I tow a race car with my 1999 E150 conversion van. I plan on replacing the original shocks (65k miles). Any shock recommendations? Any other items that might help raise the rear end when towing but not make it ride like a lumber wagon when not towing? Thanks-

Jeff

 

AIR SHOCKS? I USE EM.
i always keep 10-15 lbs of air in them when not loaded, rides fine.

 

What's a good brand and place to get them?

 

I also tow a racecar with my '95 Clubwagon (E150 chassis). I use KYB GasAdjust shocks and love them. I also fitted a set of simple add-on helper springs ($22 at Autozone) which picked the rear up a couple of inches which was just about perfect. The ride is slightly firmer but did not degrade the quality at all. I also added a Helwig front swaybar ($120 at JC Whitnet). I am very happy with how the van drives and rides with these mods. I highly recommend them.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Is the helper spring an air spring, coil spring or leaf spring?

 

I put on a set of Airlift air bags. You keep just a small amount of air in them when you're not towing, so they don't affect the ride at all. When you need em, you just add a bit of air through the same type of valve you have on your tires. Took about an hour to install, not very expensive, does exactly the job you bought em for.
http://www.airliftcompany.com/

 

Its a very simple add-a-leaf. Took 30 minutes to install and worked great. I was skeptical about how they would work myself and thought 'what the heck, its only $22, so what if they don't work'.

My van always felt a little soft in the rear end anyway so these really helped the ride too. But the front swaybar was the best mod.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

jbjerke,

I recently replaced the OE shocks on my '94 E 150 Chateau with Bilsteins. I find them to be harsher than the OE shocks were when they were new without improving the handling significantly. It took them about 1000 miles to settle in to a level that wasn't jarring my teeth on rough surfaces.

I have since added the Roadmaster Active suspension system to the rear of the van to beef it up for towing a heavy travel trailer. It is basically a helper spring system that uses preloaded coil springs that mount horizontally on top of your leaf springs and attaches between the rear end of the leaf spring and the spring / axle mounting blocks. I went with the recommended XX version of the Roadmaster for towing. While it is much more expensive than an add a leaf system, about 10 times, it also acts like a rear sway bar and traction bars on your rear suspension. The system took about one hour to install and worked quite well towing the trailer. It raised the rear of the van an inch or so and adds a little bit of bounce to the unloaded van. There is also a bit more understeer than before. Playing around with the preload on the springs when not towing may elevate those problems.

You may want to look into a weight distributing hitch system like the ones that are available from Reese or draw tight if you have a heavy tongue weight on your trailer.

Gene