Adding rear leaf springs

[S1njin]

So I’ve decided that I pretty much hate the air bags that came on my rig. It’s another 2 items I have to frequently check on, I hate airing them up, and as they do lose air slowly I find it’s a pain when I’m camping as I should deflate them to 5 pounds before I level.

Which of course means I still have inflating to do when my levelers are up and I’m supposed to be rolling down the campground road.

The shop that did my alignment will add 2 springs on each side of my rig and pull the bags out. I’m told this will eliminate any of the rear end sag. Since I had it aligned by them they’ll also realign me for free after the leafs are added. They say there is a good chance I’ll get more caster by adding the 2 leafs on the back.

850 plus tax - I didn’t think the price was too bad.

Thoughts?

[S1njin]

Yep, this is an actual truck spring shop.

http://rnhspring.com/home/3829781

[garyhaupt]

When I bought my C..had air bags with manual feeds. I said..no way..had an air compressor installed...now I have individual controls....and I think I now have 5 rear leafs. It is a never ending saga. Just make sure you are in an actual spring shop..not do everything shop. There are things to know about dynamics and stuff....


Gary Haupt

[S1njin]

So here is where I ended up. I just ran the rig 3 hours 85% highway the rest country roads. Rig handles better than that Greyhawk I had. I did air my front tires back up to 75 pounds to get rid of the hub cap rub/squeak noise.

So I thought my spring work added extra weight to my front axle. It did not. CAT scale weigh in this afternoon showed I gave back 37 pounds on the front and took on an additional 200 on the back.

Maybe my rig has more rake now I’m not sure. My caster is over Ford spec though because of the rear suspension work. The shop has full confidence that the tires and steering components will be fine. I can now get the rig up to 70 and she tracks true with my hands hovering over the wheel. Driving 62-65 is easy peasy now.

I’m very pleased with the job !

[S1njin]

FYI, I've got to go back to the CAT scale tomorrow on my way out, but it would also appear that this work DID add more weight back to the front. My front hubcaps are now creaking at 67 pounds where before the work that did not happen. I verified by pulling the hubs off - creak is gone. I'll air my fronts back up to 75 until I re-weigh.

[S1njin]

Well they ended up adding 2 springs on each side. Side note, the airbag kit was pretty heavy as they put it all in a box for me.

Camper rode great - I was doing 70 and didn’t realize it. Once I did, I took my hands and hovered the over the wheel - tracked straight easy peasy.

When I got home I looked at the alignment specs - I have 7 and 7.8 caster now ! I’m over Ford spec, but in a motorhome application is that terrible?

Sure drove great ....

[S1njin]

I'm just spoiled w/ the Hellwigs that were on my Greyhawk. Set/forget - its a nice thing. One less thing to worry about.

[DrewE]

I say the spring shop guy probably knows a lot more about that than I do, or at least I'd hope he would. If he says one leaf is about right, I'd go with that.

I have no complaints about the air helper springs on my motorhome, though obviously you're not me. I see no reason nor need to let the air out for leveling; I just level with them set appropriately, which presumably also helps a bit in stiffening the parked motorhome against bounciness as people walk around etc. Maybe once every few weeks at most they require a touch of air.

[S1njin]

Spring shop tells me a pair of leafs will gain me 800-1000 pounds. I told him to go w/ 1 pair b/c I didn't want it to ride like it was a rock. He agreed.

What say you guys?

[S1njin]

Ok, so when I call him and get the weight capacity of each pair, what’s the magic number I’m looking to be around that would make you say 1 leaf pair vs. 2 leaf pairs?

[j-d]

It'll cost less to remove the second leaf on each side than to add it. The Center Bolt can be cut but not lengthened, and the U-Bolts that held original pack plus two more leaves, won't be too short if one leaf is removed. Would still involve labor, though, and you can't just "slip the leaf out" because of the Center Bolt.
It's just that I feel, and can't prove, that two additional leaves each side could be too much. Easy way to find out: Get the Shop to tell you what capacity their Leaves provide.

[S1njin]

j-d wrote:
duplicate

Meaning spend the extra $50 and get the extra leafs?

[j-d]

S1njin wrote:
I was considering adding the extra leaf (or two - the 2nd leaf on both sides only costs an additional 50 bucks) and forgoing the airbags entirely.

Suggest getting that shop to tell you how much capacity and lift each leaf will provide.
When I added parts called "repair leaves", one to each spring pack on an '83 E350, one leaf on each side took it from sag to lift. Two would have been too much.
Repair Leaves are sold by Width, Thickness, Length, and maybe Arch. They're very inexpensive. What runs cost of installation up:
1. Trimming the Leaves. They're probably too long, and probably don't have a Hole for the Center Bolt. Spring Shop should have an "Ironworker" machine that can shear length off and punch the center bolt holes. That's a Labor/Machine Shop charge.
2. New Hardware, and a set of four new U-Bolts runs the cost of the project up significantly. Center Bolt not so much.
3. Installation Labor shouldn't take long, but at $100-something an hour, that too adds up fast.

[Busdriver]

I put the sumo rubber springs on my fifth wheel , made the ride & towed a lot better

[S1njin]

Right - so instead of relying on the air bags which take maintenance I was considering adding the extra leaf (or two - the 2nd leaf on both sides only costs an additional 50 bucks) and forgoing the airbags entirely.

Is this something you would also do if money wasn't the issue?