also a rear sway bar won't hurt anything, you'll be able to find one at a wrecking yard for cheap since you're on a budget and need to get the best deal you can

 

I agree a rear (anti-) sway bar would help, but it might not be easy to find. I don't think they were stock on any F150 model of that era.

 

Learning as I go: A tire person said my rear tires were C load with 1900 lbs each.
The label on the inside of my door says something like GVMW at 6250.
The CAT scale says my front axle is 2880 and my rear 3700 with a total of 6580 (Both gas tanks full)
A Checkers guy says my side to side sway (Greatly diminished since I took the spare tire and jack out of the left closet & put them on the floor) could be reduced by using Reflex shock absorbers on the rear (They take extra air pressure to stiffen the ride) at 89$ a pair (He thought).
I'm think of putting my good tread tires to the front & seeing what kind of "D Load" (Can't get E without a whole new set of rims) and try to get whatever M&S 235/75R15 wide as possible for the rear.
Now, with the above weight listings, I know I'm pushing it, but am too overweight completely?
I'm thinking, well, maybe I could saw off the front bed, but would loose cabin space. Or maybe cut it in half?
Mainly, I don't want a broken axle on the highway or in the middle of nowhere come camping season. Right now I must have the option of sleeping over in Rawlins (40 miles) when we go each month for her doctor's visits & cheaper groceries should the highway get closed.
Yet, I don't want to lose it all on the snow-blown areas & crosswinds that I-80 and WY130 are between there and Saratoga.
All your sage advise is much appreciated. We're on limited SS disability funding, so by the cheap.
Would an airbag sort of between the camper upper berth and the cab of the bed help? I think I've seen them someplace.
Airbags springs for the rear would seem to be a help, but out of $ range.
Is it really dangerous to have 6580 total weight when the sticker says 6250?
Are there any other suggestions to improve elements of this rig that had sat in a rancher's field for over 5 years. I honestly don't think it has that much actual mileage on it because it runs so well, although gets sluggish in the strong headwinds to Rawlins (Vapor lock?)
I'm very grateful for a website like this.
Thanks.

 

If you're only over 330lbs with the camper on... You aren't doing that bad.

People exceed rating by way more then a few hundred pounds daily. Just practice safe driving with the extra weight and instability and you should be OK. You should consider measures to take care of the extra instability in terms of suspension upgrades. I'm not sure how much better the shocks would help, but I'd look to find a new set of springs or overload springs, if not a set of airbags.

 

Thanks, Dirt Bike Dave.
If I had the $, I'd have a Wonder Truck, but I don't.
Thanks for the comeback.

 

Oh, safe driving's not a problem: Always have been trained in defensive driving, yes, "They really are out to get you!"
And the like.
I do have extra leaf springs, and am considering air shocks, but can't afford air bags... Have you ever heard of an air bag between the upper deck and the front cab?
I've got a lot posted about the subject, any input would be appreciated. And thank you for your input.

 

Can you read the front and rear GAWR on the sticker? I have a feeling you may be over or close to over on both axles. My 03 has a 6060# GVWR, the front GAWR is 2650# and the rear GAWR is 3500#.

Okay - 3700# on the rear with 3800# tire capacity is too close for comfort. You need to set the cold pressures to the max stamped on the sidewall, which should be 50#. I show a load range "D" tire in 235/75/15 has about a 2300# capacity, I'd definitely put a pair on the back and move the "C" tires to the front. If you have 4wd, you must keep the same size tires front and rear, or pull the front driveshaft and make it a 2wd vehicle.

Just curious - which engine do you have, is it carb or fuel injected, and what transmission do you have?

 

I tried to upload a photo of that sticker, but I could only send it to an albulm, so it's there. But to answer that question, 1270KG (2800 lbs)front and 1700KG (3700 lbs) rear. I got a CAT scale, and with my 100 lb wife in the cab and both tanks full, front axle was 2880 and rear 3700 lbs. I believe the camper to weigh 2580 and the truck 4008.
I was going to get a front deer guard/spare tire holder but this changes my mind. I obviously will try to run on the middle gas tank only.
There are extra leaf springs in the rear, and I made a deal today, that if consumated, will get me 2 or 4 D range M+S tires, air shocks and air springs in barder for my old f250. If I can get at least two, then the good rear tires will go to the front, but I definitely am going to change out the Workhorses in the front, as they have known blowout problems.
The engine is a 351, carb run (A little rich, delimiter plugs still attached, and all the vacuum hoses plugged), and it's a 4+reverse trans which, for some reason, has gotten hard to put into gear at times. Or maybe my legs are too short to get the clutch way in.
My current issue is that when we drive into headwinds to get to Rawlins, it perhaps gets vapor lock, as I lose power. I know I'll have to keep changing fuel filters as it had sat in a rancher's field for five years.
They quit running it because I found it had Avian Flu (http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...milies/lol.gif That is to say, a dead bird in the air filter and the thermostat put in backwards)
And of course, turning south to come back from the big city, the side winds are scary. Having driven OTR for a few years, I'm really away what side sway can mean (Light trailers regularly lose it here on I-80), so I've mounted a red & white triangle on the rear, and simply go a lot slower than traffic.
Thank goodness we don't go out in bad weather, and yet this should do well for next fishing and camping season, our only recreation.
I had an almost identical rig on Maui from 1978 to 1981, and drove up Haleakala, Hana, on the beaches, it did all right
I really do appreciate your advise about the tires, as I was ignorant of that, before. I found I can't get E rating tires for my rims, and I do not want taller rims and tires, so am trying to get D.
And yet I'm considering: Perhaps cut off half or all of the upper berth and just sleep below. Lose a lot of cabin storage space that way, though.

 

P.S. Living here in Wyoming, there are times I need 4x4 just to get out of my driveway!
The truck sat for a long time & I've checked all the fluids, changed the oil twice already and added additives. No leaks, so far. But one thing I can't get to is to see if the hubs are properly lubricated. Of course, I use them only when necessary, but what are the odds of them running dry in the advent of emergency road use? They don't make any noise, and seem intact. Should I make the investment of having them lubed (Short on $).

 

Could be clogged catalytic converters instead of vapor lock. When the cats go bad, the first sign is no power when hot and the motor is under heavy load.

 

Glasspacks only. Sounds like a race car.

 

boy do I know that sound well. (see sig)

 

Hubs are not supposed to be greased. You can lightly coat them in anti-seize, but you're not suppose to pack them full of grease. Wheel bearings and spindle bearings should be packed with grease:
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/...d.php?t=102256

Unless you're running the factory shocks I wouldn't replace them. Go to the junkyard and get some leaf springs off a single rear wheel f250 or 350 and bolt those on your truck. If you see some newer looking shocks on a f150 while browsing the junkyard get them. Other than that you're wasting your money. You have to get your hands dirty to save some money.

 

No cats at all?

 

No cats, no dogs, and no french poodles, either. Just the sound of a mad bull. Or two.
You can go straight pipe around here if you want to, and some ranchers, etc. do.
I had such on my old '81 F250 when I bought it, and that was real healthy considering that the fuel pump and carburetor leaked. Got that fixed fast. But, then, I've never been very "Popular" around here because of my (False) suspected sexual orientation, so I bet... I was "Meant" to get that truck... Long story.
Actually long-ago had a run-in with McKenny & Henderson, meth-heads, Mathew Shepard's crixifiers, as a matter of fact, and the local Sheriff never did a thing... And I reported them long BEFORE they did Matthew Sheppard!
"Western Justice," or "Racial Cleansing," around here, I guess.
Still rather live in a state that has more bars than churches, any way.
I'm just not one of that kind and they're all mistaken, but they still really get anxious about it has the burden. Where you aware that the leading means of murder, especially for political reasons, are by state-sanctioned vehicular sabotage? Oh, God! My years on Maui!
But thanks for your interest in my education about my truck. It's getting fun to drive, the more I fix it up. Thanks!
Got a mechanic fellow who's offered to take my old sick F250 puppy in exchange for 2 D Class tires for the rear of my new used rancher's reject '85 F150, move the C's to the front, and throw in some air shocks as well, so I'm getting there...
Once camping and unfrozen fishing season comes... I'll be in star-lit paradise.