Fixing the ride of my 1st gen (or at least making it better)
 

I'm thinking of trying to end the pain and suffering :s: I have to endure every time I hit a pot hole, bump, pavement break, and any other less than paper flat road surface with my truck. The question is leaf spring kit or air bags. I've heard a lot about the skyjacker kits being pretty good, but they have a kit, and a system. From what I've found the kit is front springs and an add a leaf or block in the back. I'm only considering the 1" or the 2.5", so I'm assuming I'll get an add a leaf. The kits ($490) seam to run about half the price of the whole system ($940), but the question is would the system make a large enough impact on the overall ride quality, and towing manners to justify the extra cash/wife B!TCH!N??? Please let me know what ya'll think, and what those of ya'll who have aftermarket springs have experienced. If anyone has a air bag setup they swear by I'd be interested in that as well. I'm trying to stay below $800 on this deal, and get the truck to ride/tow a whole hell of alot better.

thanks,
Justin

I have the same problem with my 93 w 250 and very interested in the answers you recieve no matter how you drive feels like you hit every bump in the road:s:

I have the same problem to, so i got these skyjacker add a leafs, raised the front up about 1.5-2'' and smoothed the ride out alot. It raised it up so much more i had to buy rear shocks to put on the front.

Skyjacker Suspensions F1100 - Skyjacker Softride Add-A-Leafs - Overview - SummitRacing.com

if you truly want a softer ride go with an air ride setup if you can afford it youll never be happier. you might gain a little in new leaf springs but leaf springs will never truly be a smooth ride. you could gain a little smoothness by putting longer springs up front and all that but then your talkin major mods. look into the air ride. there is a reason big rig driver use it:tu:

x2 thats the truth:tu:

it seems that these trucks have a problem with the springs hitting the bump stops, so my fix was to make longer shackels, and move the front of the leaf pack down one inch with a spacer, worked great. total lift was about three inches. but if i had the money i would go with the air ride. put it simply you can't get a better ride then air!!!

You know you've got more than $800 to spend Stanley. Stop bein such a tight ass all the time and by some bags :tu:

i have the 4" lift for mine and i love it

what did that cost ya

have you driven any other cummins truck besides your 1st genny?

i think round $600 and ya i drive my dad 2001 cummins all the time hes got a 6" superlift on his

Justin you need to look at the kelderman setup Mike has on his truck, its awesome. Ties into teh hitch and everything. VERY nice.

The problem with towing with a setup like that is that you can reverse arc the springs ruining them.

those are 2 completely different trucks with completely different suspension setups. the 01 uses a coil setup which is much nicer. i also have a very good buddy of mine with a 4" rancho lift and it is still very bouncy. what hes going for is not the lift heigh he wants the smooth ride. 600 dollars can buy you alot more of ride quality than a 4" lift spring will give you.

just as rswords said air bags or towing bags can ruin your springs. if you want a very soft ride, the best route IMO is air ride 9not air bags theyre totally different)

haha ya im not gonna lie its still bouncy but not as bad but its better than stock :raygun:

So air bags are the way to go$$$$
 

I really don't think the rear springs are that bad. It's the front that beats the truck to death on the bumps, but I would rather upgrade them both. I checked out that kelderman web site,and it doesn't looks like they have a "kit" for the first gens. Have you guys that have bought these systems called them up and kinda pieced a kit together or what? I'm a little concerned about the reliability, and durability of these air bags. I don't want a set up i have to worry about bleading down, or malfunctioning; which leads me back to the springs. Are air ride systems rock solid, or are they something you have to mess with everytime you stop for fuel??? Ya'll let me know what you think, and let me know what air bags you guys have on your truck, and where you got them.

like i said before, there is a reason why they run them in big rigs and cadillacs and lincolns for the older folks. the nicer kits have controls inside the cab that you can control everything with and i believe they even use an on board air compressor. you shouldnt ever really have to mess with it unless you want to change it from driving setup to a hauling setup or something liek that

They will have an onboard compressor Justin. Once you get them set up to the ride height you want, you dont have to mess with them. If they have an automatic setup like on the big trucks, they will self adjust as you loan and unload the trucks and the big trucks ride like cadillacs with them. Ive never ridden in a pickup with them but its got to be about the same.

Justin you know that every semi on the road just about runs airbags right? Those are the same bags they use on the kits...

Mike does not run a compressor on his, he filled them up once to where he wants it and they stayed fine. The only real spots for leaks would be ther airlines... They are only as leak proof as you make them.

I see plenty of rear kits... but what about the front?

Justin for the front start with a good set of shocks, REAL good. Also look at your front springs. Do they look like a smiley face or a frown, after 20 years of getting pounded by the weight of the cummins the front stock springs tend to sag quite a bit. Which brings the front axle closer to the bump stops causing the springs to "bottom" out quicker/