Rear Suspension :: Airbags vs Helper Springs

Hey Buckland,
i see back in May you were getting a 4WD Colorado Diesel Longbed.We have the same rig and are getting our Fleet camper next month. How does your rig drive?
 
Thanks for the great discussion. We have now blown TWO sets of Airlift airbags on our 2016 Chevy Colorado Diesel/FWC Fleet combo. Our offroading has been limited and relatively tame and nothing that should stress a properly augmented suspension. From input we received today from an off-road specialty shop it appears that we are overloaded (altho the truck is rated for 1500 lb) and that our airbags were overinflated by the previous installer. Airlift has honored the warranty, so we are trying again and will baby the ride until the additional leaf for our springs that we ordered arrives and is installed. It looks like this one spring is the only available after-market option designed specifically for our truck since it is so new. We love our truck and camper and when everything is working the ride is great. But, We worry that we won't be able to solve this suspension problem.....We plan a trans-Canada trip this summer and are looking for input. Anyone out there have experience with a loaded Chevy Colorado Diesel? Or suggestions?? Thanks!
 
If that additional one leaf is a short "Add-a-Leaf" ("AAL") you probably will not like how it rides. Those tend to be extremely stiff and offer little compliance. If it is a long AAL it might be worth trying. Should it fail you have two option: Have someone like Deaver Spring make you a set of custom rear springs, or go to a Firestone or similarly much more robust air spring. I would opt for the Deavers myself.
 
Thanks to you both for the suggestions. Sounds like 3 airbag failures is a break point in the decision process..... If this spring in addition to the airbag doesn't work (our local 4WD place is encouraging), then we'll go to the next step.
 
I have a 2011 Tacoma Access Cab TRD with a Fleet shell. Got the Alcan 8 leaf custom springs and Hellwig rear sway bars and absolutely love the set up. Rides like a dream
 
Desertratduo... sorry didn't see the question! Love the Duramax diesel 2.8...great mileage and a lot of torque... moves along well with the camper. I beefed up the suspension with a long extra leaf and a sway bar... Bilstein 5100 shocks too. Not used to being in a comfortable truck... but i'm sure I'll get used to it.
 
buckland said:
Desertratduo... sorry didn't see the question! Love the Duramax diesel 2.8...great mileage and a lot of torque... moves along well with the camper. I beefed up the suspension with a long extra leaf and a sway bar... Bilstein 5100 shocks too. Not used to being in a comfortable truck... but i'm sure I'll get used to it.
Buckland, thanks to your tip we are talking with Boise Spring right now. We hope this solves our suspension problem. We'll start there and then add shocks etc as we need to. We think this is a great truck, and we have the "off road" Z71 package, but it proved not beefy enough to manage the load (and we are close to max). Thanks again for your posts.
 
To follow up,
We installed Boise Springs thanks to Buckland's post. Then completed a 16,461 mile trip across Canada, including the Trans-Labrador Hwy. Truck/camper performed flawlessly. Couldn't ask for a better combo. Ride is great and we averaged 22.1 mpg over the entire trip, but up to 25 on some tanks...After 80 days in the camper and then returning home to all the chores, we are ready to go again....maybe sell the house(just kidding). Wish we could ship the truck/camper to Darwin Australia and do the same big trip around the continent...Anyone shipped a truck to Australia???
 
Jeff,
We considered replacing our bump stops and were looking at a Canadian product. Since installing the extra leaves from Boise Spring we have had no further problems and so haven't pursued bump stop replacement.
Chris
 
Desertratduo said:
We installed Boise Springs thanks to Buckland's post.
Was it an add a leaf or full pack? Any other details you can provide would be appreciated.

I'm thinking I'll add a leaf, plus airbags and daystar cradles when I get the camper built. The springs will carry most of the load and the bags will provide adjustability and fine tuning.
 
I can say with the camper on the spring pack Boise added (removing the overload leaf) did the trick for me on my diesel Colorado. That said, my Eagle was on my Tacoma for 5 years with an add-a-leaf and Firestone Ride Rites. It also did fine. Just know that if the camper is off the truck there is a difference in ride... stiffer... I found the add-a-leaf stiffer than the new spring pack. you will also gain an inch to an inch and a half either way. We did this because despite our efforts we still run a bit heavy with the dog and beer or if we iso take along 2 canoes and that gear. It all depends on the truck original equipment. You might want to start with just the Firestone bags and if you don't like it move up to the spring pack. We tend to go into some nasty back roads and the extra insurance the spring pack gives is worth it for me (I had this irrational fear of blown air bags 350 miles into the boonies).
 
How many leaves did you get to replace the overloads, and what did they cost?

I don't want to rely on the bags completely and the camper will be on there all the time. The load will still vary a bit though, which is why I'd like the bags to fine tune ride height and left-right balance.
 
First, not sure what truck you are using with your camper. That would make a difference in what you finally decide. The room around the spring package on our truck was just too tight to make adjustments. We blew 3 sets of Airlift airbags with our 2016 Chevy Colorado Diesel and decided we had to do something different. After reading Buckland's posts, we talked extensively with Boise Spring and decided to order one of their leaf kits and have it installed locally. The price was very fair, about half of the competitors that we called, and delivery time was very good. They were great to work with. Price for yours would depend on your truck. Our mechanic in Tucson removed one leaf and installed the Boise springs and that did the trick. We were prepared to change out bumpstops for a Canadian product, or replace our stock shocks with Bilstein shocks, but after a 16,000 mile trip across Canada, including some rough roads and terrible potholes, we concluded we didn't need anything else. When the time comes to replace our shocks we will likely go with a better shock, e.g. Bilsteins. Note, we leave our Fleet 4Wheel camper on full time, so ride is not an issue. We stopped in at Boise Spring on our way back to Tucson and all was well tho the springs on one side had shifted slightly. They installed additional clamps to provide more stability at no charge. Good luck!
Chris
 
It's a 2016 Tundra DC Long. Planning 1-2" of lift. Guessing I'll have ~1,000lb over the stock weight on the axle when loaded. ~600 unloaded. Removing the bed saves about 400 lbs and the shell of the camper will be about 700 lbs.

Those leaves sound like a good way to go. Thanks for the info!
 
When they take out the overload leaf they add 5 leaves. If you have the camper on all the time it is the best way to go. I did add the Bilstein RHA shocks which allow the front to be raised 2". With the camper on (with the leaf pack) it is now level.
 
ABQBW writes:


" I had my rear springs replaced to accommodate the camper. The work was done by Boise Spring Works in Boise, ID who was recommended by my dealer, Denny Saunders of FWC of Jackson Hole. I wanted to try to avoid air bags because I spend a good deal of time on very rough 4 wheel drive roads. The spring work consisted of removal of the shortest bottom factory leaf and adding 4 new leaves for a net gain of 3 leaves. The TRD pro suspension works so well because it has a lot more articulation than stock. I didn't want to give that up."

Thanks, this seems like a great alternative to getting the whole leaf pack replaced. Anybody know of a good shop to get this type of leaf spring work done in the Colorado Front Range area? I'm planning on upgrading my Frontier Pro4x leaf pack for a popup camper.
 
Alcan is in Grand Junction on the Western Slope. I talked with them about having a custom pack made, but so far my OME Dakars have been sufficient.
 
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