• Welcome to The Truck Stop! We see you haven't REGISTERED yet.

    Your truck knowledge is missing!
    • Registration is FREE , all we need is your birthday and email. (We don't share ANY data with ANYONE)
    • We have tons of knowledge here for your diesel truck!
    • Post your own topics and reply to existing threads to help others out!
    • NO ADS! The site is fully functional and ad free!
    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

    Problems registering? Click here to contact us!

    Already registered, but need a PASSWORD RESET? CLICK HERE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD!

Add a Leaf?

D

dka99burb

Member
Messages
650
Reaction score
4
Location
Reidsville, NC
The 1500HD has softer suspension than the 2500HD. Since I leveled it the front is stiffer than before since turning up the bars is essentially adding pre-load to the springs.
I carry tools, some fuel in the Aux tank, and usually some other misc crap in the bed; plus the weight of the top. The rear seems to be really soft so the bounce is backwards from stock; rear bounces more than front. I put new shocks on all the way around. I am thinking of going to stiffer ones in the back but I don't know that it will be sufficient.
What do you guys think? Experience?
 
Out here we have a real good shop that specializes in spring work. If you have a similar place I would find out what they can do with re-arching to match ride height and ride. Just throwing an add a leaf in will stiffin it when loaded, but how much, still to little or way to much? A good spring shop will have the experience to tune it.

The other option would be adding bags. That way you can tune it to suit your taste.

I used to sell and install add a leafs and timberens at my truck equipment shop, probably 200- 250 a year. trust me if your wanting to alter the ride in a good way these are the wrong answer.
 
Will, I'm thinking of doing air bags. Who's do you recomend? Is there a full kit for the 88-2000 trucks? Im sure there are just have not looked yet.
 
I'll agree w/ not using add a leafs. I paid the extra money for custom Springs from Deaver. Worth every penny imo.

If I were you (I have a similar truck situation lol) I'd go with bags and and 2500hd leafs or leafs modified by a good shop. Bilstein shocks of course.

Also check your front end for down travel before the uca hits it's stops. If that has wear like it has been hitting alot then maybe get cognito uca's. 1500hd front end parts are the same as 2500hd parts.

Source Unknown
 
Burning oil said:
Will, I'm thinking of doing air bags. Who's do you recomend? Is there a full kit for the 88-2000 trucks? Im sure there are just have not looked yet.
Click to expand...

We always had good results with Firestone bags, small ones up through semi trucks and tanker trailers. Idk as far as a kit, we always built our own bracket that mounted the bag to the frame. DOT rated hose and fittings from a big rig dealer was cheaper than kits, and I was a dealer.
Idk, maybe online pricing has it best now. For the brackets just look at a couple pics online and you'll know what to build. The kit prices back then were way more than they should have been.
And forget the on board compressors in the kits. By a seperators compressor if you really want one, better units at better pricing. Otherwise just shrader valve it like the old school air shocks you'd air up on the way to a Van Halen Concert.
 
I like my active suspension set up. They are easy to tune, add some capacity, and tighten up the feel without being too aggressive. They will sag if you really add some weight. They can be adjust but I set and forget. If your load varies a lot then I would say air bags are the way to go.

I also have timbrens and I am not thrilled with them. Unloaded if I hit a bad bump or are driving on a rough road they tend to feel harsh BUT if I am carrying a heavy load they are better than the factory bump stops that are a joke.

I still get some sag with real weight (2000 lbs.) with both but again they could be adjusted but not on the fly.

I have never really been a fan of the add a leafs.
 
Thanks and now to high jack again. My plan is to carry a camper on the truck. Antisipate max weight to be 2000#s.
You think air bags are overkill or just what I need? Would reworked/new springs be better?
Leo I'll look at the link now.
 
Leroy, IMO bags are good. If you are happy with your ride now then keep the stock springs and get bags so you can keep stock ride comfort later.

Over years the stock springs get weak so taking it to a spring shop to get them rearched wouldnt hurt anything.
 
Burning oil said:
Thanks and now to high jack again. My plan is to carry a camper on the truck. Antisipate max weight to be 2000#s.
You think air bags are overkill or just what I need? Would reworked/new springs be better?
Leo I'll look at the link now.
Click to expand...

Just my 2 cents on airbags on RVs, I love them. I bought one of those little fiberglass body motorhomes on a Toyota chassis from my mother-in-law when the engine went bad (repowering to diesel) and it has the bags on it. Normal driving with water tanks empty you just leave a small charge in the bags but as you increase weight (water, towing, etc. in this case) you just add air and the great thing with the bags is you can level. This one has the fresh water on the right side and black & gray water tanks on the left so as you use the water the rig leans a bit and doesn't handle well but as soon as you add air it's back to driving great. She carried one of those compressors that plugs into the lighter for times that getting air was a problem but found that she didn't have to use it much. I plan to install a compressor under the hood, but I'm sometimes accused of overkill. Generally by my wife.

On one of my other pickups I pulled a 5th wheel and needed to add some springs but didn't want to kill the ride when unloaded so went with an overload kit that stacked on top of the existing springs using longer u-bolts and brackets that mounted on the outside of the frame rails. As the load increased the weight would bring the overloads in contact with the brackets, so unloaded you had the ride of stock springs but it still handled the weight. Only problem at all was when I had a partial load and the overloads were only close I'd get a kind of jolting on bumpy roads from the overloads hitting the brackets. Having 20/20 hindsight I'd have probably been as well off or better with the air bags since they allow you to vary the amount of air specific to how much overload capacity you need.
 
Off subject but there is a local oil field truck that has a 3K gal tank on the front of the gooseneck trailer and a huge pump/generator over the axle area. He has a 1" thick spring the bolts near the ends of the stock springs on each end and goes over the helpers. This keeps tension on the helpers at all times and is 3" below the overload pads. To top it off the truck is dodge crew cab dually 5500 w/ no bed, I bet it rides like **** unloaded!
 
My Firestone airbags are 16 years old, they tend to leak in very cold weather now. I used to have a cheap 12v compressor which was seldom needed for the first 10 years. I should invest in another.
 
I checked out the Roadmaster and Firestone air bag system. I'll call on Monday to one of my suppliers to see what they have.
 
One other option if you bag it, and you know your spring are toasty is to loose some of the springs to soften the empty load ride, rearch the remaining spring to keep desired height, and your then starting out with a balanced load between sides. It's not like either of you guys are going to exceed the capacity of the bags.

Some people question air bags, think 80,000 lbs + in semis, guess what the best ride system is available for them.
 
Thanks for all the discussion guys. I am going to do a little more research including cost of re-arching springs and maybe swapping to 2500HD springs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top