Any experience with suspension enhancement systems?

[TeeJay72]

I tow with a Ram 1500 and with the coil springs the suspension seems rather mushy when under the load of my travel trailer. I am considering installing the Timbren SES to the truck. Anyone have any experience with this system? Is it worthwhile?

 

[Lunge motorsport]

I have a pair for sale for a GMC... I thought that they would be the answer to sag. Under load my truck would ride just about .75'' above them with about 2500lbs in the bed. Upon suspension compression they were like an extremely stiff bump stop, a very jarring ride. They actually take the place of the original bump stops and are quite easy to install. I removed them and installed a set of Air Lift airbags. I chose the larger rated 7500 series because I wanted ride height control with cushioned dampening. I felt a larger air spring could be run at a lower pressure and still achieve a compliant ride quality and maintain ride height control. The larger air springs were the answer for me, I run them at around 23 psi and they level the truck nicely and are very compliant.

 

[Joe Hogan]

I tow with a Ram 1500 and with the coil springs the suspension seems rather mushy when under the load of my travel trailer. I am considering installing the Timbren SES to the truck. Anyone have any experience with this system? Is it worthwhile?

You might want to visit a CAT scale next time you are traveling to see what load the axles are carrying. This will give you are starting point.

 

[TeeJay72]

after much research i decided to go with a air bag type helper spring that installs inside of the coil springs, will let you know how they work out

 

[Joe Hogan]

Personally airbags have, as noted above, a negative effect on ride and handling. The stiffer suspension due to the bags at one end of a vehicle alters the handling characteristics considerably. When modifying a suspension the entire suspension must be taken into consideration in my opinion.

 

[Calsun]

I tow with a Ram 1500 and with the coil springs the suspension seems rather mushy when under the load of my travel trailer. I am considering installing the Timbren SES to the truck. Anyone have any experience with this system? Is it worthwhile?

Coil springs are used on the Ram 1500 to give a comfy ride and the cost is in load carrying capabilities. It is why Ram used leaf springs on the 2500 and 3500 pickups. Only real fix is to add air bags and hope for the best. The other devices only serve to reduce the range of travel of the axle which is a minor fix but less expensive than the air bags.

I assume you installed a weight distributing hitch but if not this is what I would do first in your place. If there was still a problem I would add the air bags or consider a different truck, one with leaf springs in the rear.

 

[TeeJay72]

Well after many google searches reading reviews and youtube videos i did go with the Timbrens. I installed them today and on the initial test drives they seem like they might work for me. i started with no load and of course this was fine. i then loaded 6 chuncks of wood , i would guess about 200lbs. This brought the the Timbrens to within about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch above the stops and went out looking for some bumpy roads which is not that hard to find. Initial trial is positive, am looking forward to hooking up to my camper and see how the truck reacts. I do have a weight distribution hitch with sway control and really my truck handles the trailer pretty well. I was just looking for something that would make the towing experience even better. I do have access to a licensed scale and will make sure all weights are within limits. Thanks for all the responses, will give updates as time goes on

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I see some 3/4 ton ram trucks have coil springs ? wondering, would that be the answer?

 

[TeeJay72]

Kevin Pem not sure what you mean?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Kevin Pem not sure what you mean?

Some 3/4 ton coils

 

[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.