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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Thomas T.-----
-when I refer to "add-a-leafs" I mean extra full length leaves placed in the spring package---not the short bolt on types, or the short stiff leaves
placed within the spring package.
This is feasible only if your camper is permanently on the truck-----otherwise, like you say, the truck becomes a monster with stiff, solid-like
suspension---horrible!! I have not heard of anybody "breaking" the actual add-on leaves, but I suppose it is possible, just like it is possible to
break the factory springs.
Another advantage of having the camper permanently on the truck is that you only have to pay "house-car" DMV fees, instead of the normal "commercial"
license fees-----commercial fees are a LOT more. I NEVER remove my camper.
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Tomas Tierra
Super Nomad
Posts: 1281
Registered: 3-23-2005
Location: oxnard, ca
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Mood: Tengo Flojera
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Barry...
Yes, the ones I broke were the short little chit ones..
I never thought of the DMV fees, will have to look at that, thanx..
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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Mood: mellow
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If you don't want to have the sway get shocks that do the job(Bilstien) ordinary shocks do not do the job, and no amount of springs will do it, you
have to have the right Combo.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Tomas Tierra
Super Nomad
Posts: 1281
Registered: 3-23-2005
Location: oxnard, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tengo Flojera
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Always used rancho 9000's....Am I blowing it??
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by comitan
If you don't want to have the sway get shocks that do the job(Bilstien) ordinary shocks do not do the job, and no amount of springs will do it, you
have to have the right Combo. |
Bilsteins are stock on the new Power Wagon.
"Significantly revised front coil and rear leaf springs increase ride height, soften spring rates, and increase axle articulation
Ride heights increased by 1.8" (45 mm) front and 1.4"(35 mm) rear over the Ram 2500 4x4
Bilstein high-pressure mono-tube shocks
Longer and larger 45 mm mono-tube (vs. 35 mm twin tubes)
Higher pressure (250 psi vs. 50 psi) "
-----
They claim softer spring rates. Maybe there is a stiffer replacement coil for the front and possibly rear overload leafs available.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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To each his own. If you want to stop the sway and have the freedom to adjust the suspension when your camper is on or off, go with air bags. If you
have a camper heavy enough to need something extra, you are not going serious 4 wheeling anyway. Air bags really help sway as well.
If you want to leave the camper on all the time or you're OK with the butt busting when your camper is off, then go with springs/shocks but you will
never get rid of all the sway.
If you want to do both and carry a light duty camper then get a 3/4 ton truck and use it without the add-ons.
Who rides hard/fast over washboard with a loaded camper anyway ?
To each his own !
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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I didn't want to change the stock springs as I like the ride they provide....
air bags are getting 50-50 review....I know on the highway lots of people use them and not seeing a lot problems with them....but off road it seems
like there are issues with them....
I may just go as is and see how I feel after a few trips south...guess that will be the real test .
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bajarich
Nomad
Posts: 463
Registered: 1-13-2005
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I have a Dodge Dakota with a smaller 4-wheel camper. I first used Air Lift air bags, but after replacing them twice, I had the local spring shop add
a full leaf to my springs. It rides great with the camper on and is ok without it as long as I only have 35# of air in my tires. The best thing is
that I don't worry about the air bags anymore. The air bags take the weight off of the springs and put all the stress on the bracket. My brackets
bent due to the force. Of course, when loaded for Baja, I probably carry too much weight for the Dakota, but thats another story.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9006
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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Bilsteins,
will not do anything for body sway.
They are great shocks but they will not make the world flat, Vespucci.
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Funny, I have had one set of Les Schwab air bags on my '94 F250 for three long baja trips and many others with a heavy old Wilderness 9 1/2' camper
and often towing a boat or the Wells Cargo trailer. Never had a problem with the air bags. While most of my miles were on the road, I hit all the Baja
washboards ie Punta Chivato with no air bag failure. They're still doing fine.
My 'o4 F350 crew came with air bags and 285-75-16 E rated 10 plies. Loaded with the topper and towing the trailer we could still adjust air bags and
tire pressure to get a pretty good ride over the washboard from Los Planos towards San Antonio.
Let me also say that I am in construction and often load the F250 with more mortar, sand, tile or stone than the truck and airbags were rated for.
No air bag failures with either truck.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9006
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Diver,
I am not sure I would use the term "heavy' and "Wildernest" in the same sentence. Those are not considered heavy in most people's books unless you are
loading one into a pee-ant 1/2ton pickup.
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pangamadness
Nomad
Posts: 378
Registered: 9-22-2003
Member Is Offline
Mood: Under H20
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Springs
Go to National Spring in El Cajon. Every truck I have owned has been thee for added springs and they do good work. Off Bradley I think & hwy 67
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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Diver-----
----You must be one savvy driver, and gentle to your rig to boot. Of course, big low-pressure tires help emensely, too.
Most of my experience is on the road from San Felipe to Gonzaga (both pre-graded, and after), and from BOLA to Las Animas--------both roads seem to
destroy anything not rated "bullet-proof". I have broken many, many springs, both helper type, and boat and utility trailer springs (factory), as
well as airbags, and my rig is not that heavy (total load maybe 1600 lbs with boat on top). ALL my travel friends have had similar experiences.
Convinced me!!!
But like you say, "to each his own".
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Yes, I drive like an Angel. Thank you ! 
and Hook, my 1978 Winderness has been refitted with a 5/8 inch ply roof, 2x4 struts and holds 65 gallons of water, 25 grey/black, Zodiak, 10 Hp
outboard, 190 lbs of dogs....you get the picture. It's also the tallest of all the older campers I have seen.
If I had any problems with my air shocks I might have considered a more expensive option but for under $400 it a no-brainer for me.
Did I just say I have no brain ? 
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Seriously.......
Has anyone driving a "real" truck (FORD) had any problems with their load-rated air bag brackets or frames or faulty bags ??
I don't make any claims to know a thing about those "immitation" trucks !! 
Time to heat things up ??
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pappy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 679
Registered: 12-10-2003
Member Is Offline
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jim-
check out super spring in carpenteria california.(supersprings.com) i think.my old rig had add-a-leafs in rear for my camper.worked well. my current
truck is going to get super spring. more or less an add-a-leaf and then some.my friend has air bags on his dodge 3/4 ton and has had them fail with
just minimal loads of camp gear.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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OK, Diver, you want to heat things up, do you----
--------MY truck, as previously stated, is (using YOUR terms) a "real truck"!!!!! ------a 1994 Ford F-250 ext. cab, long bed, 4x4.
The stock frame (actually the "bed" mount) broke just behind the cab about 3 years ago on the road from the El Apache Sulfur Mine west to Valle Chico
via Parral Canyon. I had to have the camper and bed removed, and welded up after reinforcing everything with 2" steel square tube, and steel plate.
The bed was crushed like a tin-can----very disappointing----and on a "real truck", too!!!! Lots of hammering and welding cured that. That will never
happen again, but the truck probably weighs 60 lbs more than it did.
It is interesting to note that the same camper and boat mounted on a 1969 Ford 1/2 ton 2-wheel drive withstood years and years of bad road travel in
Baja with no structural problems-----they just don't build them like they used to, including FORD!!! By the way, the airbags were on that FORD, and
they did not last long. That truck also had inflatable shocks, and they blew out almost immediately. I replaced them with Bilsteins, and replaced the
rear springs with 1-ton spring packs-------also replace the front coil springs with 3/4 ton coils. All those modifications did the trick.
I am not a fast driver (tho I do not drive like an "Angel") but I do take some pretty bad roads. In my opinion, the biggest "plus" to bad road
driving is to have huge tires with low air pressure------what a difference!!!!!
My present Ford F-250 has one full add-a-leaf added to each front spring pack, and two add-a-leafs to each rear spring pack (no overload springs). It
has stock anti-sway bars fore and aft. Bilstein shocks on the front, and KYB gas motorhome shocks on the back. 285 x 16 BFG All terraign all around
(load range D) mounted on 8 inch wide rims. It now rides like a dream, and there is very little sway (none on the highway), and this with a very
heavy CALLEN camper with a 14 ' Gregor on top. In the whoop-de-doos that the racers leave behind it does rock and roll pretty badly, but I believe
that any vehicle of weight would. (I hate those whoops)
It is one mean machine!!!!-----now, after the modifications. Please don't ask what all this cost, but it was worth it.
To conclude: those "air bag" thingy's are for asphalt cruisers, grocery-getters, and those that drive like "angels". 
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
To conclude: those "air bag" thingy's are for asphalt cruisers, grocery-getters, and those that drive like "angels". |
OK that's it ! Them's fighting words !! 
We meet in El Rosario with Fords and immitations loaded with campers, gear and gas. Then south to hit the dirt roads and washboards of Baja.
I'll bring the F350 crew "road builder". Breakdowns will be left in the dust !
Who's a chicken ??
Come on let's go !! I dare ya ! :
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Whistler is always welcome.
We don't mind Dodges they are light and easy to tow ! 
Also much nicer toys than....well, you know, Toys.
(Getting nasty now!  :lol
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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Diver----------- ----that'al be the day-----
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