suspension upgrade

[Eatmorefish]

While I understand there are as many ways to do this as there are vans to do it on, I'm hoping for a little input from those that have been down this road. What I have is a 2009 EB E350, Quigley, that started life as a passenger wagon. I've added most of the comforts of home, 26 gals water, cabinetry, sofa, house batteries and a CCV mid size pop top. Underneath Ive got Bilstein shocks, Firestone airbags, stock springs and currently run 265/70/17's. The problem is rear sag, its riding on the overload spring, bottoms out has a fare amount of the covered wagon syndrome.
Did I forget to mention the 275 lb motorcycle on the stern and the rocket box on top?
What I'd like to do is bring the stern up, stay off the bumpstops and smooth out some of the wash boards while not compromising highway safety. We've spent the last two winters in Baja and the SW, seeking out the road less traveled but aren't what you'd call rock crawlers, the rig is just too long and heavy at around 9800 lbs to get too wild.
I've looked into the Agile upgrade and am considering just adding their springs, both front and rear, to my bilsteins but I'm not sure that will get me where I need to go. Does anyone have a strong opinion about Deavers and what is it that makes them so special? The van is currently in Portland and Oregon Spring is just down the road.
On a side note, does anyone know of an awning bracket that will work with the CCV topper?
Thanks for any feed back....

[rallypanam]

Call Agile. Nothing any more fancy about Deavers. I have Agile springs, my van is a bit over 10,000. MUCH improved.

PM 1der here, he sells awning brackets that work great with CCV tops.

[Eatmorefish]

Thanks for the quick reply, one question, did you go with the Fox shocks?

[Tienckb]

I got complete springs and fox 2.0 all around from Agile for my 08 EB Quigley in the RIP kit form. Couldn't be happier, correct tire psi does wonder.

Give John at Agile a call. Rear springs require significant lead time.

My rig wet is 9600 lbs.


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[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by Eatmorefish

Thanks for the quick reply, one question, did you go with the Fox shocks?

Yes, took off brand new Bilstein 5160 reservoir shocks and replaced with the custom valved Fox 2.0 from Agile. Couldn't be happier, very noticeable improvement.

[TomsBeast]

Remember the basic rule of suspension: The springs support the weight, the shocks control the speed that the axle, tire and wheel, move up and down into the wheel well.

Springs sometime sag, from being overworked by shocks that aren't up to the task of controlling a heavy tire and wheel, down some washboard road. Bottomed out too many times. Deep rust. Maybe you've added riser blocks, now the factory bump stops don't work.

Carrying a bike on the back, sounds like you have stock 15 passenger Ford springs, and band-aid air bags (not being critical, I have them too) sounds like you need uprated springs. I wouldn't go too heavy though, as the ride on the washboards can be brutal. Then good shocks to go with it.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Yes, took off brand new Bilstein 5160 reservoir shocks and replaced with the custom valved Fox 2.0 from Agile. Couldn't be happier, very noticeable improvement.

That's pretty much what everyone says, my self included. You won't go wrong at Agile.

[torboschen]

At nearly 10000 lbs, I think you would find the $ well spent to invest in the RIP Kit and will wonder why you waited. I personally feel that routinely hitting your bump stops is hard on interior cabinetry and spines. Both can get expensive.
I have an Agile TTB build from 2014 with 30,000 plus miles on it and it still rides better front and rear than any other E250/350 I have ridden in. I believe you will want you to weigh each corner of the vehicle with your Moto attached (ask John)... 300lbs isn't a lot to a 10000 lb rig but with the EB, the mass is well aft of the axle. An added benefit of the proper springs will be improved ground clearance and departure angle, not a strong suit of the EB.

[Eatmorefish]

I ended up going with the Agile RIP kit and couldn't be happier. Spent three weeks driving the van from Portland to Vegas the long way and it felt like we were in a different vehicle, better control, better ride, smoothed out the washboard and makes the van stand up straight and proud. Thanks to all for the recommendation and special thanks to Agile for a great product.

[Tienckb]

Enjoy the "new" beast [emoji106]


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