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Rear suspension options

MuntCuffin

MuntCuffin

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May 19, 2020
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238
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Farm lands and horse's asses
Got a 2011 F250, cc, with a knapheide service body on it. The stock springs are saggy, soft, and leave the truck wallering around on the road.

The options I'm throwing around are, stock springs with bags, or deaver springs (or custom springs from a local spring shop) and bags.
The service body is full, and will have a 30 gallon compressor and a genny mounted to the bed. So I was gonna go with the 7500 lb bags.

Primary usage for the truck is a mobile fix shit/fabricate shit/wire shit shop.
Secondary usage would be a remote pit truck at KoH.

Bags hold up to bouncing around in fields to get to broke dick equipment or going over whoops and shit in JV?
Any bonus in replacing the spring packs with bag installation or just run stock? Weight won't change all that much, its always going to be a heavy pig. Doesn't tow that much, yet. Chance it will pull around an oil evac/dispeser trailer with equipment and 6 to 700 gallons of oil on board.

Also, as far as air source, my plan was to run the gas driven air compressor to an underbody 5 gallon reserve tank from a semi, plumbed with a checkvalve so the reserve tank won't bleed back to the compressor. The reserve tank will go to load leveling valves, one on each side (also stolen off a semi), then to the bags. The bags are 100 psi. Compressor is 175. I'd rather charge the reserve tank to 175 for the extra reserve. Whats needed to keep the bags from ever seeing anything over 100 psi? Just a regular old regulator off the reserve tank prior to load valves?
 
I vote for stock springs with bags.

Especially since the 2011s had the thick 3 leafs which is less prone to axle wrap than the thin leaf packs.

Your air source should work ok - though I like the wireless air controller on mine. Super easy to adjust.
 
FordFascist said:
I vote for stock springs with bags.

Especially since the 2011s had the thick 3 leafs which is less prone to axle wrap than the thin leaf packs.

Your air source should work ok - though I like the wireless air controller on mine. Super easy to adjust.
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The way it'll be plumbed, there will be no wires and it will automatically adjust, front to rear and side to side. May need to fire up the compressor now and again if I go a long stretch with jobs not requiring a compressor. I doubt I'll even have gagues in the cab. From the cab of the truck, you won't be able to tell it has bags.
 
Fire up car-part and buy yourself some used leafs from a same year F350 dually pickup.

K.I.S.S.
 
MuntCuffin said:
Ass end of my old f350 dually was pretty harsh. I don't expect it to ride like a caddy, but I don't want my tools jarred all over the place driving across a farmers field or driving off the lake bed.
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Your F350 didn't have 66" long leaves and a service body on it like your 2011 does.

Junkyards price springs the same regardless of what they are so always buy the biggest pack. You can pull a leaf out if it's too harsh.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Your F350 didn't have 66" long leaves and a service body on it like your 2011 does.

Junkyards price springs the same regardless of what they are so always buy the biggest pack. You can pull a leaf out if it's too harsh.
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Fair enough.

Kinda wanted complexity for the sake of complexity though. :flipoff2:
 
I don't see the benefit of bags if it's loaded all the time.

Either up them to Ftreefiddy leafs, or go with custom stuff if you want to spend the money
 
I would be concerned about a harsh ride from the bags bouncing around fields, but you’re already bouncing around them in a F250.

I bounce around them in a 1/2 ton now, but have done it in a 3/4 ton ram and Chevy. My vote is custom springs that account for the weight you’re carrying.
 
Aggie06 said:
I would be concerned about a harsh ride from the bags bouncing around fields, but you’re already bouncing around them in a F250.

I bounce around them in a 1/2 ton now, but have done it in a 3/4 ton ram and Chevy. My vote is custom springs that account for the weight you’re carrying.
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Keep it stock and add air bumps?
 
Does your truck have the auxiliary overload spring on top of the pack with the slapper pads on the frame?

If not maybe start by adding those. If it does have them maybe tune the height of them to contact the pads a little earlier.
 
Add a leaf? made a huge difference in my F250

Or F350 springs :flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
That setup is great if you're always changing weight, but if it's always loaded, what's the point?
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Terrain and / or speed.

Lakebed vs. Hwy vs. 2 Lane vs. towing.

But if he has a full size compressor on board and takes 2 minutes to adjust the bags it’s kinda a waste of time which I forgot.

I would plumb the airlines to right next to the reel line with a gauge.
 
Etyler2 said:
Terrain and / or speed.

Lakebed vs. Hwy vs. 2 Lane vs. towing.

But if he has a full size compressor on board and takes 2 minutes to adjust the bags it’s kinda a waste of time which I forgot.

I would plumb the airlines to right next to the reel line with a gauge.
Click to expand...
Compressor gets drained once a week. Its sits at 30 gallons of 175 air and hardly bleeds down. Bag adjustment would be instantaneous.
 
Aggie06 said:
I would be concerned about a harsh ride from the bags bouncing around fields, but you’re already bouncing around them in a F250.
Click to expand...
The reason i was thinking this route is that I thought bags offered a lot less harsher ride than leaf springs. Only air springs I have direct experience with is on semis. Never fucked with the add on bag helper spring kits. Which in my case, would be supporting a majority of the weight all the time.
 
MuntCuffin said:
The reason i was thinking this route is that I thought bags offered a lot less harsher ride than leaf springs. Only air springs I have direct experience with is on semis. Never fucked with the add on bag helper spring kits. Which in my case, would be supporting a majority of the weight all the time.
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Helper Air Bags are small and therefore have a high ramp rate. Also not known for extra tough durability.

Nice leaf springs like Carli/Deaver etc can move nicely while supporting the constant weight.
 
RPS1030 said:
Helper Air Bags are small and therefore have a high ramp rate. Also not known for extra tough durability.

Nice leaf springs like Carli/Deaver etc can move nicely while supporting the constant weight.
Click to expand...
I know the Deaver springs I’ve looked at stated they are for off-roading and not as well suited for towing. That is for a 1/2 ton though. I’m sure they could build you a pack to fit your needs better. Or a local spring shop could.
 
Aggie06 said:
I know the Deaver springs I’ve looked at stated they are for off-roading and not as well suited for towing. That is for a 1/2 ton though. I’m sure they could build you a pack to fit your needs better. Or a local spring shop could.
Click to expand...

Carli works with Deaver on theirs. The newer trucks they have a XHD option for 2,000 lbs extra full time.
 
Etyler2 said:
Terrain and / or speed.

Lakebed vs. Hwy vs. 2 Lane vs. towing.

But if he has a full size compressor on board and takes 2 minutes to adjust the bags it’s kinda a waste of time which I forgot.

I would plumb the airlines to right next to the reel line with a gauge.
Click to expand...

Fair point.

If I ever did bags, it would have to have an in cab control. The only pickup I've driven with airbags was ironically a 2011 F250 When I loaded the trailer, everything looked good, not sagging ass. I think the bags had 5 or 10 psi. Once I got on the highway, the truck started bouncing for some reason. I grabbed the control just to see what would happen. Each time I added pressure it got better until it hit about 65 iirc, the bouncing stopped. Not sure I would have figured this out if I would have had to stop to fill them.
 

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Decided on these. Dont have time nor the desire to go hunting around in junkyards. Nothing really caught my eye on carpart. Dont feel like dicking around adding the pads for overloads, nor do I want to ride on the overload all the time...so oversprung it is, at least until the air compressor and generator get mounted.
6800 lb springs.
 
Aggie06 said:
OP, post pics of the truck
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Screenshot_20230806-160951_DuckDuckGo.jpg

It was sagging badly when I bought it, with an empty bed. Got even worse when I got it loaded up with tools, and I haven't even gotten to mounting the heavy shit and getting the welders in the bed.
Ex-environmental management supervisor truck from Ohio. Never really been worked hard, just typical rust belt shit.
 
MuntCuffin said:

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Decided on these. Dont have time nor the desire to go hunting around in junkyards. Nothing really caught my eye on carpart. Dont feel like dicking around adding the pads for overloads, nor do I want to ride on the overload all the time...so oversprung it is, at least until the air compressor and generator get mounted.
6800 lb springs.
Click to expand...

Easy to pull a leaf or 2 if you need to
 
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