Rear suspension help for 2500HD

[markrinker]

Interested in what other members are doing to boost load carrying capacity on their 2500HD trucks.

Have used Timbrens in the past on K3500s, don't think that method will suffice for the K2500HDs. Simply put - there is not enough spring there for the loads I am regularly (daily) carrying.

Air Spring it? Overload spring it? Swap in a set of 1-ton springs and throw the Timbrens on?

I am hesitant to spend more than $500 for the solution - Timbrens are only $250. A local shop quoted me $1200 for air suspension, installed with onboard pump and cab gauges - for $600 they'll install just the bags with hoses and manual fill. (For $600, I can carry a pressure guage and add/remove air while fueling...)

[bwpody_16]

I would recommend going with the airlift suspension. I installed mine myself and it only took about 2 hours, and that was doing it in the driveway with just hand tools. It does not sacrifice the ride at all either. I have the manual fill on mine. It cost me about 225 from summit racing. Good luck.

[DmaxMaverick]

Installation is the budget killer. For about $550, I installed the AirLift air bags, and an electronic controlled compressor/manifold system.

The installation was a piece of cake, and took about 4 hours total, on my gravel driveway, with the help of my 11 y/o son. A well equipped shop would have taken me less time. The beauty of the system is the electronic control. That means NO air lines to run into the cab, only a wire harness to the control head. They also offer an automatic leveling kit that maintains height, and requires no in-cab control, similar to OTR tractor and semitrailer air ride setups. Most of the install time I spent was installing the wire harness to the cab.

The electronic control will maintain the pressure you set. The display/control head leaves a little to be desired as far as asthetics go, but it is highly functional. To set pressure, adjust the displayed pressure with the + - push buttons for each side, wait 45 seconds, then it is locked into memory until you adjust again. If you don't need any spring assist, you can set it to minimum pressure, and it will maintain 4-5 PSI, to keep the airbags inflated, which is important for longevity. Because I installed both kits (airbags + controller/compressor) at the same time, AirLift extended the airbag warranty for the life of the truck, and gave me a $30 rebate.

First, I installed the airbags independent of any control system, with L/R air valves to the rear. The compressor and controll system was teed into the airbag system, so I could use the airbags as a "manual" system, if necessary.

I installed the airbags before the trip to SLC. The round trip was 1600 miles, towing my 5'er, with a pin weight of about 2200#. I intended to install rear sway bars later, but no need now with the airbags. Ride and control was excellent, and is adjustable on-the-fly, depending on road conditions.

Check out what AirLift has to offer at www.airliftcompany.com (http://www.airliftcompany.com/). The site has a vehicle-specific application selector.


I'm moving this topic to the Trucks & Drivetrain Forum.

[Kennedy]

Add a leaf or 3500 series spring pack first. Here's 3k in the bed with just an added leaf:

http://www.kennedydiesel.com/photogal/images/3k%20Load.jpg


I now have air lift bags on both trucks and they flat out do not squat. Bags, compressors, controls on my site under Suspension.

[guerrero]

I have been satisfied with the Firestone air suspension system with in-cab dual circuit control. This retails online for about $500 and has an advertised carrying capacity of about 5000#. Installation was straight forward took about 4 hours with basic tools.When empty running with 5-10# leaves the ride near stock and the dual circuit also doubles as a means to level when truck camping.

[Roy W]

I do have one comment to make about the AirLift or any type of air suspension that controls air pressure from one central location. I worked at a RV dealer for a number of years and they sold quite a few Lance slide in campers. In many cases, a set of air bags was necessary to level the truck after the installation. Through experience, we learned that air bags installed on a truck with a top heavy (prone to leaning on corners) slide in camper, that an installation with a central fill point aggrevated the roll or lean condition of the truck. What was actually happening was when the truck leaned a little going around a corner, it forced the air out of one bag and over into the other, which tended to make the truck lean even more. The answer of course was to go with individual remote fill valves for each air bag. This elimiated the excess body roll when the slide in camper was installed, but of course was something less than convenient when the camper was removed and the truck driven empty. For someone who is using air bags to control truck attitude with a heavy low profile load in the bed, the electronic control with compressor is obviously the best way to go. Just my .02.

[DmaxMaverick]

Roy

I absolutely agree with your caution, and apparently, the airbag manufacturers do as well.

Airlift recommends an individual fill point for each side. Airlift indicates the reasons you described. It would be my guess that Firestone would be on the same page, but I don't have that info in front of me.

The electronic controller I installed, and described above, has individual and isolated L/R controls, and maintains pressures accordingly. There is no link between the L/R sides. The only way you could have cross-bleeding would be if you installed the system contrary to the installation instructions. It would defeat the design of the sytem. There is no point within the system where the L/R air circuits meet, unless you create one. As I said, sway control was greatly increased with the system. The automatic leveling system I mentioned also isolates the L/R airbags.

The "Sure-Set" controller does have a single, central control point, but the L/R air circuits are isolated. Only the controller is centrally located. The air control manifold has two separate air circuits, each with its own air pressure sender and dump valve. The input air from the compressor is directed to either side by a solenoid valve, and only one side can be pressurized or dumped at a time.

Have a look at the product descriptions at www.kennedydiesel.com (http://www.kennedydiesel.com).

[Kennedy]

I've always sold and recommended only dual contriol kits for the reason mentioned above. With the dual control you actually get increased stability in a leaning type situation.

[Roy W]

Thanks for the clarification. What the techs were doing at the RV place was teeing the two sides together and then running them to a common single point filler next to the license plate. (El Camino style) It only took about 1 or 2 complaints before they realized the error of their ways.(and read the instructions!!) For those customers that didn't want to spend the extra money for the compressor setup, they just ran a separate filler hose from each bag back to the license plate area, but the compressor and controller is definitly the way to go.

[Manfred]

I carry a 10'6" Bigfoot slide-out camper and found that the Firestone air bags, suitable for pressures up to 100psi were inadequate. Use also Rancho 9000 shocks cranked up to their max, air bags are individually filled and the sway in curves was still unnerving. Had a set of overload springs installed which eliminated to a large degree the camper sway. The only disadvantage is, that without the camper I do hear the clacking of the overload springs on bumps.

[mikeyboy]

http://www.supersprings.com/
I have these on mine. Double the payload. Rides well empty. Lifts the back end one or two inches empty. Easy to install. Cost about 325. They have my vote.

[Manfred]

In my case I happen to be in Canada, with the camper on the truck. I found a spring shop in Abbotsford B.C. run by a Yugoslav immigrant, who custom made the springs and installed them in less than two hours. Price was about the same as your ad quoted, except in Can $.

[Mudflap]

Check out www.activesuspension.com. (http://www.activesuspension.com.) I have had this system on my truck for years and it is GREAT. Cost is about 265.00.

[okeehandyman]

On my '05 2500 D/A truck, I used the Firestones and individual fill tubes. A convenient place for me to mount the fills was on each side of the frame, just behind the wheel, there is an unused hole that the fill will fit into. I carry a long camper and the license plate mount would not be convenient. Got a set of Firestones from Curtis at Pacific Coast Truck & Trailer up in Oregon for $200.

[Rollingon]

Just got in on this. A thought immediately comes to mind. Overloaded rear tires!!!

On a 2500HD, it is very easy to overload the stock rear tires. I pull a heavy 5th wheel, and the tires were over spec, with little sway or stability problems. Went to 265/75 Load Range E tires, plus Timbrens, and am very happy.

I'd suggest getting a rear axle weight.