truck suspension upgrade

S

Shotgun Willie

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Bend, OR
Yeah yeah, I know its been posted all over every truck and camper forum, but how 'bout another round for suspension upgrades! Give me what ya got:

Air bags, Timbrens, Supersprings, etc.

I've got a 1994 Chevy 1500 Z71, stock.

Will have a ATC Ocelot shell in July '13. Approx weight: 900lbs give or take.

The gist of the pros & cons from what I've gathered so far:

Timbrens - bulletproof w/ lifetime warranty, but can be a stiffer ride.

Supersprings - easy install, hold up well, but can still have some sway.

Airbags - smooth ride, adaptable to specific situations, can help level the camper; but more prone to inconveniences like air leaks and blown bags... Has anyone with this set up actually experienced leaking or busting?

Thanks,
 
Yeah yeah, I know its been posted all over every truck and camper forum, but how 'bout another round for suspension upgrades! Give me what ya got:

Air bags, Timbrens, Supersprings, etc.

I've got a 1994 Chevy 1500 Z71, stock.

Will have a ATC Ocelot shell in July '13. Approx weight: 900lbs give or take.

The gist of the pros & cons from what I've gathered so far:

Timbrens - bulletproof w/ lifetime warranty, but can be a stiffer ride.

Supersprings - easy install, hold up well, but can still have some sway.

Airbags - smooth ride, adaptable to specific situations, can help level the camper; but more prone to inconveniences like air leaks and blown bags... Has anyone with this set up actually experienced leaking or busting?

Thanks,


You've pointed out the basic outlook on the various suspensions. I have Firestone bags and I have had NO issues whatsoever. I like the adjustability, since I do offload my camper in order to use my truck for work when not out there having fun. I travel some very rough roads and have been very satisfied with the bags.

Good Camping!,

Paul
 
Timbrens are basically just a dampener right? (IE a rubber bumper with a hole in it that slows the rate the suspension can compress) I see these being useful if your stock springs are up to the task and you're just looking to take some sway out of things. Not sure they'd be much use if you're squatting.


Airbags, if you set them up right the first time I would say the majority of folks will never have an issue (clean cuts on your air tubing, good thread tape on fittings, etc.) I had zero instances of leakage the couple years I was using them on my 1500.
 
Airbags - smooth ride, adaptable to specific situations, can help level the camper; but more prone to inconveniences like air leaks and blown bags... Has anyone with this set up actually experienced leaking or busting?


I installed my Firestone bags 9 years ago. Never had an issue with them. It's nice to be able to adjust them for different loads.
 
For your particular truck I would go with Super Springs any day of the week.

They will reduce sway.

Firestone Ride-Rite air bags are great too.

Not a fan of Timbrens. Its just a beefed up bottom out bumper.

Adding an extra leaf spring makes more sense to me (Super Spring).

I had the SS-A8 and they were bullet proof.

Just my opinion

: )
 
For your particular truck I would go with Super Springs any day of the week.

They will reduce sway.


More so than air bags?


Not a fan of Timbrens. Its just a beefed up bottom out bumper.


Appreciate the analogy. Solid point of perspective.


Adding an extra leaf spring makes more sense to me (Super Spring).

I had the SS-A8 and they were bullet proof.

Just my opinion

: )

Appreciate it!
 
Phird, Pods, RR,

Thanks for the feedback. I've been gathering the same: proper set up, and the horror stories of air bag malfunctions are a non-starter. Seems like the biggest upkeep, with proper care, would be an occasional fitting and valve adjustment / replacement.

Suspension aside, for what its worth, I really appreciate the wealth of info this forum offers. I'm spending hours each day going through these topics. Feels like I'll have a solid grounding as a first time camper owner - both in preparation and potential troubleshooting.

Cheers,
 
Airbags - smooth ride, adaptable to specific situations, can help level the camper; but more prone to inconveniences like air leaks and blown bags... Has anyone with this set up actually experienced leaking or busting?

Thanks,


Well, I hate to be the poster boy for blown air bags, but I did pop one. I've posted about it before, so I'll try to be brief. I believe the failure was caused when the lower bracket jumped forward along the springs, causing the bag to rub and burst. I think I caused it by over-inflating the bags (90psi), while loaded to the hilt (5 gals gas., 2 bikes, 1 hi-lift: hanging beyond rear bumper) with a week of food, water and fuel onboard. The straw that broke the camel's back was South Pass on Saline V. Rd. with a sharp, cross-road dip that I tried to bounce with a bit of momentum.

I'm still a believer, short of respringing the truck. Since I run w/o camper 90% of the time, the bags make sense for me.
 
Have had Ride-Rite airbags on my 09 Tacoma TRD for over 3 years now with no problems. As per above I also need my rig for work so the camper is off and on many times in the course of a season. My old Palomino is heavy (and weight distribution is skewed to drivers side) and I worry about the bags taking a bit too much of the load but as of yet have not made a move to adding a helper spring (laziness - :unsure: . Just finished 4 days of wilderness inventory work in the very SE corner of Oregon with some terrible roads to negotiate. Had my rig loaded with 2 people and all the trimmings, I just take my time and try to be extra careful with the rocky roads. Have also used them in below zero conditions on similar terrain so feel like they have stood the test well from my perspective. My $.02
 
:LOL:
And---I have not changed mind yet- for several years I keep blowing out my air bag on the right side, and finally replaced them with specially made 3/4 ton reinforced springs on my 99 F150 4x4 and still really like them, and really love the ride they give me. My ford dealer suggested a local blacksmith shop that could do the job and they are worth the $500.00 they cost!

Smoke
 
'96 CTD 2500 here, stock front and rear springs, Bilstein 5165's, no air springs and we've even reduced the effectiveness of the over-load leaves to the bare minimum. Goes down the road fine, does rock some in the technical stuff but not enough to have me thinking that something needs to be done. Crosswind gusts move us about a little, but I'd rather have the better ride quality. If I change anything it will be to go to dampers with bigger pistons in them. These 2" Bilsteins are marginal at controlling the front axle on something like high speed washboard.
 
Just installed Torklift Stableloads to my F-150, and ready and waiting for my new FWC Hawk. Hopefully they are all I need.
 
I have a hawk on a 2011 Tundra Crewmax. To solve my dilemma I installed a set of road master's and a set of timbrens. The road master gave me the lift I wanted and the timbrens give me the support. My rig rides level and rides extremely well. This set up has a lower probability for failure and when camper is off the truck it maintains factory ride. This is what has worked for me.
 
I have a 2002 Tundra Access Cab, and plan on adding a FWC Fleet soon. We also plan to do quite a bit of off the beaten path driving, and will be adding a rear swing-away bumper with another spare and 2-4 cans. Trying to stay away from air bags, and also want to level with 2" of lift. Any advice? Thanks!
 
I'm not sure why so many people are reticent regarding air bags. Many sophisticated, and heavy-duty, vehicles use them as primary springs. In an auxiliary fitting with the stock leaf springs left in place there is much to recommend them. We're running Boss air bags on our Tacoma and have been completely satisfied with them. Our working psi range doesn't come close to their rated capacity, which in turn is far short of their tested capacity. In addition to being able to adjust the height (less pressure when we're driving around town empty, more when we're loaded with water, food, and gear for a trip), I've found it easy to make leveling adjustments in camp by altering the pressure, for both fore and aft and side to side discrepancies. If you plan to occasionally or regularly remove the camper, there's just no other choice to maintain a reasonable ride in both configurations.
 
On my first truck/camper compo (Ford Ranger super cab).
I went with the supersprings.I to was leery about "air bags"and since the camper was on the truck full time it seemed to make sense.
After replacing the Ford with the 02 Tundra,I felt air bags were a better way to go.I am very pleased with them,for all the same reasons as JHanson.
Also think about all the other vehicles on the road that use them.Just one look at the 18 wheelers and you see them.
It all comes down to a matter of choice and personal need.
I went with Firestone bags and usually keep about #20 in them.
Frank
 
I'm cogitating on suspension mods too. The rap I've heard on the airbags and Timbrens is that they place a point load on the frame where it is not designed to take it and that the airbags are prone to breaking when you least want them too. But I know lots of people use them without issue. I like the ability to level things out. A good set of progressive springs and matched shocks should provide a good ride regardless of the load, but they are more expensive. Like I said, I'm thinking, not ready to act yet. My stock springs with the added leaf are working ok for now. I actually think my occasional issues, which I mostly experienced on sections of I80 in Nevada are more related to front springs and shocks rather than the rear springs.
 
I'll weigh in with a little more info related to my 09 Tacoma with Ride-rite airbags. As per JHanson I have had no issues with my air-bags in 4 years of use with a way heavier camper setup than the usual ATC or FourWheel. My old camper along with another traveling companion and lots of gear has made it into some very rugged Great Basin desert locations. I still was worried that the airbags were stressing the frame, etc, a bit so I recently upgraded the stock TRD Bilsteins to a Rancho 9000 adjustable shock. Seems to really help on a number of fronts. Running lower pressure on the air-bags and overall stability of the truck has greatly improved both on and off pavement.
Being able to adjust both the bags and the shocks has its benefits as my camper is not on my truck full time with my truck being a work rig for my construction company and a general town commuter.
 
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