I recently purchaced a Lance 1181 slide in truck camper. it weighs in with a dry weight of 3650 lbs. i installed a pair of air lift air bags to help with the payload. when i picked up and drove the camper for the first time, i noticed the truck had some sway to it. i have been trying to figure out how to stop the truck from swaying. with some research i found supersprings super sway stops. i wanted to know if anyone esle has tried them and if so what feedback do you have. any info appreciated.

 

Those will help, but you need more hydraulic dampening to slow or stop the sway. After the stops are on, you should be able to run less air in the bags. That will help too.

I recommend you get some KYB KG6404 shocks for the rear as well. That part # fits a Dodge MB400 class A motorhome. The firmer valving suits the weight of a camper on a pickup.

I run them on my truck to control the extra weight of the 22.5's and DRW.

OR......You could trash the bags and skip the Sway Stops by installing Timbrens.

Timbrens will give you a sports car like ride and the bags net a floaty crop duster ride. Depends on what you like.

 

What you are experiencing is common for a truck loaded with a top heavy camper. The air bags lift your truck up and unload the springs, creating more sway. The overload springs become useless unless you decrease the amount of air in the air bags to engage them, or install the sway stops that Supersprings has. They are just a larger overload spring bump stop that allows the overload to engage much sooner. They will help eliminate a lot of the sway you're feeling. Just use enough air to get the truck back up to the point that the overloads are engaged firmly, which should only be about 1 to 2 inches below empty ride height. TorkLift also makes something similar http://http://www.torklift.com/p.php?w_page=stableload to the SuperSprings Sway Stops. My camper is 5000lbs loaded, I have Timbrens and made my own extended bumpstops that work great, and have very little sway http://http://s88.photobucket.com/al...IMG_0214_1.jpg. Make sure your air bags are plumbed seperately, and a good set of shocks like the Rancho 9000XL's or the Bilsteins will help.
Rich

 

rwitt
i cant seem to access your picture of the bumpstops you made? what are they made of and how difficult were they to make? do have any specs? the air bags i installed were plumbed with the in cab controller so they are independent of each other. thanks for the all the info guys

 

Let me try this again:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...g?t=1234842947 They are made from 2"x2" square tubing. The factory rubber bumper is held on to the frame contact with one bolt. Remove it and install the spacer in it's place. Reinstall the factory bumper to the spacer and you're done. They are very easy to make. As you can see in the picture, the length of the spacer is what will fit between the tabs of the rubber bumper.
Rich

 

Don't give up on airbags. They work very well, but do require a bit of tuning. Separate plumbing is nice because you will find the passenger side needs an extra 5-15 psi due to camper weight & road crown. I've run as high as 25 psi higher in the passenger side with a 30 mph side wind.

Crazycooter isn't so crazy suggesting the motorhome shocks. The second tuning is your shocks. I'm very impressed with the KYB line. The standard KYB shocks are much better in my truck than Bilstein.
I haven't measured the length, but Koni makes a great (and adjustable) shock for transit bus applications that work well with airbags. CNG powered buses are top heavy plus a huge surface area to catch side wind.

I don't have overloads and run the truck level which means a couple inches of squat with my camper in the bed.
A buddy of mine with a 96 cut off his overloads. He got tired of the slapping from the loading and unloading. Airbags are a progressive springs similar to leaf or coil. Bump stops are apply named bump & stop. Much less progressive.

The bigger Lance campers are not only top heavy, but move the center weight rear as in over or past the axle.

I'm not sure if the 3rd gen trucks come with a rear torsion bar. That adds wonders to stiffen up the rear sway.

I notice the Torklift installation photos were on a chassis with airbags.

 

I added a rear sway bar, did exactally what was needed to acompany the air bags. I also add about 5-10lbs extra air to the right side air bag when carrying a top heavy load in the bed, especially when the weight is distributed more toward the rear. rwitt's idea to add the piece of tubing to the bump stop is a very good idea as well, easy to make like he did. Probably all of this stuff combined would make for a better, safer ride and help to keep your suspension healthy.


CD

 

thanks for all the info, its helped me alot. i did order a hellwig rear sway bar a few days ago, but it hasnt come in yet for me to install. and i think ill do what RWITT did and make the bump stop extensions, i think with the sway bar, bump stops, and air bags that should make a pretty tight rear suspension. ill let you guys know what happens the next time i take the camper out. i appreciate all the help