New cabover

[Big A]

Well, I bit the bullet and sold the 5th wheel, and bought a Northland 880 Grizzly. I'm going to miss the roominess of the 30ft 5er, but that little Grizzly sure is a nice camper. One thing I will not miss, is pulling the doubles. I will try and haul it with the stock suspension for now. If that doesn't seem sufficient, I will probably do ranchos, or airbags. Wish me luck. I'll post pictures soon.

Big A

 

[tandersen]

Big A I used Air Lift air bags on my '01, good for sway control and also helpful in leveling while parked. I was able to level many times with no blocks. Also the Torklift tiedowns made a big difference in how it handled. Their Superhitch and extension worked extremely well also.

 

[Big A]

tandersen, I took your advice, and ordered the torklift tiedowns. Others have echoed what you said. As far as the airbags, did you use 2 different lines to feed the bags, or do they share the same feed. I heard two separate feeds, works best.

Big A

 

[JLehman]

I just put bags on my truck, didnt help the sway nearly enough, got 80#s in the too, 75#s in the rear tires. course i have the soft kore mini paks on the back instead of the stock springs. gotta ko osmething soon. thinkiin maybe sway bar or beefyer shocks, don't no yet

 

[Regcabguy]

Mini-paks sucked w/camper

I just put bags on my truck, didnt help the sway nearly enough, got 80#s in the too, 75#s in the rear tires. course i have the soft kore mini paks on the back instead of the stock springs. gotta ko osmething soon. thinkiin maybe sway bar or beefyer shocks, don't no yet

The KORE minipaks choked on the rear of my truck. Deaver re-installed the bottom overload and added an add-a-leaf. Lorenz re-valved my Bilstein 7100's. Pretty decent now. E-rated tires next. See sig. The mini-paks worked super until I mounted the camper.

 

[Big A]

Did any of you guys carry the camper without mods beforehand?

Big A

 

[jeepit]

The only mod I have done so far is the Rancho's. Seems to be ok but I have the camper overload spring in from factory. Heading out in September on a trip so I will know more than...

 

[K_Arts]

Wowww.... hold up the train. Big A sold the 5ver?? Damn, I remember the day you bought it and how excited you were. If you need a hand buddy. . just call.

Kev

 

[Big A]

Kevin, How ya been bud. I hope all's well. We sold the 30ft 5er, and got a 8. 5 ft cabover with slide. I picked it up yesterday, and as far as I can tell, I'm not going to need to modify my suspension. The truck handles it well. The factory camper prep seems to be doing its job.

Big A

 

[DMillard]

I had a 3/4T with my cab over on it and I ended up putting heavy duty anti sway bars on it because of heavy winds. On the way home from racing in Vegas there were some very heavy winds hitting from my right side. Then an 18 wheeler comes up along side of me on the left and the winds got worse. I was sure I was going to be blow over into the 18 wheeler but managed to get it slowed down and over to the side of the road. The Sway bars really made a difference.

 

[Big A]

DMillard,

Did the truck have the camper prep on it. I have noticed some of the trucks dont.

Big A

 

[Mike Ellis]

Did any of you guys carry the camper without mods beforehand?

Big A

I drove up to Colorado to pick up my camper a few years back, I had the Torklift tiedowns installed but otherwise the truck was full stock. The ancient stock shock absorbers handled it just fine, after hauling it around with various settings on my Rancho 9000s in later months I think the stock shocks worked about like the Ranchos set to middle stiffness.



It handled surprisingly good with the stock set up.

 

[tandersen]

tandersen, I took your advice, and ordered the torklift tiedowns. Others have echoed what you said. As far as the airbags, did you use 2 different lines to feed the bags, or do they share the same feed. I heard two separate feeds, works best.

Big A

Big A I used two lines, you have to, otherwise the system won't work. I did not try the truck with no mods. I have a really heavy camper (5,000 #), also I like the air bags for leveling while parked. You can't go wrong with the Torklifts.

 

[DMillard]

Big A, my 3/4T was not a camprer special if that's what you ment. I also forgot to mention that I added air bags which really helped the sag and being able to level the camper because the camper was heavy on the drivers side.



I ended up with the 1T drw because the 3/4T with the 28ft trailer in tow with the camper just wasn't safe. I couldn't relax because a bus, motor home or 18 wheeler passing me would have my rig all over the road. With just the camper though, it did real well.



If I were you I'd go with the air bags first. They really help level the load and stabilize the sway from side to side. If your camper is really heavy you might need the heavy duty rear sway bar. You'll know once you get hit with a heavy side wind. Kind of scares the crap of ya. My dually hardly even notices the wind, even before I put the air bags on it. I kept the air bags from my 3/4T. btw. the dually has no rear sway bar, just the bags.



My next puchase will be the pump and gauge set up for the bags that keeps the truck level automaticaly. Right now I just use a cheap 12V pump that works pretty good.

 

[Big A]

So far the factory camper prep is handling it fine. I guess if I have a scary moment, the air bags go in.

Big A

 

[azpete]

Found this idea a year or so ago on IRV2.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=59510&stc=1



With the camper package the air bags inflated to level the truck the extra spring never makes contact. The 3X3 square tubing lets the rubber stop make contact when loaded and is said to help with sway.



To hold the tubing to the spring they use two hose clamps. Been meaning to try this but was worried about the clamps holding the tubing inplace over an extended trip. If I remember an aftermarket company was making a longer rubber stop to do the same thing. Will try this cheaper way soon to see if it really works.

 

[Big A]

Not a bad idea. I spoke with a couple of people that have said they love the airbags, and one who took them off. The one that took them off, said it rode better on the helpers.

Big A

 

[NoSeeUm]

Did any of you guys carry the camper without mods beforehand?

Big A

I did.



IMO, the air bags alone did not help sway a noticable amount, possibly made it worse. My truck rode almost level stock, but the air bags really help out. I notice it the front to back bounce that you get with a camper at times. Also when you have a black water tank that hangs over the rear bumper like I do and the wife can't walk over to an outhouse. The real advantage of the air bags is when you tow somthing. For me with no boat, I put 20-25 psi in the bags. With the boat about 45 psi. This all depends on how much extra stuff I can find to throw on.



The Ranchos, made a huge difference in sway. They make hauling the camper allot more relaxing. It was very noticeable. I generally put the fronts on 7 and the backs on 9.



I always run 80 psi cold in all the tires when hauling the camper.



Jim

 

[NoSeeUm]

Found this idea a year or so ago on IRV2.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=59510&stc=1



With the camper package the air bags inflated to level the truck the extra spring never makes contact. The 3X3 square tubing lets the rubber stop make contact when loaded and is said to help with sway.



To hold the tubing to the spring they use two hose clamps. Been meaning to try this but was worried about the clamps holding the tubing inplace over an extended trip. If I remember an aftermarket company was making a longer rubber stop to do the same thing. Will try this cheaper way soon to see if it really works.

I have thought about doing this for quite some time. Never got to it.



BTW, yuck! Those blocks need some paint thrown at them.



Jim

 

[azpete]

UGLY! They're curring Was told that if you leave them out in front of the shed in the Arizona sun for a year the metal will harden even more



Just had an idea about how to secure the blocks. How about U-bolts instead of the hose clamps, just like what holds the airbag bracket to the spring pack.

Will have to check and see what size U-bolts I have laying around.