Oveload spring reccomendations

[amailloux]

I have a 2010 f250 that is running right at 6,000 lbs on the rear axle.  They would like overload springs on the rear to level.  Any ones that you recommend for quality.  No air bags, just springs.  Also I have my parts guy checking to see if srw 1-ton springs may fit the bill.  Has anyone tried it.  I put 1-ton springs on a 3/4 ton GM and they bolt right up.

[Bruce Amacker]

In this day and age I'd be wary of legal liabilities doing this for a customer. What's the axle weight rating?....

 

[amailloux]

6100 rear 9400 gross. 

[lmorris]

I would point to the nearest salesman and sell them an F350. We get a lot of F250's come in with air bags in the back though. Not sure who is putting them in.

[Aaron]

My 350 is 11,400 gross. Time for him to upgrade.

[amailloux]

They have plenty of 350, 450, and 550. The fleet just took over a smaller company and this is 1 of their crew. I looked and found this truck does not have the factory overload leaf, and it can be added along with the stops on the frame. That's a mere 2 grand. They are going to scale ot again, and then take a few things out. I checked the alignment on the truck, and caster is dead on at 3.5 both sides, camber in 0 ans .1 degrees and it is under the gross and axle weights from what I was told. They just want the rear up higher as it has a slight positive frame angle. I drove it and don't feel it is unsafe. I have seen shifted and broken aftermarket helpers, and even split en rear shackles.

[DwayneGorniak]

I did it a few years ago on my 99' superduty. My leaf Springs had cracked. When I replaced the new springs with brand new Ford replacement springs, I decided to keep my old overloads and add them to the top of the new overloads. The center bolts on these spring packs is long enough to accept another overload. And with all the bent frames I delt with in the past from stupid air bags, I decided I wanted to do something different. It was one of the best things I ever ever did. I haul a quad deck on the back of the truck with usually two, sometimes three quads on it, all my Jerry cans under the deck with my generator, electric log splitter, and water cans while pulling my 35 foot travel trailer to the mountains and back all summer long. Like I said, it was one of the best things I ever did. You're spreading all the weight over a larger distance of the frame where the springs mount rather than in the center of the frame over the axle with frame benders (air bags). Those damned air bags should be illegal. F-150's are bad for bending frames with air bags and huge hitch mount loads. I used to send lots of trucks to the frame shops to get the frames fish plated after the damned air bags had their way with the frames.

[Alex Bruene]

Send it to a spring shop to add a leaf or 2.

[DwayneGorniak]

My 99' sit sits really high in the back. It has the 4" blocks that everyone used to complain about and ask us to remove at dealerships to lower the back end. When I've got the truck loaded with the quads, all the gear and the trailer, it's sits perfectly level. My 01' Superduty sits way lower in the back with the 2" blocks. That truck, I would most likely have to add leafs or the 4" blocks. But with those two overloads in my 99' I don't lose my ride when running empty in the back and the overloads do their job extremely well.

[Brad Clayton]

We just removed the 2 incher from a '12 Sooper Dooty in favor of a 4 incher. And the shocker of it all is that Ford paid for it.

[DieselD]

Air bags have their place but you do still need to be smart in using them. Wasnt ford offering these a dealer install kit when the 2011 came out? along with the ford 5th wheel hitch?

[Brad Clayton]

I spoke with a fellow that towed the same goose neck trailer and same load (iron stoves) all the time. When he originally spec the truck, he was wearing front tires at an alarming rate. He invested in rear air bags just to help get a little more weight on the front end and started getting 50 to 80k out of a set of front tires. He said it was the best thing he ever bought for it.