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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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truck camper advice needed....
Anybody using "air-bags" to level rear suspension?
Has anyone added a REAR sway bar to their truck?
I just added a Six-pac GRANDBY to my truck and can feel the added sway and found that even empty it puts a load on rear springs. Just wondering what
others have found works best.
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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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It is a little radical------
--------but I have added "add-a-leaf" springs to my rear end and they work fantastic. The inflatable ones don't seem to stand up to the constant
pounding of washboard, has been my experience. Bolt on springs break also. Also use Bilstein shocks, or something comparable.
My truck came with an anti-sway bar and it works very well.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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our friends put some air bags on a van once....
they caught so much fish it popped the bags....
we carried the fish in the dually
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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| Quote: | Originally posted by surfer jim
Anybody using "air-bags" to level rear suspension?
Has anyone added a REAR sway bar to their truck?
I just added a Six-pac GRANDBY to my truck and can feel the added sway and found that even empty it puts a load on rear springs. Just wondering what
others have found works best. |
Best way is to get a heaver truck. what is a Six-pac GRANDBY? dose it stick out very far behind the bumper?
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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Air bags sort of work if they are the type where you can inflate from the truck. But every one of the posts is correct that they have problems on the
rough roads of Baja. The best bet is to put in a set of overload springs which will help with the suspension. Try not to overload the truck too much
and that will help too. But one of the things I see all the time is that people think that when they put that much weight in the bed of the truck,
that it is going to handle like it did before you loaded up. No way. Some of the sway and change in handling just take getting used to. I had a
friend who liked my Lance really well but had never driven one. He bought a new one in Denver and then hauled the thing back to Alaska. He never did
get used to the feeling and promptly sold the camper.
I would also guess that you have put the Grandby on a 1/2 ton truck which is terribly underslung anyway. So check out overloads and after that just
get used to the "heavy feeling".
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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these are kinda nice...
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Oso
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2637
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: on da border
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Mood: wait and see
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McGyver put some kind of rubber cylinder thingees between the springs and bed on the rear of the Taco I bought from him. I forget what they are
called. Maybe he will see this and fill us in. The ride is a leetle bit stiff empty but I am probably going to really appreciate them when I find
the camper I want.
BTW, I'm in the market for a used pop-top slide-in for short bed xtra cab Tacoma.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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It accually should be called Four Wheel pop up....Grandby is the model name....just goes to the end of the truck bed....900 pounds empty...
Like in the photo from Bob and Susan....
Maybe Pescador has something about truck riding different and takes a while to get used to.....but I can feel the sway now that wasn't there
before....
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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what kind of truck do you have?
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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I put air bags on all my trucks. They help stop sway as well as leveling the load both ways if needed. Mine are rated for more load than my truck
springs can carry. If someone blew a bag it wasn't the right one for the truck/load. They don't help a bit with washboard roads though !
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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I would think that a larger diameter anti sway bar would help the Highway handling more than more springs. it sounds like he is way within the load
rang for a full sized 1/2 ton pickup. but ether modification is going to effect your off rode performance in a negative way. but life is just a series
of trade offs.
every one has there own Idea of what works for them. I spent most of my life modifying cars and trucks do do thing they arent meant to do. It was both
fun and expensive. now in my older and maybe wiser years. I have changed my ways. now I figure out what I want to do with a truck and buy a truck that
will handle the job with out all of the mods. I got tired of adding $20,000 Worth of goodies only to find out that they knock off twice that at trade
in time. 
[Edited on 5-14-2006 by Bruce R Leech]
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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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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My camper is a Callen, and weighs about 900 lbs. too. It is on a Ford F-250 ext cab long bed 4x4 and the add-a-leafs made all the difference in the
world, both with sway and general riding, plus they eliminated sag. The swaybar helps a lot too.
The airbags that I once had simply wore out on the washboard after about 1000 miles of rough going-----they actually had holes worn through them.
Others I have talked to told me of similar experiences. I am sure they are fine if you stay on the highway. My bolt-on helper springs simply
crystalized and fell off------3 different sets of them-----no more bolt-ons for me.
That made me a believer in add-a-leafs-----been going with them for over 5 years now and no problems.
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Geronimo
Junior Nomad
Posts: 91
Registered: 6-12-2005
Location: Salome Arizona/San Felipe BC Mex
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If you go off roading air bags can limit your rear axle articulation. I learned the hard way by riping a set out while putting a truck up on the
lift.
\"The only cure is to be perpetually South Bound\"
~Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers from the song Mexicosis
Geronimo
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Jim ck it out!
If you're like me, traction & clearance are my biggest concern in the back country. Look at the new PW
| Quote: |
The Power Wagon saw its debut along a trail in Utah's La Salle Mountains (Moab Utah) - a trail named "Poison Spider" most notably. The super 4x4
performed remarkably for a vehicle that comes straight off the showroom floor. Perhaps the only other stock vehicles that are in its league would be
the Jeep Rubicon and the Hummer H1. The 5.7 liter Hemi motor performs flawlessly with its 345 hp and a whopping 375 lbs. of off-road grunt. One of the
coolest and most functionally useful features that allows the big Dodge to perform such amazing off-road stunts is the innovative and new electronic
disconnecting stabilizer bar - Dodge calls it the "Smart Bar." The Smart Bar is an electronically controlled device that disconnects the front
stabilizer bar from the axle via switch on the dash. The bar can be disconnected for speeds below 18 mph in either 4-HI or 4-LO, and automatically
re-engages at speeds above 18 mph. The purpose of a stabilizer bar is to distribute load force from one side of the vehicle to the other to prevent
body roll while cornering. But they limit axle articulation for serious off-road performance. The common practice for hardcore off-roaders is to bring
along a set of wrenches and disconnect the stabilizer bar from the end links while on the trail then bolt them back up for highway use. It?s a time
consuming routine but needed because you don't want to drive a lifted 4x4 on the highway without the added stability
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I will look into acquiring one of these puppies. Look at this:
Ramp travel index (RTI): Sway bar engaged 460 (23" vertical height)
Ramp travel index (RTI): Sway bar disengaged 655 (32" vertical height)
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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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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Sharks...got one already !!....bought it in October......and just got the camper for it earlier this year....hasn't been to BAJA yet.....I figured
since I travel alone a lot that this could take me anywhere....
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Curious
While I've had heavy loads in the backend over 2000lbs I've been quite pleased with the sway, or lack thereof. You got me wondering now if that new
sway system is less rigid or responds differently than the ordinary affair. Is it possible that bolting the unit to the bed may help. Is it firmly
footed on the bed? There may not be a whole lot you can do w/that particulkar setup. Let me know if you find a fix. Say, how does that baby handle.
I've yet to see one here.
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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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
Member Is Offline
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The POWER WAGON suspension is excellent on and off road......they really did a good job dialing it in....the only drawback is being soft (especially
in the rear). Although it is a 3/4 ton truck I don't think it has the same capacity as the standard 3/4.
This is only an issue with a big load (or camper) .....unloaded (or light load) the truck gets a "10" for suspension from me. I would think if you
like the way they look you will love the vehicle. Production numbers are around 3000 units from what I hear so there are not a lot of them on the
road.
Check out <dodgetalk.com> 3rd generation ram ....4x4 (?) for more info ....
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sanfelipebob
Nomad
Posts: 130
Registered: 9-1-2003
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Firestone airbags
I have a f350 crew with lance camper. I had the firestone bags installed at the local camper dealer and the work great. Price was about $300.00.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Deaver!
One of their big things is changing out leaf groups with thinner leafs but more leafs. This is supposed to smooth out the ride without sacrificing
load capacity. Better incremental loading of the weight.
I haven't done this yet cause I've been busy buying leafs and bunks and calipers for a boat trailer.
Damn boats!
But I think Pescador is right; there is no making 1300-1400 lbs (loaded) on the back of a 1/2 ton pickup disappear completely. Accept that there will
be some body sway and adjust your driving skills accordingly.
If anyone can make the ride better, it will be Deaver.
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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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Broken add a leaf
Surfer Jim,
This truck and camper broke "add a leafs" from Downey and Rancho..I t wasn't until I put two FULL leafs into the stack that it started to work..Of
course, without the camper on it was terrible..
If you are going to mount the camper permanently on the truck, I would start stackin leafs on..Never heard of any luck with airbags off road, I have
been talked out of them a few times...
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