I must say this sight is great! Alot of good info. I have a 97 F150 ext cab 4X4 long box, 4.6 5 speed, with 3.55 rear, all stock. I am looking for a in expensive way to increase load capacity. I don't carry big loads everyday, but on occasion, it is subject to some impressive weight for a half ton, firewood, cement, dirt, gravel, building materials, etc. I also have a travel trailor, that is not maybe 3500 lbs loaded, and I use weight distribution bars, so towing is easy and safe.
With other vehicals in the past I have used coil over overload shocks in the rear with great results, yes it makes for a stiff ride, but its a truck, it should ride stiff. They really helped keep the truck from sagging, and improved stabilty on those "occasional" heavy loads. Has anybody used these on the newer style F150's? They must not be a popular item, because they are not listed doing a search. They make them because I got a quote from a local shop.
I thought about adding a leaf, (i.e "add a leaf) but I don't want to add anymore height, The shocks are OEM's and need replacing anyway, the quote I got (carry out) was $96.00 for the pair, not bad for new shocks and light duty overload all in one.
Anybody been down the same road? Any opinions??

Thanks

 

Shocks don't carry the weight, springs do. Replacing your shocks is a good idea, but it won't increase your load capacity. Add a leef or air bags are the way to do that.

 

You could take out the factory 2in block on your 4x4 and then add that add-a-leaf. Add a leafs give around 1.5 to 2.5in lift. I got a good 2inches when i put mine on.

 

There is a member here, MitchF150, who uses "helper springs". It sounds like those would do what you want. Im sure if you are looking for a specific brand he could point you in the right direction (or do a search, might find what you are looking for).

 

I did a search for "overload springs" and got 415 posts...... A lot of them with replys from me!

Yep, I got some Hellwig overloads and they work great (The second post from the above search has a pic of mine...). Now, they don't do anything to "increase" my load limits.... They are still the same as before, BUT I can haul the same amount and not sag near as much in the rear....

Now, if you 'happen' to put a bit more in the bed then the overloads will keep it from looking overloaded, but the axles, shackles, wheels, tires, etc are still the same as before..... And with the 4.6, you only have the 8.8" rear axle and it'll be your weak link IMO....

It did firm up the ride a good amount, but I like that and it does handle better because of it...

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Air bags do what you want and won't effect the ride until you load it up.

 

Yeah, airbags would be perfect.

 

Thanks for the replies. Mitch, I had researched the Hellwig's, as well as many other "helper spring" methods as well. I did actually read your posts and see the pictures. Your reason for using the helpers is exactly what I'm tring to do, perhaps I should have worded my original question better.
I'm not looking to make my truck something its not, but simply make it handle a load better, that is why I asked for opinions on the coil over overload shocks.
By the way, I have read in here about weak rear springs on the 97's, people say 1000 lbs will put the springs on the rubber stops. I bought mine used in Feb 2005, its a 97 4.6, 5 speed, ext cab, 4x4, 8 foot box and 3.55 rear gears. It only had 56,000 miles,and I am the second owner, the original guy was retired, bought it new in the summer of 96, the guy took emaculate care of it, and I don't think he used it very much, and it all appears original.
I'm one of those guys that when I get a new truck ( in my case new used) I can't wait to see how much weight I can load in it. Well I can honestly say I've had well over 1000 lbs in the bed and it wasn't even close to the rubber stops. Two weeks ago I had bags of cement that equaled a little 1300 lbs (plus some 2x10x8's) and the stops weren't hitting. I've had several loads of dirt that were a good ton, plus wet green maple fire wire loaded as much as I could (probably a ton) . Yes the dirt and firewood were big loads, and yes the stops were close, but not touching, about what I would expect for a std 1/2 ton. Maybe these are different a newer springs, but they are std 3 leaf springs.
I don't make it a std practice to overload it, but if you use a truck for what its intened for like I do, it will happen, I was just looking to make it handle the load better.

Thanks Tom

 

The thing with the 'shock springs' is that you are now relying on the shock mounts to take part of the payload..... They were never designed to take load bearing weights... They just hold the shocks in place and the only load on them is the amount of compression/rebound the shock has.

That's great that your leaf springs hold more weight then what mine did.... Maybe mine are just crap.... Or, maybe I had more then #1000 load... It was a full pallet of bricks..... When I took half of them off and laid them flat across the bed to distribute the weight, it did take them off the bump stops, but not by very much...

After I put on the overloads, and carried the same load, it was a marked difference and while I was still 'overweight' in all aspects of the trucks GVWR/GAWR it did handle it very well for the one mile trip!!

Anyway, I'd say leave the shocks and mounts to just handling the stuff that shocks do and don't ask them to bare any of your load.... Get the overloads or the airbags if you want to keep the truck from sagging when you have a heavy load in the bed..

Mitch

 

I did some Landscaping last week and made three trips:

1st Trip: 5 miles with Half a pallet of Paver bricks 1800lbs (Hint for Mitch)

2nd Trip: 30 miles Trip from Quary with Loose 1/2" Driveway Gravel 1700lbs

3rd Trip: 30 miles Trip from Quary with Loose 1/2" Driveway Gravel 1850 lbs

Stops were about 2 1/2" to 3" from touching. Once the loader had dropped the gravel in the box, I shoveled as much of it towards the front of the box as I could.

Nice smooth ride all the way home

Brought Tires to 40 PSI before making the trips. All in all I was very pleased with the way the truck handled.

Dpostman

 

Thanks again. Mitch thanks, your responce was the kind of opinions I was looking for. The Hellwigs are appealing but I read somewhere where they can cause more stress on the regular springs under load, that is why I am skeptical.


Thanks again

 

Yeah, I got a 'wussy' suspension!! I guess that's why it's rear GAWR is only #3200..... It's only got a GVWR of #6250 as well.... Better then the #6050 I've seen others have, but still not very much.... And, my bump stops only have about 6" of clearance when empty in the first place....

I'm not saying the F150 "can't" handle more weight then it's rated for..... Far from it... I'm just saying that they can't handle all that much AND still stay within their stated ratings.... You put #2000 in the bed of any F150, and while it might not come close to the stops, I'll bet you are over at least one of it's ratings....

I've got over 146,000 miles on my rig and it's all still OEM for the most part.... I did have to replace a U joint about 40k ago and a rear axle seal about the same time.... Yet, I'll still overload that sucker without a second thought or tow my trailer to any destination I can take the time off to head to.... The addition of the overloads just make it a bit easier to do...

Mitch

 

Mitch, thanks again, in my opinion you are 100% correct. I've owned a few trucks in the past , older F150's (78, 79), and Rangers and I must say I was a bit disappointed with the sag factor with the 97 compared to my older F150's. But then manufactures today taget trucks to people that don't use them as trucks, so a "soft ride" is preferable to a stiff ride. In my opinion if you are not going to use a truck as a truck, then don't buy one.
But like you I pull a camper and use it as a truck. My camper isn't as heavy as yours, a 1976 single axle 17.5 foot with weight bars, it probably weighs 3600, 3700 loaded, (old and nose heavy). So a little more spring would be nice.
Thanks for your help.

 

I missed that post......

Yeah, I suppose you got a point there... The Helwigs have large U bolts that attach to the ends of the main leaf springs that attach to the shackles. When the truck squats down, the axle pushes up on the stock leaf springs and the U bolts pull on the stock leafs... Not all that dissimilar to how a trailers WD setup works in a sense...

IMO, as long as you are not exceeding the load ratings of the axle (not by too much anyway ) then the leafs and shackles are still handling the same amount of weight as before... You are just not sagging as much in the rear.... If you have #2000 in the bed, then you still have an additional #2000 on the springs whether the overloads are there or not, right??

I've not towed my trailer without the overloads, but it only drops down about 1" when first placed on the hitch (around a #550 tongue weight). After setting the WD bars, it's back to it's original height..

The unloaded ride comfort is just fine too.. We take the truck on all of our long road trips and leave the econo box at home! I did hate the soft cushy ride before the overloads... Didn't do anything for me and I wanted a 'truck'!!

Mitch