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Lost again
Bill- glad you made it back from your trip. We should catch up...
How much difference did the Big Wig make? I'm about to install one.Advmoto18 said:.
I did HAVE to add a Helwig Big Wig rear sway bar. My F-350 did not have the FX4 package, so it did not come with a rear sway bar. A rear sway bar is a must with a camper in the bed IMO.
Those are the only upgrades I've performed on my 2016 F-350.
Like you, we have a newer F350 without the FX4 package. When we had our Grandby, I did not feel that airbags or a sway bar were needed. I think that camper weighed about 1400-1500 pounds. We sold the Grandby and bought a Northern Lite (more room makes for happy bride) with a dry weight of 2700 pounds. For starters we added airbags to level out the truck. It did a good job of leveling things, but there was still a lot of sway. We then added the Big Wig, and it made a world of difference.Advmoto18 said:I did HAVE to add a Helwig Big Wig rear sway bar. My F-350 did not have the FX4 package, so it did not come with a rear sway bar. A rear sway bar is a must with a camper in the bed IMO.
Not to hijak the thread... but....ntsqd said:Ours is a 3/4t truck and I'm probably alone in this, but I don't feel a need for a 1t, a rear sway bar, or air springs. The stock springs under our '96 CTD have worked fine once we put a set of application specific Bilstein 5165's under the truck. 50-70 mph over washboard at pavement tire pressure is no big deal, can do it all day long and never feel out of control or that we're beating up on things.
On my F250 I replaced the rear Bilstein 4600's with adjustable Rancho 9000's. Cranked up to max (1-9 range), they got rid of most of the wallowing on dips and uneven roads. I crank them down when off-roading.Vic Harder said:Not to hijak the thread... but....
I have a 3/4 as well with a pretty well equipped Hawk Shell. Handles very well, but there is a tad of "wallow" when going through dips on the road at highway speeds that I would like to eliminate. There are new Bilstein 5100 on it now, but they seem to struggle in this ONE area of ride control Can you compare the "off the shelf" 5100 to the "Application Specific" 5165's?
Cornering is almost flat as is, so no need for a sway bar.
Keep in mind I am coming from driving an M3 and very tricked out Miata's, so my handling expectations are very high.
Here"s my very humble opinion....Happyjax said:?.....
Now a couple questions...yes finally
Should I find what I want without the off road stuff and super duper shocks and sway bars is that something I can get done without voiding any warranties and is it really necessary for a pop up, possibly an Alaskan?
Is the 350 the best option as the 250's are more available especially in gas.
Does anyone have the winning lottery numbers for this week so I can forego worrying about any of this crap......
Thank you for your kind attention
At 50k miles and noticing uneven tire wear I replaced my factory "Rancho" shocks with Bilstein 4600.'s. Two of the OEM shocks were completely shot. The Bilstein's work great up front but when I switched the rears to the Rancho 9000 shocks, the wallowing was significantly reduced. They are very beefy and the ability to quickly adjust them is a plus. I also upgraded the steering stabilizer to a Bilstein unit and have much less bump steer.Ace! said:The F250 and F350 have the same springs. The F350 has an overload spring in the rear. The F250 does not have the overload unless ordered with a heavier suspension group (i.e., camper package). In that case, that there is a heavier suspension package, the springs, including the overload spring, are the same. The only difference then becomes the block height under the rear springs. The front springs are always the same between F250/F350. The fronts only change between option groups or engine, but not because of whether it is F250 or F350. An F250 and F350 ordered with the same engine or options will have the same front springs, the same rear springs and if ordered with the camper package (as an example) will both have the same overload springs and sway bars.
The "off road" shocks with the off road package are just Rancho "branded" shocks. They are made by the same company either way (Tenneco if I remember right). If you're going off road, the value of the off road package is the skid plates, not the suspension components (shocks).
Great info.Ace! said:The F250 and F350 have the same springs. The F350 has an overload spring in the rear. The F250 does not have the overload unless ordered with a heavier suspension group (i.e., camper package). In that case, that there is a heavier suspension package, the springs, including the overload spring, are the same. The only difference then becomes the block height under the rear springs. The front springs are always the same between F250/F350. The fronts only change between option groups or engine, but not because of whether it is F250 or F350. An F250 and F350 ordered with the same engine or options will have the same front springs, the same rear springs and if ordered with the camper package (as an example) will both have the same overload springs and sway bars.
The "off road" shocks with the off road package are just Rancho "branded" shocks. They are made by the same company either way (Tenneco if I remember right). If you're going off road, the value of the off road package is the skid plates, not the suspension components (shocks).
Not sure if you've seen this article but there's a discrepancy btw listed payload and 'camper capacity' that can be an issue with the 2500 and heavier campers: http://truckcamperadventure.com/2014/09/a-chevy-silverado-payload-warning/rotti said:1: No need for a 1 ton for a FWC. My Chevy HD2500 with stock suspension handles my 2,000 lb loaded Hawk great and at the scales I am 700 pounds under max payload. You mentioned the possibility of heavier campers though so I would definitely go 1 ton.
2: Gas or diesel....a can of worms opening. I live at altitude and cross the 12,000' passes here with ease in my gasser, plenty of power and my mileage ain't bad. Plus I saved 9 grand on the purchase price. With a bigger camper and dragging a trailer with toys I would go diesel but as others have mentioned the new ones scare me.
3: Brand....bigger can opening. I love my Chevy
Kudos for considering payload when choosing a truck!
When GM lists payload they assume all seat belts are in use at 150 pounds each. That could subtract as much as 750 pounds from the camper capacity.Hausa said:Not sure if you've seen this article but there's a discrepancy btw listed payload and 'camper capacity' that can be an issue with the 2500 and heavier campers: http://truckcamperadventure.com/2014/09/a-chevy-silverado-payload-warning/
Don't want to side track but that's crazy ... to be off by 600# (80%) for a camper that many are buying because they're supposed to be light weight ! It must drive Alaskan Campers nuts ... Anyhow, it is a good reminder of how you never know when might need additional payload capacity, which is an advantage of a one ton.rotti said:On edit, this is also how I learned that my 740 pound WET Hawk really weighed 1,340 pounds DRY and EMPTY.
The valving looks to be the same.ntsqd said:No like vehicle experience with 5100 vs. 5165 Bilsteins. Once in a while the truck will wallow. I do not recall an instance of more than 2 oscillations of decaying amplitude. I've figured the valving isn't perfect, but short of a bunch of tuning for little gain I've not worried about it.
One large difference between the two is the 5165's have a remote reservoir. Doesn't speak to valving, but does speak to fade resistance.
Literally every vehicle that I've put Bilsteins (or Fox's) on has benefited. On none have I felt any desire to remove them and replace them with non deflective disc valve type dampers. I have had three experiences with owning vehicles with Rancho dampers on them. Two of them were bad. One got Bilsteins and one is about to. The third worked surprisingly well so I left it alone.