Any difference in shocks between and f-250 and f-150? im looking to be towing a car trailer around next summer and i want a little extra suppsrt in the rear end and i was wondering if the f-250 had the same shocks or if they were stronger. anyone know or have any ideas for me?

thanks!!

 

Shocks don't support anything. Just dampen movement. If you need more support, you need something like air bags or add a leafs.

 

how much are springs with extra leaves noramlly?

 

you can get the leaf springs online, depending on the amount of needed support (height) you need the price changes. A 2" leaf is somewhere a little over $100 ad a 4" is somewhere around $175, just to give ball park figures, and yes the leaves are what you need, they give you a stronger back, and add to your towing capacity!

 

so is there a stronger spring that doesnt change the height of my truck?

 

There may be something with add a leaf that doesn't have a lift, but if you are really towing that much weight, you should have a weight distribution hitch. That distributes the weight onto both axles. It may even be required in your state over a certain weight, just like trailer brakes.

Edit - Forgot to mention you can get helper springs which only come into play as a load is put on the vehicle. However, your best bet is still a WD hitch.

 

Indeed, you can get heavier springs, but what about the axle? The axle is only rated to carry a certain amount of weight (indicated on the door sticker under Rear GAWR). Putting heavier duty springs on it will reduce the amount the rear end squats with a load on it, but does not, in any way, shape, or form, increase the towing or hauling capacity of the truck.

-Joe

 

I agree about the GAWR, but much of the reason for the squat on towing is where the weight is, not the amount. Being behind the axle, some of the squat is due to the lifting of the front, which is why you would use a WD hitch. A big lever.
Also you will hit max GVWR long before you hit my GAWR. As an example, my GVWR is 7200lbs, my total GAWR is 7850lbs. 3900 front and 3950 rear.
Something else to consider for the WD hitch is that without the WD hitch, tongue weight is limited to about 500lbs, due to the lever affect I mentioned, with a WD hitch it is something like 750lbs. Those are both estimates,without looking them up.
I have had truck before with helper springs. The did not increase load capacity, however the did help on handling the load the vehicle was designed for.

 

Agreed, 100%. In addition to the tongue weight, position of the tongue weight causes the weight removed from the front axle to be transferred to the rear axle. Indeed, WD setups redistribute some of that load back to the front.

Your GAWR is not the sum of the individual front and rear GAWR numbers. If properly loaded, it *may* be possible to exceed the GVWR before maxing out either axle, yes, and that's the way it should be. (How could your combined front and rear GAWR be less than the GVWR?) Generally, that's not the case, even with the best of WD hitches. It's a good goal, but seldom happens. Many people simply suggest adding airbags or overload leafs without qualifying that the added spring rate alone does not let you tow or haul more, it simply reduces the sag and stiffens the empty ride. My point was that springs are but one part of the engineered system of parts that determine the truck's capacities and capabilities. I know we've talked about this stuff before, and I know we're on the same page. But we digress....

The original question was about shocks. Heavy duty shocks and air shocks are not a good idea. The shock mounts are not designed to support the weight of the vehicle, they're designed to damp the motion of the body with respect to the suspension.

-Joe

 

f-250 shocks are stiffer, and a little bit longer. They fit fine in my truck though, and for $20.00 were a worthwhile upgrade. it keeps the back of my truck from leaning so much while turning with a load on.

 

I had Helwig Overload Springs on my F250 SD for many years. They are an after market spring which sits on top of the factory leaf springs. Unlike the helper springs that come from the factory which only come into play after the truck sinks about an inch, these were bolted with small u-bolts to the top of the original springs. You could tighten them up to be as stiff as you wanted when unloaded. I kept mine at a reasonable tightness to not affect the overall ride of the truck, yet when I put my fifth wheel camper in the back, they would immediately come into play. The truck used to squat 1.5 to 2.5 inches when towing and afterwards the same camper would only push the truck down about .5 inches.



They cost about $300 installed at your local four wheel shop and I thought they were well worth the money. Make sure they install them correctly, as I had to have mine "turned around" because they were put in backwards originally.

KR-Texas