The truck springs are not stiffer they are actually softer, the difference is they have more arc and therefore increase the ride height as You need to research the implications of lifting your front end to match the rear if you decide to go with the truck spring. Ball joint travel needs to be accounted for.

The stock excursion rear spring is 440 lbs in and the truck spring is 330 lbs in.
The stock excursion rear spring had 5.5 inch of travel and the truck spring 8 inch

The modification people do to the springs is they take the 330 lb in stock truck spring with 8 in of travel and add leafs from the excursion pack to build up a custom pack that matches the stock excursion spring rate of 440 lb, the difference is the new modified pack had more travel and increases the ride height.

Since your 2wd excursion already has a 440 lb in spring rate you could just install a air spring setup and increase the spring rate as needs for the payload or tongue weight of your trailer.

 

Just installing RAS (roadmaster active suspension) on your existing rear leafs is an easier solution, imo to gain some added height and load support without sacrificing empty handling.

 

I'd love somebody to explain to me how it does this without talking in circles like the folks at RAS do.

Until then I am sticking with my opinion that RAS is a simple axle anti wrap spring and the manufacture spews techno gibberish to market the product.

And yes, I have driven a vehicle equipped with it and I do not agree with the claimed handeling benifits.

Just my opinion of course.

 

I'm not sure on the axle weights but the actual hitch weight when I first measured it was 1050lb to the dealer specification 971lb dry. The RV dealer I purchased the trailer from set up the E4 WD hitch and the trailer rides very level. I was concerned about the hitch so I opted for the heavy duty version they were offering.

I have not measured the front to back difference when the trailer is loaded onto the hitch with the WD bit it looks significant and the back end is sagging close to the ground. Not only am I looking for the level load with trailer but some extra height. That is why I was looking into the C code springs from a F-350 DRW. From my research these should give me about 1.5-2" of height unloaded and greatly reduce sag. I've been looking for a kit or parts which would shim the front and then possibly go with longer shocks up there; such as the F-250 Blistein shocks.

On that note, from the donor truck, would I need any other parts other than the springs? Would I need blocks, hangers, etc?

 

I still don't have any more knowledge on the 2WD front suspensions than I did earlier, so I'll let others chime in with info for that part of your questions.
RV dealers are notorious for incorrectly setting WD hitches, to be fair many do get them right but so many don't and then work harder to convince the customer that its "all good". Having the TT sit level while hitched is more a function of hitch head height adjustment, that's the easy part of the setup. The main purpose of a WD hitch is to Distribute some of the tongue Weight of the trailer to unload a portion of that TW from the tow vehicle rear axle and Distribute it between the TT axles and TV front axle. That's the tricky part of the setup that lots of folks and dealers fall short on.
You can get it pretty close to perfect with a tape measure and some time and patience or a multi pad truck scale, like a Cat Scale. Start with getting your unloaded x wheel well to ground measurements, then hitch up and recheck. The goal is to return the front to its unloaded height by increasing the tension on the hitches spring bars either by changing the hitch head angle or adjusting the bar end tensioner s depending on hitch design. The more effective you can make the hitche's weight transfer the less squat the rear will have, the front will be more properly loaded which will increase steering control and the entire combo should ride and handle better. This is true for whatever springs you end up using in the end. As you bring the EX's rear up via WD transfer you may need to drop the hitch head down a hole or two to relevel the TT, level to slightly nose down is best.

 

Step 1. Become sure of your axle weights ( or measurements )

Until you know what your loaded and unloaded axle weights are we don't really know what you are trying to solve other then you want your vehicle to have more ride height.

The only real data we have is the 1050 lb tounge weight which would be within the 10-15% recommended range of your trailers 8500lbs and within the Excursions hitch parameters.

Like Tom lays out. A tape measure can be used, I just prefer to use the scales.

 

I have a CAT scale about 10 miles from my house. I will hook up the trailer and get exact weights on each axle. Quick questions, is tongue weight simply the back axle loaded and unloaded weight difference or do I need to weight this individually?

 

Actual tongue weight can be calculated by getting the axle weights of the EX unhitched, then weighing it hitched up. Tongue weight will be the difference of hitched minus unhitched rear axle weight MINUS any weight missing off the front when hitched. Any weight taken off the front axle by the trailer's hitch weight will be transferred to the EX's rear axle. That's why you want to be sure to use a correctly sized WD hitch system and have it correctly setup, to return the front back to unhitched weight.

 

Your tongue weight is simply

TV axle weight with trailer
Minus
TV axle weight without trailer

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-...ue-weight.aspx
Edit for acurraurcy

 

That would add any front axle weight lost to the tongue weight, which is not correct. The method I mentioned above will show the actual weight from the trailer's tongue.

 

You are correct Tom.

 

OK, took the Ex to the CAT scale tonight. Here are the weights:
Unloaded Loaded
Steer 3620 3220
Drive 3720 5180
Trailer ---- 6960

I also took height measurements from the center of the hubs to the wheel wells (I think that is the correct method):
Unloaded Loaded
Driver Front 19.75" 20.5"
Driver Rear 21" 19.25"
Pass Front 20.5" 20.75"
Pass Rear 21.5" 20"
**Note the unloaded measurements weren't quite on level ground. Slight slope in the parking with the passenger side being higher.

By WE3ZS formula, this puts my hitch weight at 1060lbs. Seems reasonable

Now, as for the WD set-up. Would a 400lb difference on the front axle be an improper set up or will you always see "some" drop. I'm not that familiar with WD hitch set-ups. I will be doing some research tomorrow.

It also brings me full circle to the original question and topic of this thread. Would the C-code springs from the F-350 DRW be a good mod (price is $150 for the set). Or do you see this as a complete issue with the WD hitch. A reminder that I would like a higher stance in the unloaded and loaded condition.

My other options that I am considering:
- Airbags
-RAS
- Lifting, although with a 2WD this seems tricky. Looks like the only options are 6" lift kits.

Also to note, I have NO complaints about the why the EX tows the trailer.

 

Yep, 1060lb tongue weight, just about dead on 13% of the trailer's 8020 GVW, so that's almost perfect.
In my opinion that 400lbs of lost front axle weight is a little too much, even though you say you are happy with how it currently tows I'd like to see you try to reduce that back down towards the unloaded weight some.
Do you know what the WD spring bars are rated at? And do you have a picture of the rig hitched up or even just the hitch itself when setup. With your 1060 TW I would use a set of 1200lb spring bars, that way you are still good if you are packed heavy for a longer trip at some point.


As far as rear suspension help to handle that load better air bags will work great, but they won't give you the little extra ride height when unloaded. (actually air bags can be used for extra ride height, but it's not a proper solution for that.) Modded spring packs can be setup to give both a little more capacity and some extra ride height, careful planning will be needed to get it right on the first shot though. Increasing 2WD front suspension ride height is more of a challenge than the 4X4 setup.
I would try to do some more WD adjusting and/or changing up to heavier spring bars if yours are under rated for the 1060 TW, shifting that 400lbs back to the front will unload the rear axle some, so go that direction first. Then when it looks better there you can see where the rear sits and plan from there for suspension mods.

 

Not sure of the rating but I was thinking it was the E4 12k/1200 Equal-i-zer from Progress Mfg. I pulled their set-up instructions and will try to move some weight back to the front. I will attempt to post a picture of the whole set up tonight.


This is my big concern with using mod C springs. I may pick up the set anyways to have them around. I'm sure another member could always use them. I'm more curious to see how it acts with the mod C setup and the resulting look. Might be the first step in a future lift project!

Thanks for your help so far. Pictures to follow...

 

Just curious, why didn't you just go with the V/Modded B setup from the beginning? I have the V10 and did that...with no drawers/gear in the back, I had a slightly rear-high stance...once I put the drawers in and loaded my gear, I got a level stance.

With a 5.4, I would think the front would be lighter and you'd get a level stance with the V/Modded B...but then again I could be wrong. Anyone out there do that (5.4 with a V/Modded B setup)?