RAM2500, slide-in and sway

Wanderlust073

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Joined
Apr 4, 2023
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3
Hi,

Been doing a lot of googling but was hoping I'd run in to someone here who might be able to share some first hand experience.

I have a 2020 Ram 2500 with the 6.4L HEMI. Payload is around 3100 pounds. It has the off-road package with the Bilstein shocks. I'm running 35" tires.

I've been on the cusp of purchasing a 2023 Palomino Real Lite 1608 which is 1795 pounds dry, however I've been reading a lot of posts around the net about how the rear coil springs on the 2500's make for a horrific amount of sway/roll with any truck camper in the bed.

I'm not looking to bolt on a new sway bar, add air bags, or do anything really. If it's that bad I'll just buy something towable.

So - anyone out there running a stock gasser 2500 that could speak to their experience with a camper in the bed?

Thanks
 
Yes the sway and roll will get your attention, however, I cured the issue with airbag and the hellwig sway bar and haven’t had any issues since.

I have traveled nearly 25,000 miles since I put the airbag on. My first attempt was the sway bar with a vast improvement after two or three trips I decided to install the airbags and am totally satisfied.

2020 Ram 2500 TCD
 
Also, my Ram is stock with the Bilstein shocks. I run the air pressure in the AB at 45-50 psi with the camper on the truck and 5-8 psi when the truck is empty. The AB’s also keep the truck level with the load.

the last time over the scales I was 10,050 lbs fully loaded
 
2016 2500 ram CTD with hawk, recently replaced stock shocks with bilstein 4600’s. No airbags, no additional sway bar, no big deal before or after the shocks.Camper almost levels the truck front to rear. 90,000 miles over five years this way, camper on full time. I added sumo springs to deal with abrupt weight shifts off-road.Buddy has same set up, but has airbags to level when parked, plus he is part time and has a leveling kit in truck so it looks goofy when camper is on without using bags to lift the rear a bit. Try it out and see how it goes. Add air bags later if you think you need them later. Of course there is a bit of sway on occasion, it weighs 5 tons. By the time you eliminate all the sway, it will be too stiff for anything beyond a really well graded fire road. People complain too much on the internet. Happy people don’t waste time posting about it.
 
2016 2500 ram CTD with hawk, recently replaced stock shocks with bilstein 4600’s. No airbags, no additional sway bar, no big deal before or after the shocks.Camper almost levels the truck front to rear. 90,000 miles over five years this way, camper on full time. I added sumo springs to deal with abrupt weight shifts off-road.Buddy has same set up, but has airbags to level when parked, plus he is part time and has a leveling kit in truck so it looks goofy when camper is on without using bags to lift the rear a bit. Try it out and see how it goes. Add air bags later if you think you need them later. Of course there is a bit of sway on occasion, it weighs 5 tons. By the time you eliminate all the sway, it will be too stiff for anything beyond a really well graded fire road. People complain too much on the internet. Happy people don’t waste time posting about it.



Yeah I know mostly it's the complaints that get posted... Too bad there's not a try and buy option, but for $25000 or more I'm just super hesitant to buy something that's going to turn into an endless chain of just-one-more-upgrade to feel comfortable with. My primary use would be fishing and peak bagging, both of which require navigating steep and rock filled lousy roads which are rough enough running the truck through as-is.

No perfect product I guess. Truck camper has issues. Overland/Offroad pull behind are insanely overpriced and under featured. Guess I'll just stick with a sleeping bag in the bed while I think about it more ;)

Thanks for the reply!
 
I do several 4x4 off road adventures throughout the southwest and Sierra Nevada’s annually averaging 50-60 nights a year. Fishing, exploring and camping.

The best onetime fix were airbags with the Daystar cradles. I haven’t looked back and would not hesitate to do this upgrade again. Very low maintenance, (for me) proven reliability and affordable. This is the third truck I have installed them on, also I should have done the airbags first and stayed with the factory sway bar, I allowed outside influences to sway my thoughts regarding the sway bar.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Bud
 
Your truck already probably has enough miles to have worn out the OEM shocks that are usually tuned as soft as needed to feel good during short test drives on smooth roads near dealer. Replacement with aftermarket, some of which would be superior to OEM, may better control excess "sway". Good aluminum-bodied shocks will dissipate heat of damping motion of washboard roads. One trip across Mojave Road in our Rubicon destroyed a set of steel-bodied Bilsteins; I eventually went with aluminum Fox Shocks but extreme testing pending.

Shock or strut valving is selected to damp quick, high speed motions and separately to also control slower, wallowing-like motions. There are also different ratios of damping between compression and rebound, often a little less on compression to better absorb bumps than potholes and to avoid a jacking effect where repeated motions lift vehicle up before it can settle back down, something the failed rear Bilsteins did on our Rubicon. And, leaf springs may provide their own friction (damping) resistance to compression but snap back with little resistance to rebound motion whereas coil springs offer no resistance from friction in either direction. Coil springs therefore allow automotive engineers to better fine tune suspension via shock valving selection as the changing variable of how much friction a leaf spring is providing doesn't have to be accounted for. But, this means shocks do all the work of damping motion and may overheat and wear out faster on a coil-sprung vehicle with a camper or trailer on rough roads.

So, I wouldn't rule out the Ram 2500 if not overloaded and with good, firm aluminum-bodied shocks. Whether that or some other vehicle with leaf springs, you'll still have to decide use and percentage driving of truck with camper on vs off as to whether air bags (handles variable loads) vs firmer springs (for near full-time camper use) was appropriate. Of note, some air bags don't provide support through full wheel travel (like various glorified bump stops and jounce bumpers), and air bag support upon suspension compression goes up as a geometric progression (gets a lot firmer faster) faster than a typical coil spring, which increases support as an arithmatic progression. So, air bags add another variable as to whether or not your shock valving can damp motion. That's why air bags are best inflated just enough to help out without shouldering too much load on a way too-soft suspension, something more likely on a half-ton truck.

As for "sway bars" (AKA anti-roll bars, etc), if you already have an OEM one try it out as-is, as thicker would help you corner flatter and help with crosswinds more, but at the expense of a rougher ride and even reduced traction on rough roads. Also, too thick of a rear anti-roll bar might induce oversteer, where the rear slides out when cornering before the front does, only good for certain types of racing.

Vehicles are always a design compromise, and you may have to modify anything for your needs. I even had to have one more leaf added by Deaver to main leaf packs of our 2020 F350 with OEM camper package for our Hallmark Ute, and that truck was over a thousand pounds below GVWR with loaded camper. But, it rides and handles far better overall (but a little rougher on USFS roads) with camper but too rough on rough roads without camper (like one-ton trucks used to before '80s), which is rare.
 

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