cheftim
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Re: Arctic fox 990 rocking back and forth
I have a 2017 AF 990. (looks like I need to update my sig) Had a 2017 F350 Ext cab, Ranchos, airbags, Stableload uppers. Spent way too much time messing around with airbag settings. Never felt comfy. You can search my handle for some of the discussion. Upgraded to a 2020 F350 Crew cab. Put on the 18" Method NV wheels rated for 4500 (I believe) as well as the Toyo F rated 4000lb Tires. To that I added the Stableload lowers and some other replacement upper stops that were cheaper than the SL uppers. Did this after consultation with the folks on this forum. Real test (the SO) passed immediately on first ride (and for me too). My opinions: Air bags suck for this setup. You're well overweight. (Cat scale for me for the weekend is around 12k). Hunting and pecking for the right air pressure drove me nuts. Lower stable loads removed all of the sway. I've driven commercially for years in the past so I'm accepting of the changes 5k of weight (even AF states ~4800 loaded) in the bed makes and this setup is awesome. My suggestion to anyone with a heavy camper for the truck and the truck is not a dually, install stainless steel lower stable loads as your first task. You need to engage the lowest spring in the pack (the stiffest one) early. You CAN drill the springs yourself but you have to be creative. Took me about 45min/hole including setup time and working solo. The tire/wheel combo provides me the mental comfort that, although they're close to limits, are within limits. Can't say that I can feel a difference in the stiffer side-walls from the stock tire/rims, but it follows logic that there is. I almost went the 19.5 route until folks here caught the fact we go on sand and saved me ton of aggravation. One last addition I'm making is a rear shock change because I do go on sand and the stocks aren't up to the task. Now, Bilstein vs Rancho? I haven't had bad luck with the Ranchos in the past. I'll post update on that.716Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tires and Wheels
It's too late for this, but I want to say thanks to all of you for the help, comments, humor. I've got the Toyo's and Methods on along with the TL lower wedges (comments below on that process) and uppers. Truck rides great with this combo. Standard shocks and no sway bar changes, nothing but the tire/wheel upgrade and the TL lowers (stainless steel). True judge of the ride sits in the other side while I drive and not a peep. Lots of peeps with the previous setup. I actually find the ride more comfortable loaded. With camper on, the uppers engage just barely. Keep trying to convince myself that I should at least put some Ranchos on but I haven't won that argument yet. I've got one wedge engaged and just leave it engaged full time as I can't really discern any difference. If you're going to drill for the TL lowers yourself, here's what I found. Any good cobalt bit works fine. Slow and even slower. Keep it oiled. I could only get one through by manually pushing. Next 3, I rigged up some screw clamps. Wasn't pretty or easy especially solo. If I were to do it again, I'd either rent the rig from TL (if it worked with the truck) or I'd spend a bit more time strategizing how to clamp things more easily. And you can't go slow enough nor put enough pressure on it.592Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tires and Wheels
Well, Given that the 19.5's aren't going to work on the beach, I cancelled the order and I'm back to the drawing board. I wanted to go that route for some extra safety but the #4080 option does still give me at least #500 headroom when fully loaded. I definitely want to upgrade the wheels from the OEM. I've looked at the Methods and the American Force. Near as I can tell the stock rims are 8"x18" with an offset of +40mm (taken from wheel-size.com) for my LT275/70R18 OEMs. The Method MR305 NV HD are and 18"x9" with an +18mm offset with 5.7" spacing. From what I've gathered in research: An 9" rim with +18 offset means the mounting surface of the rim is about .7" into the front half of the wheel. That means back spacing would be 4.5 + .7 = 5.2". That's a .5" off from the spec. Any flaws in my logic so far? I can't find the spacing value for the current OEM rims so I don't know how to reason about the 5.75" spacing on the Methods but I'll try my math again. I'm guessing at the OEM back spacing to be: An 8" rim with +40 offset means the mounting surface of the rim is about 1.6" into the front half of the wheel. So the backspacing would be 4 + 1.6 = 5.6". It seems like these rims would work and not cause an spacing issues in the wheel well. Thanks again for all of the help.592Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tires and Wheels
Ordered the Vision Hauler 81 Wheel 19.5x7.5 8x170 Matte Black today. Now the tires. Currently leaning towards the Toyo M608Z 245/70R. People here to give Toyo's great reviews. I don't put but 10k a year on the truck so I'm hoping they'd last quite a while. Anyone with experience on these or suggestions on others in the 19.5" G or H load range? Live in the Northeast so need all weather. Take the camper out on the beach a fair bit and plan on doing a bit more off the beaten path camping in the next couple of years. Also have at least one cross country planned.338Views0likes0CommentsTires and Wheels
Hey all, Upgraded to a 2020 F350 CC LWB 6.2 and am looking to upgrade my wheels and tires. Thinking of going Rickson steel but I'm reading the backlog is months out. Any experiences out there to share with regard to working with the company delivery times etc? If delivery proves to be long, I'm looking at the Vision 81a Heavy Haulers. 4500lbs works for me on those. A bit lower capacity than the Rickson steel but the price is a bit lower as well. Could use some suggestions on tires in the G or H range, something above a 132 load index. Don't need anything aggressive for off road but do live in the northeast with snow. I realize the tires will be a bit tougher ride than the stock. Looking for experiences that have been good ride-wise. Will be doing 19.5" rims with 265/70R tires. Thanks in advance.9.4KViews0likes42CommentsRe: Need Suspension Mods
FWIW, I removed the camper the other day and hit the dump scale again. Full tank of gas and my fat ass and nothing else: 7350 lbs. Cat scale had be at 12500 lbs with wife and dog and provisions. 12500 - 7350 = 5150 Minus ~400 lbs for wife, dog, and provisions says the 2017 AF 990 with one tank of propane, 3 empty liquid tanks, and provisions was around 4700 lbs. Pretty close to the AF stated wet-rate and what Geo*Boy sees with his rig.469Views0likes0CommentsRe: Need Suspension Mods
Well, Hit a Cat scale last Friday. Front: 4680 Rear: 7820 Total: 12500 Had one of the propane tanks empty on the ride up. Drained all water and waste water before we left. Me the wife and the dog. Fridge full, Q grill in back hold, 3 chairs on back ladder, some tools in the small passenger side compartment, nothing much in the basement. We carry the usual dinnerware, glasses, etc. Clothes for the weekend. Nothing in the back seat of truck but the 80 lb mutt. Might be the camper was an inch shy of hitting the bump stops against the bed front but can't see that having any real impact. Had the bags set at 35 psi for the ride up and it seems to be the sweet spot for that load. Minimal sway for the load. I've decided that I'm just not an air bag fan though. Would rather have spring steel under me. I'm also not comfy with the overload I'm currently carrying and feel obligated to rectify that for our own safety and others. I'll bump the wheels and tires up so they're at least at 4500 per. Going to add the SuperSprings. Looking at their ordering page, they show capacities as such: 3500 PSP-7 (included) 1750 Half Kit 1900 Probably being dense here, but that 3500 lb capacity for the set?469Views0likes0Comments
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