Best solution to reduce body roll

[AspensNook]

Hi FWC friends!

I took delivery of my Raven in June, and I am happy to say I’ve been able to get out for a handful of different adventures already, and I’m absolutely loving it. First 4WC, and I couldn’t be happier with my choice!

The more time I spend traveling with the camper, the more interested I’ve become in wanting to correct what’s going on in the back end of the truck since I added it. When the camper was installed, I also had air bags installed because I was not sure if I’d want to leave the camper on full time or not. I’m still not sure, I’m going to see what happens this winter, right now I have a desire to plan some winter trips.

Problem statement - The back end feels bouncy, and understandably, there is more “body roll”, this includes just leaving my driveway, but as you might imagine, also off road. It feels to me that the air bags might be adding to the bouncy feeling. I know I could eliminate the air bags and go with a custom leaf pack, but then I have a different issue if I take the camper out. I want to give it more time to see if I ever end up taking the camper out for longer periods of time. I see the other option being changing out and upgrading the shocks (everything is still stock) to something that has tuneability which could help compensate for the added weight. I got in touch with a local shop and they suggested some Fox shocks that have High and Low speed compression adjustment, they are pretty confident this would make a big difference. But the shocks are pretty spendy, and there’s no way of knowing how much of a difference they’ll really make. I have a decent amount of experience with suspension in trucks and mountain bikes, but not when it comes to trying to compensate for so much added weight, that’s a new variable for me. Wanted to see if anyone else out there has airbags, and upgraded their stock shocks to something more suited to the task, and if the results are worth the investment? I’m also open to any other ideas or suggestions that have worked for other people.

I have already switched to E rated tires, that helped overall driving considerably, so glad I did that almost right away.

Thank you in advance for your help and recommendations!

 

[Vic Harder]

Which truck do you have this camper on? Were the air bags plumbed in independently, or are they tied together? Tied to together they will make sway worse. Also, have you got a rear anti-sway bar on your truck? Helwig makes good ones.

 

[pvstoy]

Which truck do you have this camper on? Were the air bags plumbed in independently, or are they tied together? Tied to together they will make sway worse. Also, have you got a rear anti-sway bar on your truck? Helwig makes good ones.

Welll said and I was also going to mention this.
I just use Bilstien shocks. E rated tires do make a substantial difference

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Another thumbs up for the Helwig.

 

[AspensNook]

Which truck do you have this camper on? Were the air bags plumbed in independently, or are they tied together? Tied to together they will make sway worse. Also, have you got a rear anti-sway bar on your truck? Helwig makes good ones.

Vic - thanks for the response. Camper is on a 2022 F-150 Tremor. The air bags are plumbed independently.
I do not have a rear anti-sway bar which is a bit surprising, that was something I had considered previously, not sure why I didn’t think of that. Seems like a great and obvious solution now lol.

Thank you all for the responses and nod to the Hellwig Bar!

 

[Vic Harder]

Isn't the Tremor suspension designed for more off-road articulation? That by itself may make that model more/less tippy in street driving conditions. Or is that not the case here?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Isn't the Tremor suspension designed for more off-road articulation? That by itself may make that model more/less tippy in street driving conditions. Or is that not the case here?

I may be wrong, but I believe the Helvig is going to significantly alter how the Tremor feels on the road. It may be best to speak to a suspension shop prior to installing the sway bar.

 

[craig333]

Advantage with a 3/4 ton. Other than adding Bilsteins I haven't had to modify anything.

 

[AspensNook]

Isn't the Tremor suspension designed for more off-road articulation? That by itself may make that model more/less tippy in street driving conditions. Or is that not the case here?

It’s an off-road oriented truck, but still tows and haul’s same as other F-150s, so more “capable” in some respects than Raptor, outside of all out Baja style driving. That’s why I got it.

 

[AspensNook]

I may be wrong, but I believe the Helvig is going to significantly alter how the Tremor feels on the road. It may be best to speak to a suspension shop prior to installing the sway bar.

I’m trying to get more information about what I should expect from adding this, what the drawbacks may be. I sent a note to Hellwig.

 

[AspensNook]

Advantage with a 3/4 ton. Other than adding Bilsteins I haven't had to modify anything.

Cool.

 

[Bosque Bill]

I have a smaller truck, a Tacoma, but Bilsteins made a big improvement in body stability, though my issue was more with rocking than rolling. I also have E-rated tires with pressure set for the load (determined using CAT scales.)

 

[CPT Davenport]

I have a loaded Hawk on my Chevy 1500 with airbags, sway bar, Bilstein shocks, SuperSprings and E rated tires. I have no roll whatsoever and she feels and drives rock solid on and off road. The SuperSprings handle the load and the bags are used for leveling. I like the idea of the helper springs in the event that I blow an airbag, the suspension can take the weight and not leave me limping home. Kind of a belt and suspenders approach.

Also curious what tire pressure you are running. Over inflated tires can produce some bouncing as well.

 

[Machinebuilder]

Note: I have no experience with the F150 tremor.

IMHO
The airbags can add spring rate BUT afik they make the damping more difficult. I used them on my previous F150.
A properly setup set of shocks will correct the bouncy feeling and part of the body sway. Do both ends of the truck.
A rear sway bar will help the body sway but not the bouncy feel.

Properly setup suspension is some of the best money spent on a vehicle.

Towing capacity means nothing for in bed loads.


When I was getting my F350 ready for my extended trip to Alaska knowing I was going to put many miles on not great roads, I went with a set of Fox 2.0 shocks from Accutune. They custom valve each order to the weights and spring rates of the truck.
Because I have plenty of payload capacity mine are valved for the stock springs. After countless miles of gravel and worse roads I am very impressed. I was able to easily drive at dumb speeds on some pretty rough roads. (60+mph on the southern part of the Dempster Hwy. many other vehicles were doing good at 1/2 the speed)

 

[AspensNook]

I have a smaller truck, a Tacoma, but Bilsteins made a big improvement in body stability, though my issue was more with rocking than rolling. I also have E-rated tires with pressure set for the load (determined using CAT scales.)

Bosque Bill, which Bilsteins are you running? Seems to be a popular brand choice for the people on here.

 

[AspensNook]

I have a loaded Hawk on my Chevy 1500 with airbags, sway bar, Bilstein shocks, SuperSprings and E rated tires. I have no roll whatsoever and she feels and drives rock solid on and off road. The SuperSprings handle the load and the bags are used for leveling. I like the idea of the helper springs in the event that I blow an airbag, the suspension can take the weight and not leave me limping home. Kind of a belt and suspenders approach.

Also curious what tire pressure you are running. Over inflated tires can produce some bouncing as well.

CPT Davenport, thanks for the response, super helpful. Which Bilsteins are you running on your truck? One more recommendation for Bilstein lol.
I’m not familiar with the SuperSprings, but I’ll check them out. Everything you said makes sense, and statement “I have no roll whatsoever” is very appealing.

Only running 50 PSI, pretty comfortable overall just driving along. I feel pretty confident the bounciness is a combination of the airbags adding spring, and shocks that are tuned for the factory weight of the truck and comfort on and off road.

 

[AspensNook]

Note: I have no experience with the F150 tremor.

IMHO
The airbags can add spring rate BUT afik they make the damping more difficult. I used them on my previous F150.
A properly setup set of shocks will correct the bouncy feeling and part of the body sway. Do both ends of the truck.
A rear sway bar will help the body sway but not the bouncy feel.

Properly setup suspension is some of the best money spent on a vehicle.

Towing capacity means nothing for in bed loads.


When I was getting my F350 ready for my extended trip to Alaska knowing I was going to put many miles on not great roads, I went with a set of Fox 2.0 shocks from Accutune. They custom valve each order to the weights and spring rates of the truck.
Because I have plenty of payload capacity mine are valved for the stock springs. After countless miles of gravel and worse roads I am very impressed. I was able to easily drive at dumb speeds on some pretty rough roads. (60+mph on the southern part of the Dempster Hwy. many other vehicles were doing good at 1/2 the speed)

Machine builder, appreciate this detailed response! I’m with you, I believe that’s what I’m feeling from the air bags, didn’t anticipate that.
What you said about the shocks makes a ton of sense as well relative to the air bags and sway bar. I think I’m going to have to wait a while to get the sway bar, so I’m thinking I’ll do shocks in the meantime as I have a trip upcoming and want it to be as comfortable as possible. The bounce and the sway are both things I want to correct.
Fox is what I originally wanted to go with, what was recommended was the 2.5 series with remote reservoir. And while very very cool, I think it’s more than I really need, and certainly more than I want to spend. I like the sound of that custom valving. I’m going to look into that option, THANK YOU!

 

[AspensNook]

This community is GREAT! Appreciate all your helpful responses!

Sway bar is on order, with a local shop. The owner of the shop contacted Hellwig and everyone is in agreement that it’s a great solution and will work well for my truck. Now I need to pick suspension.
I also ordered towing mirrors, picked them up today and will install soon. Those are going to be a huge difference, not sure what Ford was thinking with these tiny stock mirrors.

 

[CPT Davenport]

Which Bilsteins are you running on your truck?

5100s


I think better shocks will really help with your bounce. Shocks play a huge roll in limiting the up bounce. Limited up bounce means less down bounce. This lets things settle down quicker and translates to a smoother ride.

As much as we like to think these campers are light, and comparatively they are, they are indeed heavy. On a 1/2 ton truck some adjustments must be made from stock. Just my 2 cents. Sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[AspensNook]

5100s


I think better shocks will really help with your bounce. Shocks play a huge roll in limiting the up bounce. Limited up bounce means less down bounce. This lets things settle down quicker and translates to a smoother ride.

As much as we like to think these campers are light, and comparatively they are, they are indeed heavy. On a 1/2 ton truck some adjustments must be made from stock. Just my 2 cents. Sounds like you are on the right track.

Thank you, I appreciate the help!