2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission camper questions....

[KPotter44]

Hey everyone....we just bought a cabover for our 99 2500 4X4 diesel and I'm wondering the best way to strengthen the suspension. I know air bags are available, and I'm sure someone sells heavy duty sway bars as well as heavy duty shocks. The truck handles the load well as far as power, but when there is a strong crosswind, it sways pretty good. Thanks.

 

[Bill Stockard]

A rear anti-sway bar will help with the sway. http://www.hellwigproducts.com/products/big-wig/the-big-wig/ Also adjustable Rancho shocks. http://www.gorancho.com/shocks.php?shock=RS9000XL

Air bags will help level the load but don't help much with sway. If you have rear overload springs, they need to engage the overload spring bump stops sooner. This can be accomplished with Torklift StableLoads: http://www.torklift.com/index.php/products/suspension/stableload

Bill

 

[klcammie]

A rear anti-sway bar will help with the sway. http://www.hellwigproducts.com/products/big-wig/the-big-wig/ Also adjustable Rancho shocks. http://www.gorancho.com/shocks.php?shock=RS9000XL

Air bags will help level the load but don't help much with sway. If you have rear overload springs, they need to engage the overload spring bump stops sooner. This can be accomplished with Torklift StableLoads: http://www.torklift.com/index.php/products/suspension/stableload

Bill

Thanks lots of good info. Was looking for some new schocks.

 

[Regcabguy]

No signature but if you're luck enough to have a manual transmission get a Pacbrake so you can stop that load.
My '98.5 was pretty scary to try and stop with my camper.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Sorry but if you want an honest answer it is to get a Dually.

 

[KPotter44]

Thanks Bill for the info. The torklift stable loads look interesting. The cab over we got is advertised as 1500 lbs dry and once we fill it with water and all the other stuff it's probably closer to 1800. As far as the pacbrake, it's an auto so that is not an option. As far as a dually, I can dream can't I?

 

[Regcabguy]

That's a light cabover. That'll help a bunch along with stock size e-rated tires.
Concerning the swaybar,Amazon.com has some good prices and free shipping. The Big Wig would work really well. Tax in California, unfortunately. Moonbeam pushed that through.
Enjoy.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Thanks Bill for the info. The torklift stable loads look interesting. The cab over we got is advertised as 1500 lbs dry and once we fill it with water and all the other stuff it's probably closer to 1800.

Weigh your truck and camper loaded and ready to travel on a commercial scale. The total weight may surprise you.

Bill

 

[bcbigfoot]

OP does your truck have factory overload springs? by the sounds of things it doesn't. With the camper package/overload springs a 2500 has the same suspension as my 3500 dually has. I carry a 4000 lb camper with stock suspension and rancho 9000 shocks which only helps a little, overall it has little sway. Perhaps you need spring overloads, you could get that for little at a wreckers.

 

[EGroeneveld]

Best mod I have on my 2011 for my camper is Super Springs. Basically an additional overload.... swaybar will help too.
Airbags usually make sway worse.....

 

[Cosmo]

Interesting, I've got a Pacbrake and an automatic... of course I put the valve springs in and built my transmission...

 

[JR]

98.5 And up used the 60 # valve springs from the factory. In stock form the transmissions aren't very receptive to an exhaust brake but a good TC, valve body and a lock up switch will allow a trans to live under careful use with an exhaust brake. If your hauling heavy then billet parts become alot more important.

 

[Regcabguy]

Interesting, I've got a Pacbrake and an automatic... of course I put the valve springs in and built my transmission...

Same here. DTT trans and a Smart Controller on my '98.5. All in pursuit of decent stopping power. ouch$$

 

[JMcCoy]

Best mod I have on my 2011 for my camper is Super Springs. Basically an additional overload.... swaybar will help too.
Airbags usually make sway worse.....

Airbags only make it worse if they are plumbed together so when one is compressed, the air goes into the other. If plumbed separately, they should work well. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[KPotter44]

I ordered the torklift stable loads and they should be here tomorrow. If installation goes well, we will head up to Plumas County Thursday. Will check back in next week with a report. Also, with the camper on the truck, the stock mirrors do not work. I got some of those inexpensive slide ons, and they were so loose I ended up drilling two 3/16 holes in the mirrors and temporarily bolting them on. The aftermarket power heated mirrors are a little pricey. Any suggestions?

 

[stumphumper]

I had a slide in when I bought my 95. Scared the &%$( out of me when i went to pick it up. My hose from my turbo to the cooler was not tightened and made one hell of noise when taking off. The side to side sway got me worried about if I had made the right choice in campers! But after the hose fix then installing the air bags ( one fill valve to each bag located in front of the rear wheels through the running boards it got better. But the sway did not go away untill I welded up some brackets to bolt onto the truck under frame that would allow a square stock bar the be mounted across the under belly of the truck. This tied the camper to the trucks frame and not the truck bed. After that it was a great ride through all those toll booths and not having to pay for the extra axles. I now have the exhaust brake and a HD transmission and wished I had done that back when I had the slide in! I now pull a 25' toy box so I can bring the bike with the wife:-laf Good luck with your camper. ken

 

[JMcCoy]

Welding brackets under the truck is a great idea. Torklift sells a hitch with side attachments to mount the rear of the camper and frame mount brackets to support the front of the camper. Lots of $$$ though. I believe the hitch is $600 plus a several hundred for the attachments. It also has up to a 48" hitch extention for towing. Super beefy setup. Probably the strongest hitch on the market. I may build my own front brackets like stumphumper described.

 

[Road Dog]

Welding brackets under the truck is a great idea.

Welding to the frame is a bad idea. The frame is heat treated after it's make and welding destroys the temper. Most tie downs bolt to the frame. You can get split (one on each side) or a full width bar.
Split:
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Full:
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[JMcCoy]

Welding to the frame is a bad idea. The frame is heat treated after it's make and welding destroys the temper. Most tie downs bolt to the frame. You can get split (one on each side) or a full width bar.
Split:

These frames are low carbon frames and may be welded to with no issues. That being said, the welder must know what he is doing and not just punch holes everywere. Not for a novice. If you crawl under your truck, you will see welds all over the place. That's not silly putty holding everything together. :-laf And no the entire truck wasn't placed into an oven to heat threat the welds and frame, post welding. With quality welds, you will not have a problem. The newer hydro-formed frames may be another story. If you don't want to weld them, you can buy brackets that bolt on, as stated in Road Dog's (and my previous) post. The main thing is to support the camper.

 

[Road Dog]

Yes, some frames are heat treated in a big oven after assembly. Does Dodge do that? Who knows. There is a RAM Builder Guide site but it's a screwy PDF based web site and I refuse to install the required software.

When I was looking at trucks, the 3rd gens had mounting holes (for tie downs) through the bed mounting brackets so you had a extra layer of metal.