Suspension Upgrade Questions?

[jefffoxsr]

I took my new truck camper for its maiden voyage this weekend. I weighed it at the cat scales. The unit weighs 3100# loaded.
The GAWR Rear of my truck is 6,100# and I'm right there.
The GAWR front is 4,600# and the front loaded weight is 4,100#

I have a 2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD with 66,000 miles.

This is my first truck camper.

It drives very wallowy. There is excessive body roll also in my opinion, or at least more than I am comfortable with.

The shocks definitely need more damping ability since the truck bounces up and down sometimes like it needs more compression and rebound damping. They are overloaded in my opinion.

I think air bags could help the body roll too.

So for shocks which brand should I get?

For air bags which brand should I get?

What other suspension components, upgrades, or adjustments will help the truck to drive more stable down the road?

Thanks.

[billtex]

jefffoxsr wrote:
Thank you for all the great information. I have the load range E 10 ply LT tires already and they are properly inflated per the load inflation table emailed to me by the tire manufacturer. 80 psi rear and 70 psi front.

Thank you very much.

I started running both front and rear at max psi (80) a couple of years ago...helps quite a bit.
Try it.

B

[Mote]

I put the tork lift stable loads on my truck. Now when I load the camper in squats the truck two inches instead of four. It also made the truck handle much better with the camper on board

[jefffoxsr]

Thank you for all the great information. I have the load range E 10 ply LT tires already and they are properly inflated per the load inflation table emailed to me by the tire manufacturer. 80 psi rear and 70 psi front.

Today I ordered Bilstein shocks and Hellwig front and rear anti sway bars. After that I will need to do something to make the truck sit about 2 inches higher in the rear.

What are my options here?

Thank you very much.

[gdavidg]

Good call by others, E rated tires inflated to 80ish psi rear, 65 to 80 front. I should have said if your tires are not E rated and load rated to 3750# per tire that should be the first upgrade prior to anything else. Toyos and Nittos both have tires in those load ratings in AT tread patterns. Sure other tire makers have some with high ratings also, just the two I was considering.

the stiffer sidewalls will make the truck track in a straight line better.

after that "Stable Loads" first upgrade.

[wintersun]

I agree with the one step at a time and then re-evaluate the situation. The truck as it left the factory was not setup for carrying a heavy camper for hundreds of miles but more for comfort.

I would start by examining the truck with the camper in the bed. If the truck squats in the back then you need more spring lift. SuperSprings are the easiest way to add to the load capacity of the factory springs and they do not engage unless their support is needed. Air bags help more when one side of the camper is heavier than the other as you can add more lift on one side but they do break and they do need to be adjusted for your truck and the load and it is not all that easy - check the posts from people with air bags that are not happy with their ride control.

Be sure to have your tires at their maximum PSI as sidewall flex will be much greater with a camper load. I changed out the factory tires that were rated at 3195@80 PSI with ones rated at 3750@80 PSI and there was a noticeable improvement in control with the new tires.

The shocks are going to be shot unless you replaced them in the last 20,000 miles. Rancho 9000XL or Bilstein 4600 or 5100 shocks are good for use with a camper. The shocks by design will dampen the movement down on one side of the truck when entering a turn and at the same time the shocks on the opposite side will dampen the upward movement of the truck.

Another add-on but the last to consider is a rear anti-sway bar and a heavy duty one that is 1" or larger in diameter.

Be aware that trucks are different from year to year and among different makes so what works with a 2009 Ford or 2005 Ram or 2011 Chevy is not going to necessarily be directly applicable to your truck.

[gpascazio]

I have a 2008 Ford F350 Dually and haul an 2010 Eagle Cap 1160. We bought the setup in 2011. It came with Timbrens. Did not like the ride at all. Wound up getting two additional leaf springs and that did the trick. The trade off is that it rides a bit rougher without the camper. However, I drive more miles with the camper than without so it was an exceptable trade for us.

[wcjeep]

Tires, wheels and Torklift stable loads.

[Tarkin75]

usmcshepherd wrote:
If you still aren't happy consider a set of Timbrens! These are airless airbags that are install an forget (like the stable loads), and you can install yourself for very little investment.

Just a note that IME the Timbrens are fantastic with a heavy load.

But, if you tow without a load in the bed, they are pretty terrible. My 2700 boat compresses the springs just enough to "preload" the timbrens, so when it's towing the boat bounces all over the place.

I'll be swapping the timbren's out and trying something else to carry my camper sometime in the spring.

Later
C

[billtex]

Sounds like you need beefier tires...what are you running now?
3100# should be fine for that truck...

B

[Joe417]

Jeff,
I've been feeling my way through setting up my truck with a AF990 which is a little heavier than what you are working with (about 4000#). I've got a 2008 2500HD 6.0 CC LB(yes, the weight police will most certainly have something to say). I ordered it new with HD towing and HD camper package. I up-sized my tires to 3750# tires to handle the extra rear axle weight. With the original tires ( I believe were 3175#) it felt a slight bit uncomfortable but not scary. I also added AirLift 5000 air springs. I first put about 40# of air in the springs which made the rig feel uncomfortable and quite scary. I then dropped the air pressure down (19#) letting the overloads just touch which made a world of difference. It really feels stable now.

You've got a 4x4. They are sprung stiffer. Are your overload springs making contact. You can check if engaging the overloads earlier will help by jacking the camper up, putting some kind of spacer between the overload and regular spring pack. Take it around the block and if it feels a lot better you may want to look at some Stable-Loads.

Engaging my overload springs (with the air bags) made such a big difference in sway, I'm thinking about adding Stable-loads to make them engage even earlier.

In addition, my HD camper package included a HD sway bars. So this may have a lot to do with my rig feeling stable. You may be able to pick up a used one from a salvage yard at a reasonable price, most of the after market bars (that I've seen)are >$300.

It's very frustrating to have to keep spend money at "guessing" what might correct the problem.

Hopefully someone on here will have had the same equipment with similar issues.

Good Luck

[dadwolf2]

IMO, I would get Bilstein shocks for dampening. Then I would get Supersprings to assist your 2500 and you will also notice an improvement in sway reduction.

[usmcshepherd]

You'll find a thousand and one opinions on this topic here for sure...the one constant theme you'll see over and again is the idea to upgrade gradually (one component at a time).

I'd start with a set of stable loads from Tork Lift for sure...again a common first step, that you can install easily for very little investment. Then see how that goes.

If you still aren't happy consider a set of Timbrens! These are airless airbags that are install an forget (like the stable loads), and you can install yourself for very little investment. My personnel opinion is that air bags is kind of the old way of doing things....there are better products out there now that make air bags obsolete.

Once you've tested that you might want to consider rear sway bars, a leaf spring pack rebuild (best option but will run about $1400), new shocks...I like Bliesteins, 19.5 wheels and tires that are G or better rated! Certainly you should have E rated tires on your truck already at a minimum!

Hope that helps...feel free to PM me too if you want!

[gdavidg]

This is a subject well covered many times, you could do a search and find many opinions. BUT you asked:

I would try these things first one at a time till you feel comfortable:

Stable Loads - By Torklift (I would have them but the dodge 1 ton SRW springs require drilling a hole through them, I am not up to it)

If that is not enough:

Bigwig Rear Sway Bar - By Hellwig(got one myself and it was a good investment, like the improved handling and less sway)

If these two items do not help enough, many people go with Timbrens or added spring leafs. have no actual experience with either.

If the truck is bouncing up and down and you determine yoou need shocks, I would look at either Bilsteins or Rancho's. I went with the Bilsteins, they did help the truck handle better but do not noticeable help with sway. The Ranchos have a huge following but cost more, both are very good.

I have Firestone Airbags with individual control, they came on my 2010 that I bought preowned. they DO NOT help stop sway, they DO level the truck. If I was doing it from scratch, I would go Stable Loads, have heard so many good things, great company.

If these things do not help- one ton dually, wish I went that way when purchasing my truck.

[Eycom]

I have a Ford dually and haul a 3400# dry weight Lance 1121, about 4300#s locked and loaded. I've used Ride-Rite air bags and Rancho 9000s (shocks) with good success the past 9 years and over 200k miles.