Possible suspension upgrade questions

100acre

100acre

Adventurist
I'm trying to figure out if I'll need to add a suspension upgrade prior to mounting a four wheel camper Hawk on my truck. I am really bad at math and I can't figure this out. I checked the label on the inside of my drivers side door and I've looked up what everything means, but I cannot seem to figure out either the weight of my truck or it's full carrying capacity. The owners manual is just too generalized and doesn't tell me anything specific about my make and model. My truck is a 2012 F150 XL super cab, 5.0 V8. It's front GAWR IS 3,750 lbs. the rear is 3,850 lbs. the GVWR IS 7,350.
The FWC base model Hawk is 895 lbs and the added upgrade options add an additional 300 lbs, plus myself 260 lbs, dog and gear weight, 20 gallon H2O tank, and 20 lbs of propane. A Warn VR 10,000 winch, rock sliders, Plus a extended hitch for carrying either an extra tire, jerry cans, bike or small trail bike, etc.
So do I need to add additional suspension like airbags, springs etc. and if so to what rating?
Thanks for any help, Dan

In the back of the manual it breaks it down by wheelbase, rear axel ratio, maximum GCWR, max trailer weight. The only number I cannot figure out is the rear axel ratio, so both of the weights for the max GCWR are; 13,500 lbs and 15,100 lbs.
So is my base truck weight 7,350 lbs (GVWR) ? And, the weight it can carry one of the two GCWR's ?
If so, I guess I don't need to add some suspension??? Or should I?
 
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GVWR is what the total of your truck, including all weight you have on it (people, cargo, camper, gas, etc., etc. GCWR is total combined weight, i.e. your truck (at GVWR) PLUS any trailer weight. GCWR is Gross Combined Weight Rating. This is what your truck will rate at max safely, with a trailer. Your acceleration (which is why it has different ratings based on axle ratio) and braking has to meet specific safety ratings which is what your GCVW is.

To safely know how much available cargo weight you have available is to fill all the fluids to max capacity, you and any passengers, dog and any other items you plan to carry (not including the camper) and go get your vehicle weighed. Once you get a real life weight of everything, take your GVWR and minus your real life weight. Whatever is left is how much you can add by adding a camper.

That said, most all 1/2 ton trucks are not rated high enough by the time you get is fully loaded with any slide in camper. At the same time people do it but it doesn't mean it's legal. If you do it, I highly recommend you move up to E load rated tires and you'll want to add airbags to the rear. My rig is a 3/4 ton rated at 8800 GVWR and I sit right at that ready to go. When I put my FWC Grandby on, it dropped the front 1" and the rear 2". I had custom built springs made (National Spring) for my specific weight and desired ride height. It works great but my camper also lives on the truck 100% of the time. If you are planning to remove it and use the truck without the camper, airbags will be your best option.

Good luck.
 
Mike is 100% on point with this. It's not easy to get an accurate idea of what kinda weight you can carry, but it's totally worth the time to load up, fill the truck up with all fluids you carry regularly, and go weigh it to see where you stand.
 
Thank you very much for your responses and information. Are airbags sufficient enough for going off road as well, besides using it mainly for highway and National Forest roads?
I'll try to get an idea of everything I would bring, call the local rock quarry and go get weighed. Thanks, Dan
 
After weighing add an additional 10-15% for real life travel weight. Then put a little more fudge factor in because you don't want to be on the dragged edge.
 
If done correctly (i.e. not cheaply) airbags can be setup for real offroad use. I know Carli Suspensions uses a long travel bag setup on Dodge trucks (I think they also have Ford stuff). When I had my Cherokee, I did some suspension flex testing and measured compressed and extended travel. I then checked the listing for AirLift bags and found one that met my needs. I then contacted a company AirLift recommended to put together a custom bag kit, that used the Cherokee mounting parts, paired with the bag model I needed. Put many thousands of miles on that setup plus a lot of offroad flexing use while towing our Kamparoo trailer. Worked awesome.

If you are just doing fire roads for the most part, my guess is a standard kit for your truck would work fine. Make sure you keep the bag independent of each other (i.e. individual fills) so you don't suffer cross loading of the bags as the air moves from one side to the other. Keeping them independent prevents that.
 
Another thing, Daystar came out with some lower airbag "mount". Basically it's a saddle that the airbag rides on during normal driving. The lower mount of the airbag does not bolt to anything but rests in this saddle. When you flex enough to max the bag out, it allows the bag to lift out of the saddle, allowing max flex and no damage to the airbag. I have read of a few people who have really liked this setup and that it works well. No experience myself but gives a good option when you can't find an airbag with enough travel.
 
Mike said:
Another thing, Daystar came out with some lower airbag "mount". Basically it's a saddle that the airbag rides on during normal driving. The lower mount of the airbag does not bolt to anything but rests in this saddle. When you flex enough to max the bag out, it allows the bag to lift out of the saddle, allowing max flex and no damage to the airbag. I have read of a few people who have really liked this setup and that it works well. No experience myself but gives a good option when you can't find an airbag with enough travel.
Click to expand...

The Daystar cradles are very popular in the Dodge world. Everyone seems to love them, even the guys who beat on their rigs
 
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