Just completed our first trip with the TC. Trip was great..getting there and back not so much. I never once felt in control of the vehicle wether it was from cross winds, being passed or un-even/off kilter pavement. I actually stopped 10 minutes into the trip to regain my composure and drain the fresh water tank in an effort to remedy some of the violent swaying. I was honestly on the verge of turning back and if it wasn't for the fact that we've had the trip planned for a year and this was one of my wifes rare "good" weeks, she's going through chemo treatments every other week, I would have ended the trip then. I chose to push on, slow and steady or unsteady as it may be. My truck has had the full Carli suspension upgrade since the start, and I bought the truck new. The suspension consists of a leveling type system with progressive rate front coils and a spring pack that replaces the factory overload setup for a much better ride and adds full suspension articulation without compromising factory load ratings. I've pulled my boat (4000 lbs) cross country from VA to AZ with no issue and had a payload of over 2500 lbs from Chicago to VA with no issue, but add the 02'Lance-Lite 1025 dry with only minimal camp equipment and my truck starts to wallow around like a battleship in heavy seas.

I've looked at Timbrens and Sumo springs as a fix. I'm not looking to do airbags as I need the articulation for when I'm offroad. I realize these requirements are contrary to each other but safety is paramount. Before the trip, I added the Torklift front and rear tiedowns which I expected to be aluminum since I was directed to the retailer from the torklift site showing the aluminum set, only to recieve a metal set that showed rust where the paint was chipped after only 1 night of installation. Oh well, had no choice but to install with the trip so close. Seems like a great system, just expected the corrosion resistance of aluminum since thats what was on the site. We're all looking forward to the next trip, but not till I get this issue resolved. Whats the next step, sway bars, Timbrens, Sumo's, etc. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

My first step would be to give the suspension a very careful look over. Worn shocks or shackles, loose bits, worn bits, etc. Especially take a look at any poly bushings you might have installed years ago.

Larger Anti-sway bars front and rear would be my next step. Make sure to get a matching set.

When you get the time, pull those steel brackets back off. Have them blasted and then powdercoated. Or strip them down and coat with Extend/POR-15, and repaint.

 

Certainly sounds odd.

Did you have tires aired up for the additional weight?

Was it sway like wind pushing you or was it more body roll on turns?

 

I've only been in 1 Ram with Carli front coils and it definately was much more compliant, IE softer ride. I expect the Carli rear leafs have a similair, softer initial rate and ultimatley work up to a factory load rating somehwere near the bottom of the suspension travel to prevent bottoming out.
That does not seem ideal at all for carrying a high center of gravity load because the truck blows through the initial spring rates easier than the stiffer OE springs.
A 2500lb low CG payload like a pallet of bricks will not cause as much sway as the same weight with the vertical CG several feet higher in the air. The moment exerted by the load will be greater around the point of rotation (your suspension).
My camper which I would guess is at least 1000lbs heavier makes my truck roll side to side pretty good on off camber stuff or low speed potholes, with the airbags aired up back to level the truck out.
I do not have a rear sway bar, but understand that would help ALOT and think that a rear sway bar would help your situation as well.

 

You cant really have a compliant, flexible articulating suspension and have minimal body roll with a heavy, high C of G load.
If the rear springs you have do not provide any lift, the Timbrens set to the longer setting to engage sooner may help quite a bit, but they will have to engage right away to do any good and that will take away from the uppward range of articulation, just like any other add on component be it extra leafs, bags or sway bar.

If your springs now are carrying the load of the camper at the height you are comfortable with, then a sway bar is the best add on I believe.
I need one too and mine is not scary to drive, IMO, but it handles like a loaded U Haul van with blown shocks!

Best wished to your wife btw.

 

I've got KORE VR coils for the simple reason that they are stiff. Don Thuren specially valved some King 2.5's for me and along with a Hellwig swaybar the truck doesn't feel my 2000# popup much. Granted I've got less mass than you but with his camper valving and the swaybar it'll dramatically improve your handling. The Hellwig Big Wig is the one to get for your camper. I don't see airbags either.. Sounds like a lot to pay for shocks but it's well worth it. 2.0's will be swallowed up by all that mass. Give Don a call. He'd probably recommend Stage 3. He'll get back to you promptly with a recommendation. No pressure to buy. I wish your wife good luck with her treatments.

 

Forget the Timbrens. Order a set of Firestone air bags and these http://www.daystarweb.com/productlis...Air+Bag+Cradle

This setup allows for full articulation because the cradle is not bolted to the bag. When the axle droops enough you'll have daylight between the bag and cradle. Super simple install, fairly cheap overall, and it just works.

 

I saw those, they're fairly new arent they? It did look like it it would work, but I'm leary of the airbags and the possibility of a malfuction on the road. If I were 6 hours from home and had an airbag failure, there is no way I'd attempt to go any further. Thanks for the reply!!

 

Thanks for the reply. I do still have the VR coils up front as well, I've replaced and added over the years without updating my sig. Do you think the 5100's are hurting me that much? I'm leaning toward the Helwig big wig and either Sumo's or Timbrens. When the camper is loaded I'm thinking it right around 3500# and my bumpstops are about 2 inches from the axle tube. I'd hate to completely change the suspension for the camper. I figure I can put quick releases on the swaybar. Thanks again for your help. I thought I remembered you having a camper and helping me find some good camping spots back when I was in AZ. We ended up in Payson/Strawberry camping right on the rim. Without a doubt on of the most beautiful morning sunrises we've ever seen.

 

Your 5100's have generic valving for unladen/lightly laden trucks. Disconnectng the swaybars isn't necessary. I drove offroad in Utah with mine.
Seriously,I'd call Don. I'm sure your camper comes off when not in use and he might say you can get by with 2.0 Fox reservoir's.
My same camper overwhelmed my '98.5 and it had stock suspension. Installed Bilstein 5000's no improvement
Enter Kroeker with his setup. I was promised camper valving for my application. Loaded the camper on the truck and it was all over the road. He offered to revalve them per my 1st request but that I would have to ship them at my expense to Valley Center to his compound. Not gonna happen.
Enter Sean Lorenz who offered to revalve them for nothing. Two hrs later,transformed truck.
Your springs are fine fore and aft. You just need waaay more dampening.

 

Cathy offers long travel airbags. Haven't had time to install mine yet.
http://www.carlisuspension.com/dodge...elairbags.html

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That's what I've used since their release.
For the everyday driver though the Firestone/Pacbrake offerings should suffice.

 

I brought up the long travels because LOWTYD mentioned he wants suspension travel for going off road. Plus they will work better aft low pressure when you have no load and let his dual purpose leaf springs keep his nice ride as the " bag" is really compliant, or soft compared to the other bags I have seen.

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Very true. I had mine installed at Carli's OC shop and we took the truck on his urban test course. Huge improvement over the Firestone's in travel and ride comfort..that's for sure.

 

No matter what you do, your just going to have to get used to swaying with that truck camper because it moves your center-of-gravity so high. Period. However, you can do some things to help. Pack heavy things as low as you can in the camper and truck. It seems to me that draining your fresh water tank was counter-productive. By doing that you lowered your overall vehicle weight, but I am sure that, since the water tanks are usually low in the camper, you probably raised your actual center-of-gravity even higher, giving it a longer lever arm. But don't worry, your truck can handle quite a bit of swaying before you need to really worry about it.

By the way, you might want to consider different tires, ones with stiffer sidewalls. That has been shown to make a huge difference for some people.