Send me a message or call me 1-888-943-8287. We’ll get it all figured out.

 

I am not that familiar with the 10.5 beyond what I know about it on my Excursion unlike the Dana 60 that I am very familiar with, The 60 it would depend on the build spec the Vehicle mfg used and it will depend on all the components, tube thickness, shaft diameter, bearings but at the end of the Day while you may fail a bearing early it’s not that big of a deal, I would be more concerned about your springs capacity.


while you have increased their load carry capacity by adding leafs , the main leaf is still a B code, the vertical weight of your payload is not the primary concern it is under panic braking that your concern should be focused and in that regard you still have a B code main leaf and its weight rating is your limiting factor and always will be.

The forces under braking can easily approach those of the main leafs ultimate breaking strength so while the pack will support your vertical load I would always keep in mind a hard braking situation can fairly easily buckle or break that main leaf.

when you get pics of the front and rear post them up in a new thread, I’d like to check a few things out and have a discussion, you have commented a few times on your ride and me thinks it isn’t due to spring rate so I have a few ideas I’d like to work through to see if the ride can be improved.

 

I went with ATS mod-C rears, and x fronts when I did mine. I seriously considered the Pro Comp springs, but they seem more aimed towards the lift and offroad aspect, I was concerned they wouldn't handle towing as well. The ATS springs have probably been on 12-15k miles, I'd have to look in my notebook to see for sure. I reused the stock block from the Ex in rear, and gained 3.5" all around, hasn't seemed to settle much since then. At the time I ordered the springs, the Ex was primary tow vehicle for car haulers, and my 28' 14k axle cargo trailer. Now I have a '13 Ram cummins dually, so the Ex has been relieved of the heavy work for the most part, but still used for camping, hunting and fishing trips, occasional towing, and daily use. I was concerned about the unloaded ride having gone with the heavy springs, but it was unfounded. Compared to how it rode on the old springs, especially on the rough NM roads, it is a whole different vehicle. No, it was not all the shocks, because I reused the Rancho RS5000's that were on it for a few months until I had time and money to put new ones on (went with bilsteins, rides nice, not sure if it was worth the extra price of them). I am very happy with my spring swap, wish I had done it much sooner. I had talked to Junior prior to placing my order, and he was the one who advised me that the Mod-C were my best bet. I understand the OP isn't looking for big lift, and I really wasn't either, but the 3.5" is just about perfect. It looks great, and gets me a little extra tire clearance which is great on the hunting trails. Just my $.02

 

I'm increasing unsure of what I know is the right combination of spring, shocks, air bags etc for differing applications. For instance towing at or around max weight, medium tow or ride quality, or off road and combinations. I'm sure each individual needs somewhere in those groups or group. Pirate appears to bring lots of experience and tacit knowledge, but how much better (improvement) is worth the change for someone like myself. Certainly we have multiple uses/applications by many of us but without good comparisons because we do not have the time or money to "experiment". It's seem to me we have to rely on "others" to spend the time and money to achieve the knowledge we all would like. For instance I have caryt (4-5 years) set up using V codes w/2" hanger and modded B codes in back. I run dual Bilsteins revalved in front, Fox steering stabilizers, Timbren in place bump stops. I run B codes with Hellwig sway bar, Bilstein shocks, and RAS. I tow heavy (10K+) and the truck is extremely stable and predictable in all circumstances. Nothing has failed, improvement were obvious and I did them incrementally.

Certainly my own experience is anecdotal... how 'bout y'all?

 

not how I would set it up today but if Cary did the shock valving and setup I am certain it works well and as long as it meets your needs there is not really any need to change it. The reality is it would be difficult to make improvements with any off the shelf shock. ( my guess is Cary did not spec out the RAS , I would be somewhat disappointed if he did.)

your comment on the comparison is spot on, it is easy to say we like something but without comparing it to others it is difficult to know if it can be or should be better, I certainly do not have all the answers but I have 30 years of doing this to use for comparisons and vast resources to rely on both in terms of personal experience and industry experts who have the answers when I do not. Plus I do extensive testing to find answers.

a perfect example is I have the Ford blue prints on these springs and have spend hours discussing and debating their design with the very engineers at ford who built them, The procomp springs were designed by a friend of mine and I did the testing on the prototypes, when I can’t solve a problem I turn to the people who created them in the first place and get their input and do testing from there.

 

He did not recommend RAS.

 

Is there some logic or information that discounts RAS, as a negative addition? I've found it helps considerably when towing on flat ground (paved roads) after the install. 4 years now.

 

describe in your own words what it does for towing on flat ground or anywhere for that matter, I am genuinely interested.

and going back to your comment about comparison, have you tested it in a manner where you tow your trailer over the same course with and without to make a direct competition to compare and contrast how it is affecting the performance ?

 

I have not spent any time using or testing the RAS and I discount it as a gimmick simply based on the companies own marketing, they use nonsense BS and a fancy dance to side step the fact it is nothing more then a “helper spring” it just so happens to be in the form of a coil instead of a leaf but at the end of the day it isn’t rocket science it simply adds some additional spring rate.

 

If you need some additional spring rate for towing then Air Springs are my preferred go to since you can easily adjust them as needed, ya you can adjust the RAS but an in cab switch is much more convenient to adjust for each payload. My guess is you have not adjusted your helper springs more then once back when you installed them. And even then you can’t adjust them as you are driving or as RAS would say dynamically.

 

I get the spring rate, but is adjustable as you know. I haven't seen many negative reviews or problems associated with RAS, including myself. My only observation that I didn't like was the rapid rocking back and forth on uneven roads and I assumed it's associated with the RAS. With that said I'm a fan of less (and simple), to achieve desired goals, so that's why I am reviewing and asking about my set up and tapping into your experiences. Again.... I have no issues and each addition I made and the changes "seemed" to have improved towing feel. Basically sway control is my objective for my general conditions.

Here's my experience. I tow basically three things, a boat and a car haul trailer without an equalizer, of about 7.5K+ each , a travel trailer about 10K, with a propride w/1400 lb bars. . 800 lbs tongue weight on the boat and car trailer and 1200 lbs on the TT. I tow the boat on flat ground mostly and the travel trailer and car haul trailers often on winding mountain roads. The Pro ride is great for the travel trailer and I can't say enough good about the towing performance. My car haul trailer is solid after the RAS install, on winding roads.

I notice the RAS helps with the car haul trailer the most on winding roads. I added the RAS after the rear sway bar was installed. My V code and B code spring I installed were new Ford manufactured springs.

My heights are 23.5 front and 25.5 rear.

 

Here are two pics, this is on an upward slope in my driveway (weight shifted rearward) and completely unloaded truck. When the springs were new and stiff, the shackles sat nearly vertical.

 

to many Band-aids, that is my prognosis.

for starters, or to address your chief complaint of rocking back and forth on uneven roads.
that is your sway bar, Remove it and let your suspension move.

I have been trying to convey this to people for awhile but the whole ..” you need a rear sway bar” is so engrained in the FTE few head my advise. But the fact is the Ex doesn’t need a rear sway bar for body roll and it does exactly what you describe.

after you remove that tournament side to side rocking will be cleared up then ditch the RAS.

from there drive it for a while and determine e what if any handling issues you want to alter and either hit me up or addresses it accordingly but stacking on more bandaids is not going to fix your issue.

Get you spring rate correct for the Max payload you intend to carry and keep your tuning confined to shock valving and tire pressures and of course steering alignment and your Excursion is capable of handling great.

 

this to me is an issue I would address,

i have pointed out in detail in previous post in this thread the issue with the B code in the rear When used unmodified. But bottom line you have a 1000 pound per inch spring rate. junior never answered my question if they have a custom tuned shock for that setup because no off the shelf shock is going to work for that. Maybe call him but me thinks he isn’t going to either have no clue or bull**** you about how many happy customers he has, seems to be their MO rather then give out technical info,

the 23.5 and 25.5 is your issue, With a crazy high front spring rate and a 2” rake your front to rear corner weights are not going to favorable to achieving a well balanced vehicle and getting it to handle well is going to be challenging.

but like I said about.... no more bandaids. Work with shock valving, tire pressures and alignment after you get a more appropriate spring rate.

 

Those measurement are static not loaded. I'm at 24 front 24.5 rear when towing (load) . The truck handles like a dream compared to stock... especially towing and no nose dive during hard braking.

However I will try some of what you suggest to observe changes later this year.