One ton truck Suspension modifications for camper

[Porkchopexpress]

I have a single rear wheel F350 short bed and a load of about 3k lbs wet with all the gear and people. My truck does okay but I would like to improve handling around corners and over high speed bumps, (potholes or uneven pavement). I was thinking of starting with bilstein 5100 shocks and a heavier rear sway bar. Does anyone have similar experience that can share what did or didn't work for them?

 

[NOPEC]

I have a single rear wheel F350 short bed and a load of about 3k lbs wet with all the gear and people. My truck does okay but I would like to improve handling around corners and over high speed bumps, (potholes or uneven pavement). I was thinking of starting with bilstein 5100 shocks and a heavier rear sway bar. Does anyone have similar experience that can share what did or didn't work for them?

I'll be interested in what folks contribute to this thread. I have a one ton GM and carry a camper with slightly less loaded weight than yours. I have factory overloads to which I added Torklift rubber pads so that those springs are always engaged. I also welded up a poor man's version of Torklift Stableloads which puts a preload on the lower and heaviest leaf in my spring pack. I don't have a rear sway bar and still have my stock shocks, which are definitely due to be replaced. As long as I don't go too hard, this combination works really well for me.

On my previous 3/4 ton GM with the same camper weight, I had Supersprings, a "Bigwig" Hellwig Sway bar and adjustable Rancho 9000 shocks which I mostly kept on the hardest setting. That combo worked really well with the lighter and older truck which had away lesser factory springs. Unfortunately, I did most of the suspension upgrades on that truck at the same time so had no way of determining what made the most or least improvements but in terms of cornering stability, I suspect that the HD sway bar accounted for the bulk of the improvement.

I am very interested in hearing real world experiences with both 4600 and 5100 Bilstein shocks as a direct OEM replacement for one ton trucks that carry loads such as ours.

 

[slowtwitch]

I have had good long term luck with 5100's on a Tundra with lots of gravel/rough road, and a fair bit of low range 4x4.

Keep you paperwork when you buy in case of warranty issue. I had to warranty a blown front 5100, and Bilstein was very good about it.

 

[dstefan]

I have no one ton experience, but FWIW HD springs matched to your payload is the best way in my experience. Made a huge difference in correct handling for me.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

I have no one ton experience, but FWIW HD springs matched to your payload is the best way in my experience. Made a huge difference in correct handling for me.

You mean replacing the rear leaf springs? My impression is the stock F350 springs are a pretty close match as it sits fairly level but I'm open to suggestions otherwise.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Have you gone through this thread?

2020 Ford F250 on 37s - Expedition Truck Camper Build!

With the Truck Camper removed… We tackle another great trail in Moab with our Ford F250 Super Duty! Fins and Things is rated by the Red Rock 4WD club as a “4” trail rating. This is an excellent trail for learning the terrain in Moab and offers plenty of fun obstacles. Surprisingly, there are...

expeditionportal.com

 

[grindmonkey]

I have a 2022 f350 with a fairly light camper (Hallmark Cuchara) but probably close to the same when we are all loaded. We had about 3-4 inches of squat when loaded. It handled like a luxury car compared to empty because the leaf springs were being flexed. It did engage the overloads and occasionally my wife could hear the overload slap and was concerned.

I put the upper stableload bumpers to engage the overloads sooner (or all the time loaded) and it has brought my truck back to level. My fender flares are both at the same height front and back. I generally keep the camper on full time so the squat was more of an aesthetic issue (as well as headlight angle) than a handling issue.

When the camper is empty there is a little bit of the original F350 ride due to the stiffer overloads. When we have the camper loaded for trips it has calmed down and is closer to its smoother ride.

Down the road we may add other items but I have to say that our setup is very comfortable and hasn't really made me wish for more front he suspension. I believe the lower profile and CoG of our camper also contributes to less sway negative suspension behavior.

 

[BretEdge]

I have a 2021 F250 with a flatbed and FWC Hawk UTE on it. Fully loaded, we're around 11,000 pounds. The stock leaf springs handled the weight okay but the ride was terrible. I replaced them with a custom set of Alcan leaf springs (and Carli Pintop suspension) and the difference in ride quality and performance is dramatic. If you didn't want all new suspension, I'm still an advocate of replacing the springs with something custom. Instead of 4 leafs with an overload you'll have 8-10 leafs, which provides a much more progressive and comfortable ride. Plus, unlike air bags or other solutions, they aren't band-aids and they're no more failure prone than stock springs.

 

[rruff]

I have a single rear wheel F350 short bed and a load of about 3k lbs wet with all the gear and people. My truck does okay but I would like to improve handling around corners and over high speed bumps, (potholes or uneven pavement). I was thinking of starting with bilstein 5100 shocks and a heavier rear sway bar. Does anyone have similar experience that can share what did or didn't work for them?

Which year? The Bilsteins have digressive valving, so that should help with sudden maneuvers. I don't think it will affect cornering tilt much, if that is bothering you.

Have you gone through this thread?

2020 Ford F250 on 37s - Expedition Truck Camper Build!

With the Truck Camper removed… We tackle another great trail in Moab with our Ford F250 Super Duty! Fins and Things is rated by the Red Rock 4WD club as a “4” trail rating. This is an excellent trail for learning the terrain in Moab and offers plenty of fun obstacles. Surprisingly, there are...

expeditionportal.com

I don't know that Peter's build will be much value to the OP. He has no swaybars, and high $$$ shocks and springs. The lack of swaybars prioritizes offroad performance. He did say that removing the front swaybar helped ride on the road also, but you will get more sway in corners.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

All great info, thank you. I have considered Carli leveling kit but raising the CG by adding a lift seems counterproductive to reducing sway. Also, they are not cheap and I'm pretty sure they are on backorder. I might circle back to Carli later if I can't get the performance I want with incremental modifications.

 

[IdaSHO]

Rear sway bar and properly rated leafs and/or bags will go a long way, regardless of choice of shocks.
We run bags, but are in the market for a custom set of leafs. I just sent of an inquiry email to Alcan, based upon Brets comments.

Also, while the bilsteins are great, one of their biggest benefit is adjustability.
If you are not loaded all the time, that benefit is deminished.
And its not like many people actually adjust them more than once anyhow

We run KYB Monomax shocks on our heavy pickups, and they do great.

 

[IdaSHO]

I have a 2021 F250 with a flatbed and FWC Hawk UTE on it. Fully loaded, we're around 11,000 pounds. The stock leaf springs handled the weight okay but the ride was terrible. I replaced them with a custom set of Alcan leaf springs (and Carli Pintop suspension) and the difference in ride quality and performance is dramatic. If you didn't want all new suspension, I'm still an advocate of replacing the springs with something custom. Instead of 4 leafs with an overload you'll have 8-10 leafs, which provides a much more progressive and comfortable ride. Plus, unlike air bags or other solutions, they aren't band-aids and they're no more failure prone than stock springs.

Bret, mind sharing how much the custom leafs ran you?

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Rear sway bar and properly rated leafs and/or bags will go a long way, regardless of choice of shocks.
We run bags, but are in the market for a custom set of leafs. I just sent of an inquiry email to Alcan, based upon Brets comments.

Also, while the bilsteins are great, one of their biggest benefit is adjustability.
If you are not loaded all the time, that benefit is deminished.
And its not like many people actually adjust them more than once anyhow

We run KYB Monomax shocks on our heavy pickups, and they do great.

Two other names that come up a lot are Deaver suspension and Atlas suspension both in the LA area.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Which year? The Bilsteins have digressive valving, so that should help with sudden maneuvers. I don't think it will affect cornering tilt much, if that is bothering you.



I don't know that Peter's build will be much value to the OP. He has no swaybars, and high $$$ shocks and springs. The lack of swaybars prioritizes offroad performance. He did say that removing the front swaybar helped ride on the road also, but you will get more sway in corners.

I mentioned Peter because well not exact to the OP requirement he does have good experience with the platform and he’s very active here in the forum. I really like the videos he has done of Moab and what he’s been able to do with that full-size camper on the back. I’m sure he has some good suggestions if asked.

 

[DiploStrat]

Everyone that I know, including myself, eventually seems to end up with:

-- Good shocks
-- Big anti sway bar
-- And, finally, after bags, add-a-leafs, etc., a new set of rear springs, calibrated for the full, not the empty, load.

Free advice, YMMV. etc.