SuperSprings?

Bucky

Observer
On New Year's Day, I mounted a 2004 FWC Hawk (approx. 1100 lbs) on my new 2012 Sierra 1500 ext. cab 4x4 5.3L. It squats the rear end 2 inches and change, and 1 inch on the frontend.

Visually, the truck/camper combo looks good. The wheel well openings are pretty much equadistant to the tops of the tires, front and rear. The truck hardly knows the camper is there; ride and handling are about the same as without it.

So, I'm thinking, "Good to go!"', until another thought crossed my mind: SPRING FATIGUE.

This camper was originally mounted on my 2003 Sierra, same specs. It sagged more in the back, which I corrected with SSA8 SuperSprings.

My questions:

- How much spring fatigue can I expect with the STOCK SUSPENSION? How soon?

- With SUPERSPRINGS? How soon?

NOTE: I tend to leave the camper on for the spring and summer. Bad idea?

I like the plug 'n' play aspect of the SuperSprings. The new truck has a much better ride empty out of the chute than the 2003 Sierra did; hopefully, SuperSprings wouldn't affect it too much.

Thanks for your help.

Bucky
New Bern, North Carolina
 
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bob91yj

Resident **************
I'm a fan of air bags because they are infinetly adjustable for your load, even side to side. The only real down side is they can be a little bit bouncy at times, although I rarely notice it. If the bounce is annoying to you , a shock upgrade with some custom valving will resolve the issue, doubtful that you'd really need that though.
 

Bucky

Observer
Bob, thanks for your reply.

I like the SuperSprings, because you put them on, and forget about them. About the roughest road this rig will be going down is a national forest/state park road.

Hoping to hear from a spring guru or two about my questions. I know you're out there...

Bucky
 

gwwing

New member
HI Bucky; I have used Super Springs on my S-10 and now on my Silverado 1500. I bought the 2009 1500 used this summer and picked up a Palomino Bronco in Indiana. The truck had the HD towing option. The stock springs carried the load ok but I went ahead and installed the super springs because I like the way they handled on the S-10. While under the truck I could see where it looked like the previous owner had installed a belly tie down, so figured they also had a camper on the truck. When I installed the super springs, I noticed the drivers side of the truck required almost no compression of the stock springs for the install. The passengers side required more distance and effort when clamping the stock stock springs for the install. When I installed the super springs on my S-10 (which I bought new.) both sides required a similar amount of compression for the install. It appears that on the 1500, the drivers side springs may have been fatigued possibly from camper use. The truck never showed an obvious tilt to the weak spring side but it seemed to sway more on right turns. FWIW I had Timbrens on my S-10 with my FWC and the change to Super Springs was a great change.

Tim
Reno, NV
 

Bucky

Observer
Hi Tim,

On my 2003 Sierra with SuperSprings I had a 3/4-inch squat over the years on the driver's side, too. Makes sense, since that was the heaviest side of the camper.

Did the SuperSprings change the ride much on the Silverado?

Thanks!

Bucky
 

xdbx

Adventurer
which side is the fuel tank on, and which side carries the load of the transfercase mounts?

Sometimes OEM spec different spring rates per side of the vehicle. Dont make assumptions like they must be equal. Your vehicle is not symmetric.
 

Bucky

Observer
which side is the fuel tank on, and which side carries the load of the transfercase mounts?

Sometimes OEM spec different spring rates per side of the vehicle. Dont make assumptions like they must be equal. Your vehicle is not symmetric.

The truck fuels from the left side. Not sure if that determines location of tank. I don't know about the transfer mounts.

Good point.

Thanks.

Bucky
 

gwwing

New member
Hi Bucky... I did not notice any change in the ride of the Silverado with the Super springs without the camper mounted. With the camper mounted no real changer either except reduced roll/sway in corners. Truck handled very well. We do lots of back roads all without any issues.

Tim
 

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