F150 suspension questions

escadventure

Adventurer
Perhaps some of you Ford experts can give me some advise...

I've got a 2000 F150 and want to increase the load capacity to better handle a camper and gear. With the goal of K.I.S.S. I don't want to use airbags. This is not a serious mudder or rock crawler, but more a overland traveler with reasonable offroad capability.
So my ideas are to install progressive helper springs and maybe those things that look like airbags but are solid rubber and I'm guessing they act more like oversize bump stops...
For the front- I'm not a big fan of the torsion bars after my experience with Nissan fwd's, but what I've read on internet scuttlebut , the 2000 models are pretty reliable. But I'm thinking to install level lift keys and I wonder if they make a coil over set up for the front.

Anyone care to chime in with their experience/knowledge?
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
just curious as to why you wouldnt want air bags?
as far as the torsion bars go. if you really dont want them you can do a solid axle conversion and go with a coil or coilover setup but obviously this is way more expensive. Or you can go a lil bit higher than a leveling kit and go with something like this http://www.roughcountry.com/ford-suspension-lift-kit-477-20.html. plus it will allow you to run 35" tires

That Really Cheap(RC) crap will not increase his load handling ability.
 

Raul B

Explorer
That Really Cheap(RC) crap will not increase his load handling ability.

I didn't say it would. That was a response to the torsion bar questions he asked. Air bags are really the best way to increase his load capacity.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 

escadventure

Adventurer
The reason I want to avoid airbags is for reliability. I'm sure many people use them without problems, but they add an obvious level of complexity that I'd prefer to avoid. If my plans work out, I'll be traveling with the truck in remote places of the world, so it's my plan to modify away from stock as little as possible.
If airbags are the best performing option, I need to find a reasonable next best thing.
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
I have an air bag ride rite system on my F150 and they work great because I can stiffen them up when I have heavy loads or tow something and then I lower them when I am driving and want a softer ride. You really can't beat it. I have had my truck in some very remote places in CA, AZ and CO and have never had a problem. If you go with a high quality brand that is well known you cant go wrong. Its actually much nicer than one would think. If the compressor breaks there are auto fill nipples you can access. It doesn't happen often, but, If an air bag punctures it is fairly easy to change them out, given you have a spare. I have 150000 miles on my airbags and not a single problem (except for the compressor shorting out when I got a little deep in a creek so it was my fault.) As long as you go with a well known brand you should be fine.

If you're really set on not getting airbags then I would recommend selling your F150 and buying a F250 or even a F350 and never have to worry about having to much weight.

If you can't/don't want to do that, your options are fairly limited. If you have $20k you want to dump into your truck then a SAS is the best choice or you can make center mount long travel and have a caged bed with some stiff deaver springs and have one awesome rig...but realistically nobody can afford that. Other than that you can buy a lift kit from one of a dozen companies...but with the IFS on the 97-03 F150's anything more than about 2 inches you will need a drop down bracket so you lose lots of ground clearance and you have to extend the brake lines, adjust the steering, and it just turns into a mess with more things you have to buy/replace.

Cranking the torsion bars is not a bad idea. You can get a little lift without spending $$$ on a lift kit or SAS. My brother has a 97 with 250000 miles on his truck and has had the T-bars cranked since he got it. Obviously the ball joints and UCA's need to be replaced more often but thats something you have to take into considerations. After you crank the T bars you can get some wheel spacers (make them high quality) and you can get the back to stock look as far as wheel width. There are no coilover options for our generation trucks unless you go SAS. There is a "coil over" option for the next generation F150s starting in the year 2004. Its called an Auto Spring lift and they usually are 2.5 inches and have a very nice stance.

Lastly, you can get a helper spring. However, keep in mind that a helper spring is going to be very very stiff and wont necessarily be that great offroad. not to mention it will be a bouncy uncomfortable ride.

In the end, if you want to have a camper, an F150 is not the way to go. They are not strong or big enough. Something bigger and stronger will better suit you like an F250 or F350.

The reasons above are mostly why I am selling my truck and buying something newer. The aftermarket support for our trucks is not exactly what one wants for most off road needs. They are great trucks in stock form and are pretty off road ready and believe me, you'd be amazed at some of the off road obstacles i have conquered in my truck but for what I want to do, my truck is not applicable.


Good Luck.
D
 

brp

Observer
Airbags that you fill with a bike pump are so simple, reliable and effective. Firestone Riderites have been good to me.
 

Mad_Texan

Adventurer
Don't bother with the keys...they are notorious for allowing too much adjustment a wearing out parts. Adjust the height of the front with the stock keys. You can them easily get a 285/70/17 or 285/75/16 of the stock rims. I personally like the 17's as most were 7.5 inches wide. Most feel that wheel spacers are not needed when adjusting the torsion bars. After adjusting my torsion bars I changed the rear shackles on the rear leaf springs which was suppose to lift the rear about an inch. The air bags are not all bad and can be adjusted when there isn't a load in the truck. I have heard and read about this product but have no experience with it: http://supersprings.com/supersprings_overview_general.asp . There are limitations with the F150 with a camper but there are some out there that are light enough. Which one are you looking at?



 

escadventure

Adventurer
The camper I'm having built weighs a little over 1000lbs. So even when I throw in my camping gear, food and a bit of water and extra fuel I should still only be close to the factory limit. Seems like I only need a little help to keep it from sagging a bit.
I might try a Superspring/Sumo spring set up just because they are so inexpensive. If that doesn't work, I may try an airbag set up. It's hard to argue with so many people with good experiences with the airbags.
 

brevity_thing

you know, the Dude abides
I have had good results from running keys or reindexing torsion bars. The negative results happen when the configuration is out of whack. If you have enough enough up and down travel on your a-arms and shocks, everything will be happy and you will enjoy the performance. I myself have had mixed results with leaf springs, but its the same deal as the front. Get the height where you want it and add leaves for more spring as needed.
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
The camper I'm having built weighs a little over 1000lbs. So even when I throw in my camping gear, food and a bit of water and extra fuel I should still only be close to the factory limit. Seems like I only need a little help to keep it from sagging a bit.
I might try a Superspring/Sumo spring set up just because they are so inexpensive. If that doesn't work, I may try an airbag set up. It's hard to argue with so many people with good experiences with the airbags.

X2 on the firestone ride rite!!

Ok, I dont mean to criticize you at all here but it may come off that way.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but, Gross Max load I believe is somewhere in the 2000lb range. Your Camper will be a little over 1000 lbs, you and your gear will most likely be approx 600 lbs depending on length of trip and what you will carry with you.

Being at capacity doesnt mean it's still safe. There is a thread on here somewhere explaining everything about having a ton of weight in your truck and how unsafe it is. I will try to find it for you. I don't want to be the one squashing your deam of having a custom camper...just think it through if you will be at close to max capacity. Don't just think of the suspension...think of the engine, trans, t case and especially your rear end. Do you know what size rear end you have? Do you know the gearing?

Dont make my mistake...I have the 4.6L with the 8.8 rear end and 3.88 gears. I towed with my truck, I camped with my truck and I worked the rear end. I didnt go with the 5.6L engine and 9 inch rear end to save money at the pump. In the end my rear end blew up and it cost my $1500 to replace.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Also, if you're not already, sign up at f150online.com there is a wealth of knowledge on that site and everyone is willing to help. Every problem I have had with my truck has been solved via that forum.

D
 

escadventure

Adventurer
No offense, I welcome and appreciate the dialogue. I am a mechanic for roughly thirty years and understand the package deal of performance and modifications.

I don't believe for a minute that Ford designed a truck in which my 4.6 and 355/8.8 rear end rated at 1700lbs, can't handle an occasional 1600 pound load, especially since I never drive more thar 65 mph. And given the truck's rated 6600lb towing capacity, I can't believe hauling 1600lbs is dangerous with the stock brakes. The transmission and xfer case are the same as the 7700 model of that year. So, the suspension is the weak link. Whether I end up using airbags or something else, I believe it's worth trying. Living in Germany I see people towing and hauling things with vehicles we Americans would never consider as tow worthy. Like little VW flatbed trucks with little 4 cyl engines and bitty wheels and brakes. And you can believe the German gov't is seriously borderline socialst with their vehicle safety requirements and inspections.
I think it's a matter of perspective, because it is possible to do this safely.
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
No offense, I welcome and appreciate the dialogue. I am a mechanic for roughly thirty years and understand the package deal of performance and modifications.

I don't believe for a minute that Ford designed a truck in which my 4.6 and 355/8.8 rear end rated at 1700lbs, can't handle an occasional 1600 pound load, especially since I never drive more thar 65 mph. And given the truck's rated 6600lb towing capacity, I can't believe hauling 1600lbs is dangerous with the stock brakes. The transmission and xfer case are the same as the 7700 model of that year. So, the suspension is the weak link. Whether I end up using airbags or something else, I believe it's worth trying. Living in Germany I see people towing and hauling things with vehicles we Americans would never consider as tow worthy. Like little VW flatbed trucks with little 4 cyl engines and bitty wheels and brakes. And you can believe the German gov't is seriously borderline socialst with their vehicle safety requirements and inspections.
I think it's a matter of perspective, because it is possible to do this safely.

Ok, first of all, no offense taken. I just assumed you were just an everage fellow who was going to throw a camper on the bed and call it quits. I should have asked a few more questions before running my mouth so my apologies on that.

I saw your thread about the camper...that thing looks so sweet!! Also saw the custom flatbed you had made which looks awesome. With all this new information, have you looked into getting a set of custom deaver leaf springs? I don't have any personal experience with them but I know off roaders of all types use them because of the strength and the flex. They're a bit more pricey than other options like an air bag set up but may be worth checking out since you have more of a specific type rig.
 

TXLX

Observer
I would look seriously at some heavier leaf springs or add some to your existing pack. You will have an additional 1600 lbs on full time, is there an advantage in not performing a fixed modification like springs? You could still do airbags as well for redundancy or for tweaking the rear. I routinely put around 2000lbs in the bed of my 2002 5.4 4x4 and the stock rear end is pretty beat.

I think it's pretty cool you are using an F-150 for your trip, I'll be checking in to see your progress.
 

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