Partial Leaf Spring Removal?

[mtofell]

Tell me if I'm crazy - My plan when I eventually replace my 2500 is to go with a 3500 SRW Ram. I had originally planned to just replace the entire rear suspension with an air system but those sure do seem to be expensive (upwards of 4K from what I've found).

So, could I just remove some of the stock leaf springs to give me a soft ride while daily driving and install a nice set of airbags to support when towing my 5th wheel? In a perfect world I'd have about the ride and capability of a 1/2 ton when not towing. This seems like a much less expensive option that would result in close to the same outcome.

And..... before you guys rattling around empty in a 3500 try to tell me it's not that bad, I've been driving HD trucks for 20 years and am just sick of it. I get in a buddies 1500 and it feels like I'm in a Cadillac. My 2500 with coils is a tick better than 3500 leaf springs but it's still plenty harsh. I'm getting too old to be tossed and jarred around like a bale of hay.

 

[olyelr]

Tell me if I'm crazy - My plan when I eventually replace my 2500 is to go with a 3500 SRW Ram. I had originally planned to just replace the entire rear suspension with an air system but those sure do seem to be expensive (upwards of 4K from what I've found).

So, could I just remove some of the stock leaf springs to give me a soft ride while daily driving and install a nice set of airbags to support when towing my 5th wheel? In a perfect world I'd have about the ride and capability of a 1/2 ton when not towing. This seems like a much less expensive option that would result in close to the same outcome.

And..... before you guys rattling around empty in a 3500 try to tell me it's not that bad, I've been driving HD trucks for 20 years and am just sick of it. I get in a buddies 1500 and it feels like I'm in a Cadillac. My 2500 with coils is a tick better than 3500 leaf springs but it's still plenty harsh. I'm getting too old to be tossed and jarred around like a bale of hay.

My recommendation....

Why 3500?... especially if your gonna loose tow capacity by trying to make it ride nice.

Get a 2500.... install thuren springs (if you dont want to lift it much you dont have to).... put bags in the rear for towing. It will ride stupendous for a 3/4 ton truck.

 

[olyelr]

Or, if you insist on a 3500... you can consider these...

https://www.thurenfabrication.com/p...ents/leaf-springs/2013-3500-leaf-springs.html

 

[pacofortacos]

The soft tires on the 1500 have a lot to do with the ride quality.

My 1500 rides very firm not caddy like in any form.
Front suspension is stockish (different shocks but feel the same as OEM did) and the rear has HD coils and a helwig sway bar BUT I do have X-Load tires all around running at 42-47 psi. It does not ride very softly, not jarring but very firm.

Could you get a spare set of wheels and run softer standard 1500 type tires and just swap wheels/tires out when towing? A bit of a pain but you might see huge gains in ride comfort. Might be a stupid suggestion, but I would be curious to feel how your 2500 would ride with softer tires.

 

[mtofell]

Why 3500?...

Because I'm sick of weight Nazis on message boards screaming at me for towing over my GVWR

I've thought of just going with another 2500 and doing the softer spring thing but the newer 2500s only have a RAWR of 6000# and the 3500s (SRW) have 7000#. I believe before 2016 (so including my 2014) the 2500 rear axle was the same part as the 3500 (SRW) rear axle but from 2016 - present it is actually a different part. At least some guy screaming at me the other day gave a list of parts and they were different numbers from 2016 on. I didn't care enough to check the numbers.

No way I want to deal with a 2nd set of tires. Aside from the hassle it's just not good practice to be driving around with underrated tires (shops aren't even supposed to install them if that's any indication). It would really suck to need to haul something and not be able to because I had the wrong tires on.

I understand HD E-rated tires will always ride harder than a 1/2 ton with P-rated but the suspension takes out a huge amount of the harshness. A buddy once had an HD with full air suspension and it rode really nice. Night and day compared to the stock setup.

 

[pacofortacos]

Hard to compete with air suspension.

I could see it being a hassle with 2 sets of tires.
I had a set of Michelin Defenders E-Load and aired down they rode decent, probably a bit softer than the current X-Load tires on it now but they were also on 17" wheels vs. current 20" wheels.

 

[Nickx86]

If I remember correctly, you could get the 3500 w air spring helper. They take out some leaves for you already and use the factory air spring to help you out. Does not void warranty either. The 2500 rear air removing the coil and replace it with an air bag.

Also are you over on your GVW or rear axle capacity?

 

[Ratket]

Carli and thuren offer options for you. Look at some of their you tube videos.

 

[mtofell]

If I remember correctly, you could get the 3500 w air spring helper. They take out some leaves for you already and use the factory air spring to help you out. Does not void warranty either. The 2500 rear air removing the coil and replace it with an air bag.

Also are you over on your GVW or rear axle capacity?

I was kind of trying to avoid the Ram air as I want something totally independent that I can control separately. I've heard a few complaints from people that the Ram air has a mind of its own and at times they can't override it. I honestly haven't done a ton of research on it but that was enough for me. I absolutely hate things that are automatic like that. It's also an expensive option that I think could be replicated with better equipment for less.

My current 2500 has a 6500# RAWR and the heaviest its ever scaled with my 5th wheel attached and the bed loaded with firewood (around the hitch, of course) was 5850#. Tires are rated at 3600# each and it's rumored that the rear axle is the same part as the 3500 for that year which is 7000# rating. Anyway, I have no worries with my current setup but am undoubtedly going to get a heavier 5th wheel at some point.