Sarge,
I don't know if Robert printed this at the time, but this is an article I sent him some time back. I hope it answers some of your questions.
Loren
5 April 2000
Report on BFGoodrich Velvet-Ride Spring Shackles
I recently installed Velvet-Ride Spring Shackles on my 2000, 2500 series Quad Cab, short bed, 4x4. Here's my report.
The part for my truck is BFGoodrich #07810020. BFGoodrich's term for the piece is "Series Spring. " I assume this is because it is a separate spring mounted in series with the truck's original equipment springs. It consists of rubber-sprung torsion members plus brackets to serve as replacements for your truck's spring shackles. It works by replacing the rigid spring shackle with a soft spring, giving you several inches of softer springing before your truck's heavy-duty springs have to start working.
The instructions are adequate, but barely so. The writers and the drafting personnel were not on the same page, so the same piece is referred to by different names. You won't have any trouble figuring it out, but it would have been nice if they had decided in advance what they were going to call the parts.
The instructions leave out numerous important details. First, while assembling the series springs, check to see that the lock- out bolt will fit when installed on your springs. My spring eyes were too large (diameter) and the lock-out bolt would not allow the series spring to be installed.
They also leave out the instruction to remove the spare tire and trailer hitch if these items are installed. Removal of the trailer hitch involves releasing one of those Machiavellian electrical connectors that automobile manufacturers are so fond of. I had to remove mine from the hitch so I could get a good enough look at it to figure out how to release the connection. (The Dodge service manual doesn't address how to separate this connection. )
The last, but VERY important, detail omitted from the instructions is how to lift your 4x4 truck high enough to release the load from the springs. My high-lift hydraulic floor jack was JUST BARELY high enough. If you are using standard jacks, you will need lots of blocks and patience, as you will have to lift the truck in stages.
Naturally, removing the bolts is much easier said than done. The first one took me about half an hour. I am trainable, so the remainder went much faster. The instructions advise removing the upper bolt through the gap between the frame rail and the bed. There isn't much gap there. If you have the means to lift the bed, you should just remove it at the beginning of the job and it will all go a lot faster. You might not even have to remove the hitch and spare tire. CAUTION: Dodge requires that the bed hold down bolts be replaced with NEW bolts every time the bed is installed.
Surprisingly, installing the bolts through the series springs was much easier than I thought it would be, considering how difficult it was to get them out. I did use a couple of different hammers at times, and the air was pretty blue, but they went in reasonably well. The remainder of the installation was pretty straightforward.
Do they work? Sort of. I could hardly tell any difference at all on our rough, gravel driveway, but they did seem to smooth out the little bumps on otherwise smooth roads. My wife says that she can tell a difference, but neither of us are impressed with any dramatic improvement in the ride. Was it worth the $160? Probably. Was it worth the hours of troublesome work? Probably not. Did I learn a lot about this job? You bet. The next time it would require half of the four hours I spent, but who would do that job more than once?
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Has anyone installed a set of the Velvet Ride Shakles? Do they really work? I would like to take some of the bounce out of driving on the crappy freeways here in commiefornia, but don't want to make a bad situation worse when pullng my TT. Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks, Sarge 
