Dave's Four Wheel Camper Flatbed Project: Zephyrus

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Loaded to 'over' GVWR, those same air springs have my not lifted truck a little butt high. I've been thinking of giving myself a little added clearance up front, approx. 1.5-2" might do it. The obvious difference is bringing the front up to match the loaded rear, not the reverse.

Love the camper Dave. Really like that compact air/water heating unit, and that it can also be powered by electricity.
 
I've been looking into the Air Lift System since you mentioned it a few pages back.
In reading the company's website I thought I read you could inflate up to 100 psi. Is that correct?
Also do you have their onboard compressor or are you using something like a Viar unit?
Thanks!
 
For my application it depends on the distance between your coils IIRC, for me the max is about 35 psi I think. I'm not running a compressor.
 
Dave said:
For my application it depends on the distance between your coils IIRC, for me the max is about 35 psi I think. I'm not running a compressor.
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Yes sir, for the Air Lift 1000 coil spring inserts we have the max psi is 35 for a spring pitch that is more than 1", my pitch is close to 2" at rest, unloaded at the moment [though I have fudged a few psi in the past]. 50 psi for others.

The 100 psi spec is for the more traditional type air bags that tie the frame and suspension together, reducing travel.

For aux. springs that don’t inhibit travel–

Daystar offers an air bag cradle system that avoids this negative, but I have no experience with them. Another option is Timbren hard rubber springs. I have used the Timbrens on a leaf-sprung rear application (Tundra with heavy camper), and once dialed I preferred them over traditional bags that limit travel and were bouncy on that truck. But not with rear coils [yet?].

Dave, were your Air Lift 1000 springs installed with the provided line protectors/spacers? I've never used or needed them, but they could be an easy adjustment and possible fix for your application depending on how much you need/want. The kit comes with four 1/2" spacers, so you could gain an inch per side if they were not installed. (If you don't have them, my set are new and unused, I could send them to you.)

While this doesn't relate to overall ride height, does each spring have its own air line, they are not linked?

James
 
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Not only did we include both spacers on each bag, AT also had another set of 1/2 spacers. Total of 1.5 inches of spacer per side and 35 psi...

It's just not providing the clearance I need. But it drives fine.

The front was only lifted 2.5 inches. So at this point there should only be a 1 inch difference front to back but visually it seemes like more.

Decisions decisions... :study
 
Nuclear Redneck said:
What's the new weight of the rig?
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That's with a full tank of diesel and me in it. I gained 2100 lbs on the rear axle with flatbed and camper.
 
Dave said:
Not only did we include both spacers on each bag, AT also had another set of 1/2 spacers. Total of 1.5 inches of spacer per side and 35 psi...

It's just not providing the clearance I need. But it drives fine.

The front was only lifted 2.5 inches. So at this point there should only be a 1 inch difference front to back but visually it seemes like more.

Decisions decisions... :study
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Wow, I'm surprised with only 2.5 inches of lift in the front that the coil air springs with the spacers are not making the platform level. Based on your pictures it doesn't look that low to me from here, though maybe in person it looks lower? Or the opposite, the photos make it look lower than it is? Of course camera angles, the terrain, and other optical influences have much to do with how we perceive things.

I'm glad but not surprised that it drives well. Nothing looks out of whack, and I'm confident that you're confident it's good.

However, there is something that is probably effecting the truck attitude, at least a little if not a lot, that caught my eye looking at your photos today...

What is the depth/length of the storage space between the cab and camper, 8-12 inches?
-From the photos it appears that noticeably more than half of the main camper body is aft of the rear axle. This and/or the location of the some of the heavy items inside/on the camper certainly have an affect.
-Not just lowering the rear but lifting the front some at the same time [of course this is common with big or maximum loads, and the further back they are = more impact].
-It also looks like the flatbed might be longer than the OE 6.4' bed. This pushes some of the overall load further back, impacting the suspension.

For the record, I'm not bagging on the design of the flatbed, camper, storage pod on the front of the bed, or the truck. It think the whole outfit is great, I'd love to own it myself. I seriously considered a Hawk flatbed recently, and while I love my Hallmark Milner, who knows what I'll have in the future ;) I'm just thinking of how and why some things might be the way they are and trying to help. :)

Our outfitted truck/camper weights are very similar, I can't remember the last time I was under 10k. Yet, instead of my front axle being a few hundred higher than the rear like yours, my rear axle is always hundreds heavier.

This 'could' mean that there is more of the total outfit weight naturally sitting on the front axle [a good thing if the camper is not fully loaded for a long trip yet], but to have a definitive answer on how the camper is affecting the chassis a "first weigh" and a "re-weigh", with and without the camper would tell us more.

James
 
Dave said:
That's with a full tank of diesel and me in it. I gained 2100 lbs on the rear axle with flatbed and camper.
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Is the 2100# rear axle gain based on a weight ticket after the flatbed? Or before the flatbed was added, and as it was setup with bumper, sliders, etc, but still with the OE sheetmetal bed?

I'll look for the earlier weight ticket in this thread, but did the front axle gain or lose weight based on the earlier measurement(s)?
 
Redline said:
This 'could' mean that there is more of the total outfit weight naturally sitting on the front axle [a good thing if the camper is not fully loaded for a long trip yet], but to have a definitive answer on how the camper is affecting the chassis a "first weigh" and a "re-weigh", with and without the camper would tell us more.

James
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The tunnel box is 15 inches wide. Here is the first weigh (truck with Armor and tires etc pre-flatbed, sans camper) followed by the re-weigh with flatbed and camper.

First weigh

image.jpeg


Re-weigh:

image.jpeg
 
Well, that tells us that virtually all of the flatbed and camper weight are being carried by the rear axle (sans 20#). Not necessarily bad, just is.
 
I guess the good news is that weight distribution fore and aft is pretty even. I can live with it, it drives well but I'd just prefer a couple more inches of clearance/up travel in the rear.

Yes, I'm a bit OCD ;)
 
It is good, very good. And the chassis (and surely your tires) has plenty of capacity to load it as heavily as you want/need. :)
 
Redline said:
It is good, very good. And the chassis (and surely your tires) has plenty of capacity to load it as heavily as you want/need. :)
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That's comforting to have your positive assessment here James. Obviously, projects like this are stressful when there are so many factors at play and this community of interest has been a great source of motivation and information for me. Hopefully the lessons learned on this project will help others.
 
BoldAdventure said:
I'm not surprised. Airbags are a weak solution. Time to replace the coils bud.

http://tuftruck.com/products/dodge/Ram2500-2014-2015.html
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Funny you mention those TufTruck springs...I spoke to those guys at SEMA last year and was interested in adding their replacement springs, both because I thought they were a good product, and I've not always liked my air spring solutions in the past (mentioned above, went from air springs to Timbren on my Tundra project). However, I decided to try the Air Lift coil inserts on my Ram because they are so easy and inexpensive, and they have been working fantastically on my Ram outfit (my old 4Runner too). I don't rule out exploring the TufTruck spring option in the future.

One word of caution for Dave if he decides to try these springs. I understand that there may be new/different products now offered, but speaking directly with this vendor about their springs, they clarified that some of their springs are actually shorter than OE. So while the spring might compress less because of the spring rate, it could still be too short for what Dave needs/wants to accomplish. But maybe it will be perfect/just right, often the only way to know is to try and see.
 
Dave said:
That's comforting to have your positive assessment here James. Obviously, projects like this are stressful when there are so many factors at play and this community of interest has been a great source of motivation and information for me. Hopefully the lessons learned on this project will help others.
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Yep, stressful at times and much hard work! I've yet to complete a build project without at least one installation, setup, or accessory snag. Compared to the hassles on my most recent Tundra and Ram projects, this doesn't even come close to being called a snag. More like a little fine-tuning and adjustment. :)

I have a saying that most gearheads can relate to... "Modifications lead to modifications".
 
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