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Bought a 95 F-350, tows worse than the F-150??

2K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Brutpwr 
#1 ·
I have a 02 continental cargo 24' enclosed trailer I use to haul around race cars and a bunch of other crap, got a grandstand mounted on the front and a generator on the tongue so it has a lot of tongue weight to it. This F-350 is a 95 turbo diesel dually and it rides alot rougher than towing with a 05 F-150, The F-350 just seems to start bucking and bouncing and never stop. I put on the load bars and it helped alot but Im not sure if I want to crank them any tighter. seems shocks may be the key but Im on a budget and dont want to throw money around without suggestions.
 
#3 ·
Without the trailer it rides really nice "for a F-350 anyway" I figured putting alot of tongue weight on it would help smooth it out but it didnt seem to "since it smoothed out with the load bars hooked up" When I hit a single big bump like going over bridges it takes that very well, but alot of highways that are rough just keep this thing bouncing for miles. Its was fun watching the girls boobs bounce for the first hour but then it eventually got rediculous.
 
#4 ·
you're tagging the upper overload springs in the rear. The springs have settled over the years putting the normal ride height much closer to the overload springs. If you are carrying much more weight or far less then the ride will improve dramatically however since that is not likely. the other option is to remove the upper overload.

The stock springs are configured with the standard straight overload at the bottom of the spring pack and a curved overload sitting on top of the spring pack which will contact two rubber cushioned angles sticking out of the frame. The rubber will make any contact very obvious because it will be shiny and worn not covered with road grit & grime.

I suspect that when you're hooked to your trailer you are riding just slightly above or on these pads.

The upper overload spring can be removed without concern provided you are not in the habit of hooking up to trailers with greatly excessive tongue weight. The ones on my '95 350 are a wall decoration item right now, and have been for the past 5 or 6 years.
 
#6 ·
you're tagging the upper overload springs in the rear. The springs have settled over the years putting the normal ride height much closer to the overload springs. If you are carrying much more weight or far less then the ride will improve dramatically however since that is not likely. the other option is to remove the upper overload.
demon is right about this. Our last F350 had these. The truck was loaded fairly heavy all the time and they would hit over almost every bump. Got very annoying real quick. It did it from the factory. I am not a fan of the Ford setup. If I could do it over again I would have pulled them and put bags on it.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reply, Im not used to heavy trucks like this and I did notice those extra helper springs.. Demon seems to know his shit so hopefully this can cure it. I think its worth a shot since it doesnt cost anything. Seems to me like too violent of a problem for the shocks to fix anyway.
 
#8 ·
I have a 99 f350. It rides better with a lot of weight on it then with a little. It rides like shit unloaded, but is actually nice with the crawler on the trailer.

And yes you can pull the overload, without bags, but you have to be carefull with the weights. Air bags are relatively cheap I would go ahead and install as set. Your trailer sounds like its probably pretty heavy and its one of those better safe then sorry things.
 
#10 ·
Since you have a weight dist hitch, I'd just pull the overloads and try it. If you weren't using a WD and had all of the weight on the hitch, bags would be a good idea. I think you'll be ok. It is worth a try, and if it isn't what you want, bags are fairly inexpensive.
Travis..
 
#11 · (Edited)
are you in CA? is it a long wheelbase? (ie -ex cab longbed or longer) If so, it's the roads - the way they are built sucks for long wheelbase trucks.

As for the springs, I don't think I'd pull the overload, but I would put the bags on first and go from there. I think the bags will keep you off the overload with the weight you're talking about, and when you do hit the overload it will be much smoother working with the bags than on it's own. you can always pull them after if you don't like it...


:usa:
 
#12 ·
No I live in Iowa, the roads suck here pretty bad though!! once I hit a somewhat smooth highway the thing pulls like a dream "could use more power" The boobie bouncing distractors just doesnt stay happy long enough for me to get to the destination without the arm-cross followed by a little bitch session :mad3: Im trying not to spend much money on this so it would be great if new shocks and removing the overloads would fix it.. Im getting so many mixed opinions about it. :confused:
 
#16 ·
you'll be fine without the upper overload, remember you still have an overload on the bottom of the pack and bump stops.

The concept is great in theory and I'm sure was great when the truck were new but now that the springs have started to sag you're hitting that load spring rather frequently with light loads. Not to mention that the biggest problem is transitioning on and off of the spring.

I would be willing to bet that when you are hooked up you are sitting about 1/2" off the spring contact pads, it does not take that much to get 1/2" suspension travel then it is a much harder and more abrupt spring leaving you with a very rough ride constantly transitioning on and off of the overload "helper" spring.

I do not have airbags on mine and have had no problems suspension wise towing trailers with 1000# tongue weight w/o a WD hitch. It sits a bit lower than I'd like but nothing horrible, when $$ allows I'll toss bags on there but I've been saying that for 3 years now.
 
#17 ·
Badass, I will check that out when I bring my truck back. Its over at a buddies house because a damn sensor under the fuel filter there was leaking fuel everywhere, kinda coated the underside and the trailer too. and noticed the air filter was clogged too so that should help the power quite a bit. Once I get this thing riding decent I was thinking about building a exhaust and maybe a chip for it. do you need a special tune for just replacing the exhaust system on these?? or if you just remove the mufflers from it?
 
#18 · (Edited)
no mufflers on a tow rig??:laughing: and you thought the "boobie bouncing" brought the bitch session:laughing::laughing:


:usa:
 
#19 ·
My doesn't bitch about the straight pipe on mine, but the boobie bouncing can suck for her with the wrong bra:laughing: I don't even know how a PS sounds straight piped though, I bet it aint good though. I've heard some terrible sounds out of Powerstroke tail pipes:flipoff2:
Travis..
 
#20 ·
ok that may be a bad idea, I havent been around diesels much or EVER worked on one till now, I could just fab up my own exhaust with a diesel muffler, the price of those aftermarket turbo back exhausts are pretty crazy. but I know of many street/strip turbo cars without mufflers and they are pretty damn quiet considering what they are. She's used to loud sounds, I have a mustang with a decent 427 nitrous engine in it and I would guarentee thats louder than the truck would be, she will ride in that for hours on end and not complain. Im worried all the bouncing will eventually stretch out her boobs and make them look saggy...
 
#21 ·
I straight piped my 01 F350 about 100k ago.Its not any louder inside,but its alot louder when yer on it outside.My EGTs are actually a little cooler with no muffler comparred to temps with it.
 
#22 ·
on your '95 the muffler is already a straight through design, there may be a catalytic converter that could benefit from some bulemic traits.

The greatest exaust restriction on the '94-97 trucks is the downpipe. That is the first place to start and search "DIY Tymar" on google for an better flowing air filter.
 
#23 ·
While your there pull the shocks and work them up and down..see if they keep the same resistance throughout the travel..Many gas shocks wonmt leak any oil if the pistons have blowby from worn o rings..I just put some new pro comps on my crew cab dodge and reused some new springs, truck ride like a dream compared to the bottoming out craptactualr that it was..Both shocks were shot and one only was wet with any oil.
 
#24 ·
Put some Bilstein shocks on all four corners. We have put them on a lot of the older Fords and are always amazed at how much better they ride both loaded and unloaded. You would think you reduced the spring rate by more than 50% from the improvement in ride quality. And on top of that overall control and handling are greatly improved both on and off the pavement.

Jason :)
 
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