Any experience with suspension enhancement systems?

[TeeJay72]

that may be worth looking into, thanks

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Just remember the ride will not be as nice.

 

[NGC 613]

I start thinking if you feel it is soft on the ride a sway bar is in order. Soft meaning you feel the back end is kind of mushy and pronounced more so in curves. A nice big old sway bar from Helwig would be the key. Any soft ride (especially in corners ) would benefit most greatly from a good strong sway bar. The ones they put on at the factory don't help a lot.. I may be way off here , but look up Helwig and see if it isn't something you might consider.

 

[TeeJay72]

thanks for the information, i will check into it!

 

[Calsun]

Ram has an available air suspension with internal springs for their new 2500 and 3500 pickups which are not at all like having standard coil springs at the rear. It is also an option so if people care more about a comfy ride than how well the truck can handle a load then they may opt for the suspension. The air suspensions fand bare coil springs on the Ram 2500 trucks can experience tail wag with a heavy trailer one would be better served by a 3500 with the leaf springs at the rear. The cost for the air suspension adds $1700 to the price of the truck which is more than triple the cost of aftermarket air bags with an onboard compressor.

 

[NGC 613]

Not sure how this got to be about a Ram 2500. The OP is talking about a Ram 1500. He doesn't say what he is towing and I assume it is a travel trailer.
He may be soft in the tail , but Air bags are not going to help him much if he is talking about sway. A Pro Pride hitch would do wonders for any sway he has. My 2500 barely squats at all when I hitch up the 5th wheel and it has factory coil springs. If it didn't make the ride smoother I'd say I wasted money putting in and Air bag system. The best ride adjustment I made to my truck was putting a hearty sway bar on it. The factory sway wasn't bad but now the truck runs like it is on rails. It is outstanding in curves. I know why folks with 1 ton trucks hauling truck campers around put the big sway bars on. It just changes everything about the ride.

 

[Adeakins]

I have an F350 dually to pull my 5th wheel. All my weights are well within vehicle and hitch parameters yet, the trailer pushes the front of the truck up very slightly so as to create a negative camber problem. This causes aggressive wear on the outer edges of the front tires making them unusable after only 15~20 thousand miles. I’m told by the last Ford dealer I took this problem to that some sort of air suspension/ leveling system is my only hope. But, he never suggested any products. So, I’m looking for the right product as well.

 

[NGC 613]

I'd ask a tire store first before adding an air bag system. Tire store would know a lot more about it I would think.

 

[Amoque]

I'm asking out of curiosity rather than any useful knowledge or ability to help. I'm wondering if your 5th wheel hitch is set-up correctly? Wouldn't placement of the pin (relative to the axles) determine (and) balance the weight on the tow truck between the front and rear axles (i.e. if the front axle is "light", slide the hitch/ pin forward; "heavy", slide it back)? Is this possible or am I missing something here?

I've never heard of having to align the truck with the trailer on it to get correct chamfer(?). If you do that, then what happens when the trailer isn't attached? Is this a thing?

You say "very slightly", but have you run over a scale to see how slightly "slightly" is? Not doubting, just thinking that maybe HD springs demonstrate the issue only subtly?

Lastly, could it be a tire pressure problem - is their wear on the inside edge of the tire?

Again, all questions, no answers.

 

[Adeakins]

To my knowledge, there are no alignment machines that will handle a connected truck and trailer. It’s hard enough to find an alignment shop that can accommodate a dually. Pin and hitch connection should allow the trailer to be level with the truck. When I bought my last 5th wheel prior to the one I have now, I bought it with the truck that had been towing it. The previous owner complained that the trailer frequently blew tires when they travelled. When I was having the trailer serviced, I noticed the trailer was tilted to the rear a bit. I had the service shop change the hitch setting to level the trailer with the truck. I never had a tire blowout on me. When you look at my current truck and trailer, they are level with each other. The rise in the front is not visually noticeable but the effect it has on front tire wear is. And, yes; I had two tire shops look at this problem. One said that was a characteristic of a dually while the other suggested I see a Ford dealer.