Has anyone removed some of their leafs in the back to like 1/2 ton size and then installed bags to cover the wieght. I would like to soften up the ride in my dually in town, and then be able to air up and hual wt. Just a thought I might be stupid?

A buddy of mine has done just that. He removed the large heavy leaf at the bottom of the stack and then installed Firestone ride rite air bags with the dual control kit. He did it because he wanted a softer ride empty around town. When he is hauling or towing his 5th wheel he just airs up his bags and away he goes. He says works great for him.

Has anyone removed some of their leafs in the back to like 1/2 ton size and then installed bags to cover the wieght. I would like to soften up the ride in my dually in town, and then be able to air up and hual wt. Just a thought I might be stupid?I have been thinking of doing the same thing.
According to the GMC website, the rear spring capacities (ext cab, LB) are as follows:
1500 3750 lbs
2500 6084 lbs
3500drw 8600 lbs
So the difference in spring capacity between the 1500 and 3500 is 4850 lbs.
I also did some reading about the Firestone air bags. It said that, as a general rule, they will support 50 lbs for each psi of air pressure. It also said not to inflate over 100 psi. So in theory, it appears that you could increase the capacity of a 1/2 ton spring to a 1 ton DRW spring using the bags.
Brian

I did the air bag thing and hated them! They held the weight just fine, but limited the travel of the rear axle so much that the ride was lousy! I sold the bags cheap and had a good spring shop build a moderate main spring and combined it with factory overloads adjusted not to touch the bumpers without the RV load. I got a much, much better ride! The only downside was if I hit a really hard bump empty and contacted the overloads! The bags didn't deal with that situation well either! Bags hold weight, but limit travel way too much! Just my experience! I don't mean to insult any old bags!

I had a leaf added to my 2002 and while the pack was out, they rearched all of the free leaves by about 1.5". This re-arch combined with a slightly firmer first stage improves the ride tremendously and also increases carry capacity. The solid leaf with pads is the second stage which is where the spring rate gets high very fast. If we can ride above that and have decent travel before it, ride can be improved. When we ride close to it, we bounce off this transition and things get nasty. Add 500# to the bed and it gets good again because spring matches the load.


If you stand on the corner of the rear bumper and bounce on an empty truck, you will see just how soft the spring rate already is. You could remove a leaf or two which many have done, but you lessen capacity/soften both stages. You will essentially ride in the reduced capacity second stage all of the time because the first stage will not hold it off the pads.

burnduals,
You may consider just taking out enough spring to make it equivelant to a 3/4 ton. I bought my dually to haul a camper; if I had 1/2 ton springs and some freak thing happened and popped a bag, you only have the 1/2 ton springs as a backup.

I see what Kennedy is talking about. There is very little distance for the main spring pack to move before it hits the thick bottom spring (second stage?). How can I increase this distance without making my truck taller? Flatter bottom spring? Small spacer between the main spring pack and second stage spring? Re-arch and longer shackles?
Brian