Truck Sitting on Jounce Bumpers
 

Hi. I have a 2013 f-250 powerstorke. I have been noticing that when I tow, even a light load, that the truck squats a lot. I know about tongue weight and don't think I have too much. Another scenario is the other day I was bringing home 16 bags of 60# concrete mix (a whopping total of 960 lbs.). When loaded, the truck sat about 1/2" or less away from the jounce bumpers. If I would have added another 4 bags I am sure that it would have hit. Is this normal. The sticker inside the drivers door says that "The combined weight of the occupants and cargo should never exceed 1939 lbs".

In my brain I should be able to put 1939 lbs. in the truck and it not be sitting on the jounce bumpers. Is anyone else having this problem? I took it to the local ford dealership and they said that it is normal and they can't fix it unless something breaks. I didn't like that answer so I called Ford Customer Relations and opened a case. I can take it to another dealer but that is an hour away one direction.

I just ordered some air bags for the truck but I don't want to put them on unless I really need to. I feel like the truck should preform better than it is.

Thanks,
Mohon

Ok, something's not adding up at all. You have an F-250? With a max payload rating of 1939 lbs?

That doesn't compute.

It's not a mistype, as in you either have an F-150, or that "1" should be a "2" or a "3"?

My '12 F-250 has a max payload ~3800 lbs (forget the exact number off the top of my head).

Can you post some pics of how the truck is sitting loaded?

I know what you are trying to say but it is not a mistype. I have a 2013 F-250 and the sticker inside the door says the max payload is 1939 lbs. The brochure that I got when I was looking to buy the truck says it has a payload of 3250 lbs. Something got overlooked here.

I can post some pictures but I won't have anything loaded in if till probably tomorrow. Ill try to post some tomorrow.

That 3250 payload in the brochure for a stock F-250 is a XL with manual everything, 6.2L, Reg cab Long bed 2WD, 10k GVWR Package and the small fuel tank enough fuel to go 10 feet.

My CCLB with the Gasser has a payload rating of 2790 lbs.

I'm guessing you lost even more of your payload rating to your heavier engine and any extra interior options depending on your spec and GVWR. If you don't have the 10k GVWR package you lost even more payload rating to that.

Can you tell us the spec on your truck? Trim/options?

Thats a good observation. I figured that the only way that my truck could cary 3250 lbs is like you described. I do have a 10k GVWR so that helps for 100 lbs more. Even still the sticker says a 1939 lbs. payload and I only had half the weight when it was almost hitting the jounce bumpers.

overleaf springs work better.

I have had a 1000 in my bed and it only dropped about 2". However 1939 is still 1939. Do you have 2wd or 4wd? 4wd sits a little higher than 2wd.

When you loaded the concrete did you set it all behind the rear wheel or was it spaced evenly across the bed?

Ok, I looked up my actual payload, the manual says 3380 lbs, and my door jam sticker says 3156 lbs. I've had 1800 lbs in the bed and the springs squatted enough to level out the truck, but no farther. Mine's a gas extended cab long bed though.

So, install some air bags and keep using your truck.

Since people started using these 'working' vehicles as daily driver (read as soft boulevard ride) the real carrying capacity has suffered to the point of being ridiculous. Mine too was sponge soft so I added air bags. I also have a pair of add-a-leafs which will be going on soon as well. According to my build sheet, mine is a 10K truck but the spring code says it's an 11.2 - NOT. It sags badly and to the overloads if there is any significant load (i.e. my 2200 pound 5th wheel pin weight)without the air bags. It will be fixed with the add-a-leafs AND the air bags. Someone will pop up and recommend Torque Lift Stable Loads - yep, they work, but IMO put undue bending stress on a single point on the rear springs, plus overworking the overloads instead of spreading the spring load

If you have a 10K gvwr truck and your scale weight is 8360, doesn't that make your payload 1640? That for all weight - passenger, luggage, stuff in the bed but since it's a scale weight probably includes the driver, fuel, hitch, etc. It's worth remembering that it's pretty possible to spec out a F250 with pretty low payload if you try. All you need to do is add the full size cab, a long bed, the diesel engine, the 4WD, and you have a low payload truck.

A couple of other thoughts. The payload is a theoretical weight distributed ideally across both the front and rear suspension. Your 16 bags of cement were probably all behind the rear axle., at least that's where I would put them. In other words a worst case scenario for load distribution. The rear springs are variable rate, as they get loaded and engage the overload spring they get far stiffer. That means that if you needed 1,000 lbs behind the rear axle (or directly over it) to get to 1/2" from the bump rubber you might need another 500 lbs to get the rest of the way. As noted that's how they got the super smooth ride unloaded.

Brian

Lots of options: you can replace the jounce bumper with Timbrens or SumoSprings or you can add air bags or you can add helper springs like Supersprings.

I have a 4x4. The concrete bags were evenly distributed over the rear axle.

Why are these better than air bags?

I read somewhere people were putting early spring packs on late trucks (or maybe it was late spring packs on early trucks) so I thought that you could look into that. I think Ford actually has about a dozen different springs for different option packages and truck weights. On the other hand, going with an air spring or an over-load spring would retain the smoother ride the newer trucks are supposed to have unloaded.

I’ve seen this concern arise on a few occasions. Torklift has extensive testing that has been performed both in computer-aided simulations in SolidWorks and physical testing on the factory springs. That coupled with thousands of happy StableLoad users in the field and never a single event of overload or spring issues ever having occurred.

To be certain our confidence in the StableLoad is being presented at the highest level, we also offer a lifetime guarantee not only to cover the StableLoad product itself, but also cover the factory leafsprings and the overload. We don't know a better way to instill confidence in our products than to offer this exclusive lifetime guarantee on both the Stableload and the springs. :)

It may be surprising to some that the overloads are actually factory engineered and designed to handle what we commonly put our trucks through in terms of towing or hauling larger payloads. The lower quick-disconnect StableLoads are effective in providing support in the gap between the lower overload and springpack without adding additional stress. It essentially pre-activates the factory suspension to reduce sway, prevent sag, and provide much better ride quality.

Airbags and StableLoads work great in conjunction – however in many cases I’ve seen, those who have tried the StableLoads first did not need to move forward with installing airbags. Take a look at this thread here: LINK

Torklift Sheryl

Stableloads may work in this case to engage the spring pack early and keep it from bouncing around.

Easy install and easy to engage/disengage when you want.

It is a product of trying to cater to the wrong crowd. So those that load the truck up as intended pay the price.

Thanks for all of your guys help with this situation. The airbags arrived today and they have a 60 day money back guarantee so I think I am going to give them a try. The set that I got replaces the jounce bumper but has jounce bumpers inside the airbags. This allows me to run them with no air for a stock ride and add air when I have a load. I'll let you know how it goes.

My 2013 F250 6.2 4x4 CCSB shows 2804 lbs on its loading info sticker - it's surprising how much the numbers vary with the different configurations.

I installed the Airlift Ultimate air springs (internal jounce) on mine. I became intimately familiar with every square inch of the underside of the truck and it took a while to get all the air lines & connections installed (but, I also installed an onboard compressor so, that added complexity).

Any way, the ability to vary the support has been really useful when towing our heavy travel trailer. I haven't had any problems while towing; the F250 handles it well.