Helper spring question

[Peteandsharon]

When I purchased my new F250 the dealer was going to install F350 rear leaf springs for me as an enhancement/upgrade. Essentially what they did was add a set of helper springs to the stock springs. That's fine with me but I have a question about the workings of the helper springs. Each side has a helper spring and two brackets that are mounted to the frame. As the truck comes down in the back the helper springs engage the brackets and start to support the load. What I noticed with about 1000 pounds of weight in the back is that the rear bracket engages first. I noticed that the rear bracket had made contact with the spring but there was still about 2 inches of play between the spring and the front bracket. This was true on the driver side springs. On the passenger side there was a little bit less of a gap but in both cases the rear engaged first. I'm guessing this is what makes them progressive helper springs but is it normal for there to be that much difference between when the front and rear bracket engages the spring? Anyone else have a similar setup?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[boatto5er]

Pete,

I recently had "SuperSprings" installed on my F250 and they basically do the same thing as yours, and they engage in basically the same manner - from the rear first. My dealer (my son - so I trust him [a little at least]) said this is normal. The have really made a difference too. Our truck sits more level, rides better with the trailer hitched up, seems more stable on quick stops, and actually gets slightly better fuel mileage (I suspect from the more level stance and smoother ride). Another noticable benefit is less chucking in the hitch when starting and stopping. Again, I guess from the better positioning of the king pin/hitch combo.

 

[jnbhobe]

Both my trucks came with factory helper springs.On the 03 I added a leaf to the helper 1000 lbs cap. per leaf. works good! On the 07 we put a 4 leaf progressive helper on with a cap. of 3500 lbs per side. Both setups work real good the trailer sits level and they don't effect the ride when empty. JON