Truck camper -> Extreme body roll/sway. Help!

[6.4LMegaMan]

Didn't your truck come with front and rear anti-sway bars?

It sure did. I guess there's a trade off between how stiff you want it to be. Stock stiffness in my case appears to be not stiff enough.

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[lpennock]

It sure did. I guess there's a trade off between how stiff you want it to be. Stock stiffness in my case appears to be not stiff enough.

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It's all about moment arms. Tall loads require more sway control than shorter loads. Leaf springs give better sway control than coils because they are further out board. Trucks are engineered for bumper pull and other relatively low loads.

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[JSMITH8505]

I'm going to sound like my dad for a second..
What's wrong with just leaving it stock?
've found that stock suspension seems to work well for most "universal" types of applications. Meaning it may not be the all-time best for off-roading nor is it the all-time best for heavy hauling, it seems to be predictable enough for 85% of what you'll use a truck for.
Ive changed a lot of things on trucks in the past, but learned long ago that unless I want a to dial in a specific use for my truck, it's better to not do too much with the suspension. Even lifting a truck with aftermarket stuff has it's drawbacks. A bit too much or too little spring strength can make the difference between a horrible ride and an overly soft ride.
It may not be as flashy, but stock suspensions are "Pretty Okay" for most uses.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

I'm going to sound like my dad for a second..
What's wrong with just leaving it stock?
've found that stock suspension seems to work well for most "universal" types of applications. Meaning it may not be the all-time best for off-roading nor is it the all-time best for heavy hauling, it seems to be predictable enough for 85% of what you'll use a truck for.
Ive changed a lot of things on trucks in the past, but learned long ago that unless I want a to dial in a specific use for my truck, it's better to not do too much with the suspension. Even lifting a truck with aftermarket stuff has it's drawbacks. A bit too much or too little spring strength can make the difference between a horrible ride and an overly soft ride.
It may not be as flashy, but stock suspensions are "Pretty Okay" for most uses.

I completely understand your thinking and have had the same exact thought many times myself. I lost track of how many vehicles and boats and motorcycles I've owned and modified every single one of them. For most of us I think that's why we're members of forums like this. I love the Thuren upgrades I did and they worked perfectly for the past 30k some odd miles. Now my needs have changed and I need to adjust, that's all. From what I'm being told and researching I would have had this problem anyhow with a completely stock truck and a truck camper, albeit at a much lesser degree!

But yeah you do sound like how my Dad used to say when I was a boy! Ha!

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[22hemi13]

I completely understand your thinking and have had the same exact thought many times myself. I lost track of how many vehicles and boats and motorcycles I've owned and modified every single one of them. For most of us I think that's why we're members of forums like this. I love the Thuren upgrades I did and they worked perfectly for the past 30k some odd miles. Now my needs have changed and I need to adjust, that's all. From what I'm being told and researching I would have had this problem anyhow with a completely stock truck and a truck camper, albeit at a much lesser degree!

But yeah you do sound like how my Dad used to say when I was a boy! Ha!

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I believe even with a stock suspension and that camper it would need some help. I’m not really sure it has anything to do with the thuren level. Looks sweet though. And I love my thuren but when tow I know I’m gonna have a few drawbacks......but off-road is sooooo much more fun lol

 

[lpennock]

I believe even with a stock suspension and that camper it would need some help. I’m not really sure it has anything to do with the thuren level. Looks sweet though. And I love my thuren but when tow I know I’m gonna have a few drawbacks......but off-road is sooooo much more fun lol

My 18 drw with factory air suspension benefited nicely from a Roadmaster rear bar. Of course my old Eagle cap 950 and my new Northern Lite 10-2 are a bit more top heavy than the pop-up.

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[6.4LMegaMan]

After talking with suppliers and everyone I decided to start with installing Timber Grove air bags. I can't say good enough things about Steve there at Timber Grove. He answered all of my questions in detail and seems like a good guy to work with.

I'll install the bags and take it for a test drive and report back. Fingers crossed!

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[unxpctd]

Good luck with the changes. Looking forward to an update.

 

[OC455]

After talking with suppliers and everyone I decided to start with installing Timber Grove air bags. I can't say good enough things about Steve there at Timber Grove. He answered all of my questions in detail and seems like a good guy to work with.

I'll install the bags and take it for a test drive and report back. Fingers crossed!

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I think you will be very happy with the quality of the TG's and how well made they are. Like I said before, a little bit of time with a wrench and you will be set and ready to roll.

Pics too!!!

 

[olyelr]

Yep I bet it will be night and day better. If that alone is not good enough, then I would spring for the tighter sway bar.

 

[Redheadhunter21]

Yep even stock truck would have the same problems, bags are the first step to take. If you think you need a little more stability for higher speed turns then a stiffer rear sway bar would be the ticket. Even on leaf sprung trucks they benefit from the rear sway bar upgrade. I wouldn't do the front though.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

Just wanted to give an update on my project. I finally had some time to do the installation today. I installed the Timber Grove air bags and also swapped out the Fox 2.0 shocks for a set of Bilstein 5100s in the rear. I installed the bags on their own dedicated lines without a T per Steve's recommendation at Timber Grove.

The Timber Grove air bags are very nice quality and appear quite heavy duty. I installed everything and aired them up with no issues and no leaks. The only problem I had was they do not ship with any instructions. They come with a sheet of paper saying to go on their website and find the video of how to install the product. That's just terrible. I was at my workshop that has very little cell service and had a hard time getting a connection to watch the video on my phone. I basically just figured it out on my own. They could at the very least provide an exploded diagram or something.

I drove it home unloaded with about 7psi, per Steve's instruction, in the bags and it is a stiff ride. Not as bad as other trucks I've been in with air bags but definitely a harder ride now. It actually feels very firm and planted. Hard to describe but I kind of like it on initial reaction. I wonder how much of that is due to the air bags and how much is due to the new Bilstein shocks.

I am in the process of installing electric jacks on my camper so for now I have to finish that project before I can load up and take the rig for a test drive. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings.

God Bless our Veterans on this Memorial Day weekend. Take care everyone.

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[Marine Les]

Just wanted to give an update on my project. I finally had some time to do the installation today. I installed the Timber Grove air bags and also swapped out the Fox 2.0 shocks for a set of Bilstein 5100s in the rear. I installed the bags on their own dedicated lines without a T per Steve's recommendation at Timber Grove.

The Timber Grove air bags are very nice quality and appear quite heavy duty. I installed everything and aired them up with no issues and no leaks. The only problem I had was they do not ship with any instructions. They come with a sheet of paper saying to go on their website and find the video of how to install the product. That's just terrible. I was at my workshop that has very little cell service and had a hard time getting a connection to watch the video on my phone. I basically just figured it out on my own. They could at the very least provide an exploded diagram or something.

I drove it home unloaded with about 7psi, per Steve's instruction, in the bags and it is a stiff ride. Not as bad as other trucks I've been in with air bags but definitely a harder ride now. It actually feels very firm and planted. Hard to describe but I kind of like it on initial reaction. I wonder how much of that is due to the air bags and how much is due to the new Bilstein shocks.

I am in the process of installing electric jacks on my camper so for now I have to finish that project before I can load up and take the rig for a test drive. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings.

God Bless our Veterans on this Memorial Day weekend. Take care everyone.

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My ride softened nicely with the 5100s compared to the Ranchos that were on the truck so I think the bags are what your feeling. When you get the camper on you will know and then adjust the psi to your liking. Good move on the electric jacks, not cheap but worth it and I would not be without them.

 

[G. Mcpherson]

What was the issue with the Fox shocks vs. the Bilstein.

 

[Ratket]

I think the more important question is what was the Model Number off both shocks? are they specific for that truck?, or just a Generic model number “ one size fits all”?

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

What was the issue with the Fox shocks vs. the Bilstein.

No real issue, just the general consensus that the Fox shocks are too soft for hauling duty. They did ride nice unloaded and I liked them better than stock. The Bilstein shocks are supposed to be good for hauling so I'm told.

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[6.4LMegaMan]

I think the more important question is what was the Model Number off both shocks? are they specific for that truck?, or just a Generic model number “ one size fits all”?

Both the Fox shocks and now the Bilstein were specific to this particular truck. At least they were the correct model number from each manufacturer.

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[Elkman]

Your truck needs more load capacity at the rear wheels and the best way to do that is to add SuperSprings or airbags. The other "solutions" do not add to the load capacity of the truck but only mask the problem and will not work nearly as well.

When the rear springs cannot support the load in the bed there is more axle travel and the shocks are having to work outside of their designed range and load. Fix the problem at its source with adding leafsprings or airbags.

I would add airbags if I was towing a 5th wheel trailer and needed to precisely adjust the height of the rear of the truck. Otherwise airbags do not provide nearly as much control and sway reduction as adding leaf springs as with SuperSprings or having a shop add a leaves to the existing leaf packs.

A common problem with pickups is that the manufacturer wants to sell potential buyers on the car like ride and so the load capacity of the rear axle is dialed down. With a 1500 class pickup there is not that much payload capacity to start with and so it takes very little to overwhelm the rear suspension.

I increased the payload on my truck by 1400 lbs with the addition of the SuperSprings which took under an hour to mount to the truck and no need to jack up the truck to put them on.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

Your truck needs more load capacity at the rear wheels and the best way to do that is to add SuperSprings or airbags. The other "solutions" do not add to the load capacity of the truck but only mask the problem and will not work nearly as well.

When the rear springs cannot support the load in the bed there is more axle travel and the shocks are having to work outside of their designed range and load. Fix the problem at its source with adding leafsprings or airbags.

I would add airbags if I was towing a 5th wheel trailer and needed to precisely adjust the height of the rear of the truck. Otherwise airbags do not provide nearly as much control and sway reduction as adding leaf springs as with SuperSprings or having a shop add a leaves to the existing leaf packs.

A common problem with pickups is that the manufacturer wants to sell potential buyers on the car like ride and so the load capacity of the rear axle is dialed down. With a 1500 class pickup there is not that much payload capacity to start with and so it takes very little to overwhelm the rear suspension.

I increased the payload on my truck by 1400 lbs with the addition of the SuperSprings which took under an hour to mount to the truck and no need to jack up the truck to put them on.

This truck is a newer 2500 with rear coil spring suspension. No such thing as adding a leaf anymore on these trucks. You have to swap out the entire coil for a new one or go air bags. I did bags with split fill lines. I'm feeling pretty confident this will solve the problem. Can't wait to load up and try it out!

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[Ratket]

The pay load on the 3/4 tons isn’t bad, on my old 14 mega cab, the heaviest I ever had it load was 1 ton of pellets “ 2k pounds” and it still had rake and rode great. Sadly the newer bigger 5th wheels really only fall into the 1 ton category which is sad because the 3/4 tons have the power, just not the pay load, but many just compensate with air bags and are on their way.

I know ur specific set up is a cab over, but I think you will be satisfied with the solution you have chosen.