Burning man,
I have to disagree with your assessment because you used a static model. In motion, hard braking does transfer weight to the front and the resultant compression of the front suspension. How do I know this? A few times when installing the camper on the truck, I missed getting it all the way to the front rubber bumpers/snubbers. I only needed 2 or 3 inches forward and had already removed my jax. So, what to do? I sped up down the lane to about 10 mph, making sure i was on the flat and slammed on the brakes. What happened? Two things: The camper slid forward with the rear edge lifting slightly, even on that sticky, thin mat. The overhead sleeping part dipped about 4". The front suspension of the truck compressed and dropped down also then rebounded. Job done. I noticed over the years that the wear on the bottom side edges of the floor was getting beat up, much of it by the Lance Camper Guides. I installed 2x2 aluminum "L" strips along the exterior sides of the floor of the box and I'm thinking these made the slide easier and acted as mini skids. jefe
I have to disagree with your assessment because you used a static model. In motion, hard braking does transfer weight to the front and the resultant compression of the front suspension. How do I know this? A few times when installing the camper on the truck, I missed getting it all the way to the front rubber bumpers/snubbers. I only needed 2 or 3 inches forward and had already removed my jax. So, what to do? I sped up down the lane to about 10 mph, making sure i was on the flat and slammed on the brakes. What happened? Two things: The camper slid forward with the rear edge lifting slightly, even on that sticky, thin mat. The overhead sleeping part dipped about 4". The front suspension of the truck compressed and dropped down also then rebounded. Job done. I noticed over the years that the wear on the bottom side edges of the floor was getting beat up, much of it by the Lance Camper Guides. I installed 2x2 aluminum "L" strips along the exterior sides of the floor of the box and I'm thinking these made the slide easier and acted as mini skids. jefe
I read these posts from people who have tried air bags, Timbrens, more leaf springs, Stable Loads (or equivalent), thicker anti-sway bars and bigger shocks and want to add my experience. Firstly, there is no free ride when trying to control your load. If you add thicker anti-sway bars it invites the truck frame to twist more, off-road. If you never get off road, then the thickest AS-bar is a good bet. Also, AS-Bars tend to transfer sway if you hit a hole with one wheel instead of letting the suspension absorb the difference. Most of the 'sway' is under the load at the rear axle, so why not make the rear more your solid anchor point and the front axle more your pivot point with less actual twisting of the frame. This is what I've done and it works well. Emergency braking is one downside as it transfers weight to the front, flimsier suspension. My anchors: It's kind of a 3-stage system, dependent on the loading:
I disconnect one side of the rear anti-sway bar when in axle twisting situations, just like the hard core jeepers do. Yes, there is more sway, but you are moving so slowly that you relieve the pressure and won't injure the connection between your tie downs and the truck. Remember, AS-bars add stability on flat, smooth road surfaces, but actually accentuate the sway on uneven surfaces trying to keep the axle parallel to the frame.Remember the ConeHead maxim: "Resistance is futile." I use single stage Pro Comp shocks on the front. Since the load on the front axle does not change much, I don't need adjustable shocks. Im still using Rancho 9K's on the rear, on my 3rd set of free replacements after 15 years, and they do make a difference. When the truck is MT they reside on 1. With the camper on they turn up to the highest setting. They're so old I can't remember how many settings there are. My experience with air bags is not a good one. Air bags, if not shock controlled to the max tend to rebound when you hit a hole adding to the sway. For leveling the rig and a smooth highway ride, I think they are fine if not pumped up too high. I"ve never used Timbrens. No experience. Stable Loads help with anti-sway. It's a good, if expensive way to bring your overloads or secondaries into play sooner. The downside, speaking of no free ride, is they reduce your suspension travel on that axle transferring the twisting motion to the frame or your front suspension. Still, with the camper on, I get approaching no sway in corners on a winding road. Remember too, I have most of the heavy weight down low in the camper and nothing heavy up high, with no air conditioner on the roof. I have tried with and without the small gauge factory AS-bar and with the new rubber parts it works better than with worn out grommets. My loaded 8 leaf suspension ALMOST negated any difference with or without a AS-bar.
In the end, I think a complete rear axle leaf spring replacement with your spring rate in mind is probably the best solution if you have leaf springs and keep the camper on most of the time. Nibbling around the edges of the problem can be an expensive albeit fun search. Being in the constant, "Build" mode with a TC is a curse. I notice that my neighbor's new RAM, air suspension 2-series has Currie-like anti-sway levers on the rear axle. No leaf springs. Which brings me to the sad reality of what I've just written: time has marched on and left me behind with my old values and observations. So, take the above with a grain of salt if you have a less-than 5 year old truck. Good luck.
jefe
I disconnect one side of the rear anti-sway bar when in axle twisting situations, just like the hard core jeepers do. Yes, there is more sway, but you are moving so slowly that you relieve the pressure and won't injure the connection between your tie downs and the truck. Remember, AS-bars add stability on flat, smooth road surfaces, but actually accentuate the sway on uneven surfaces trying to keep the axle parallel to the frame.Remember the ConeHead maxim: "Resistance is futile." I use single stage Pro Comp shocks on the front. Since the load on the front axle does not change much, I don't need adjustable shocks. Im still using Rancho 9K's on the rear, on my 3rd set of free replacements after 15 years, and they do make a difference. When the truck is MT they reside on 1. With the camper on they turn up to the highest setting. They're so old I can't remember how many settings there are. My experience with air bags is not a good one. Air bags, if not shock controlled to the max tend to rebound when you hit a hole adding to the sway. For leveling the rig and a smooth highway ride, I think they are fine if not pumped up too high. I"ve never used Timbrens. No experience. Stable Loads help with anti-sway. It's a good, if expensive way to bring your overloads or secondaries into play sooner. The downside, speaking of no free ride, is they reduce your suspension travel on that axle transferring the twisting motion to the frame or your front suspension. Still, with the camper on, I get approaching no sway in corners on a winding road. Remember too, I have most of the heavy weight down low in the camper and nothing heavy up high, with no air conditioner on the roof. I have tried with and without the small gauge factory AS-bar and with the new rubber parts it works better than with worn out grommets. My loaded 8 leaf suspension ALMOST negated any difference with or without a AS-bar.
In the end, I think a complete rear axle leaf spring replacement with your spring rate in mind is probably the best solution if you have leaf springs and keep the camper on most of the time. Nibbling around the edges of the problem can be an expensive albeit fun search. Being in the constant, "Build" mode with a TC is a curse. I notice that my neighbor's new RAM, air suspension 2-series has Currie-like anti-sway levers on the rear axle. No leaf springs. Which brings me to the sad reality of what I've just written: time has marched on and left me behind with my old values and observations. So, take the above with a grain of salt if you have a less-than 5 year old truck. Good luck.
jefe
