again for a couple of years and when I did one bag was torn and the other had just a couple of pounds of pressure.

If you have overloads, extended bump stops will help with sway if you need airbags to level the ride. I use Energy Suspension ones on current but also the SRW I had. 19.5s also helped with sway on the SRW. F450 comes with stock 19.5s.Do keep the airbags at a minimum.Finally, consider upgraded sway bar like a Hellwig Big Wig. That depends on if you truck has one or not.

Recommendations for suspension mods on a new truck

SideHillSoup
Explorer
Jul 06, 2018
I have a SRW GMC 3500 crew cab 4X4, sort box, and haul a Northern Lite 8-11 drybath Camper. All I added were Timbren SRS rubber overload springs. You would have to go on line and see if they have any that for your truck.
Airbags aren’t the best thing around here, as we spend lots of time off road camping, and there is a very good chance that you will pop an airbag on gravel logging and Mining roads. The no maintenance Timbren SRS rubber overload was a perfect fit for us.

Soup
Optimistic_Para
Explorer
Jul 06, 2018
I'm curious. On your airbags, was there one air inlet hooked up to both bags, or did each side have it's own?

I've seen a bunch of posts that said that a single inlet allows air to move from one side to the other, which is why the airbags don't seem to help with sway at all, but that the double inlet doesn't have that problem.
TxGearhead
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2018
On my previous 2016 Ram 3500 SRW I just had a BigWig sway bar. My Bigfoot is approaching 4500# wet and heavily loaded.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2018
Optimistic Paranoid wrote:
I'm curious. On your airbags, was there one air inlet hooked up to both bags, or did each side have it's own?

I've seen a bunch of posts that said that a single inlet allows air to move from one side to the other, which is why the airbags don't seem to help with sway at all, but that the double inlet doesn't have that problem.

The right and left airbags were independent. I believe the RV dealer set the pressures at about 50 pounds. The sway was really bad but that was my first experience trying to drive with a camper on the truck. Later I tinkered and lowered the pressure to the 20 pound range. I also cranked up the Rancho shocks to maximum. That helped with the sway but the shocks made the ride really bad and every tar strip in the road was very annoying. On my first cross country trip, I stopped at the Northstar plant. Rex recommended setting the bags so the passenger side was 1 1/2 inch higher to compensate for the crown in the road. We left with about 45 pounds on the left and 65 on the right. The sway was horrible again so I dropped back to about 15 pounds on both. I did not check the bags again for a couple of years and when I did one bag was torn and the other had just a couple of pounds of pressure.
jimh406
Explorer III
Jul 06, 2018
If you have overloads, extended bump stops will help with sway if you need airbags to level the ride. I use Energy Suspension ones on current but also the SRW I had. 19.5s also helped with sway on the SRW. F450 comes with stock 19.5s.

Do keep the airbags at a minimum.

Finally, consider upgraded sway bar like a Hellwig Big Wig. That depends on if you truck has one or not.
jmtandem
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2018
Now I am not sure what modifications, if any, are needed for the 3500.

Your dealer's advice was good. Rams work very well with airbags. However, it is important that the air lines to each bag is independent and not connected to each other. I use Energy Suspension overload bumpers and air the bags to the point where the overload spring just touches the overload bumper. The ride is very stable around corners, in wind, passed by trucks, etc with an approximately 4000 pound camper. Also, be certain your tires are at a high pressure to eliminate any sway, also. Of course, and it goes without saying, if you really want a stable ride purchase a truck with training wheels.
stevenal
Nomad II
Jul 06, 2018
I didn't even try loading the camper on the new truck before installing an upgraded rear anti-sway bar and Stable-loads. Still trying to decide on the front anti-sway bar.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jul 06, 2018
Have you driven it yet to see if you even need weight supporting mods?
A sway bar will always help and then see what you need. MaYbe nothing, maybe lower spring wedges or stable loads, maybe Timbrens, maybe springs or bags.
But bags will increase sway unless you’re loading the suspension up with a good portion of the weight rather than trying to carry it on the bags.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2018
Thanks for the replies. So far I have 2 recommendations for sway bars and 1 recommendation each for timbrens, bump stops, airbags and stable loads.
S_Davis
Explorer
Jul 07, 2018
With air bags you want to set them up so the truck is level side to side and the overloads just touch, if you use the air bags to lift the spring pack so the overloads don't engage you will get a really bouncy ride with more sway.