Pleasure Way seeking suspension upgrades

[PleasureWay2003]

I've got a 2003 Pleasure way built on a Ford E350 super duty van. Not a cutaway but a van. Currently the van weighs 8500 with minimal gear/water and 2 passengers. Rear axle scaled 5300 front 3200. I suspect with full gear it would easily be 9000lbs and close to 6000 on the rear. Its rated for 9500gvwr and 6084 rear.

The 3+1 leaf spring (2775lb rating) and air bags aren't cutting it. It bobbles way too much for my comfort. I'm looking at either the 6+1 or 10 leaf stock options. Ratings are 3750lbs and 4000lbs. Looking for suggestions for which would make the van ride more solidly with less sway/bobble. Feels like a boat now.

Also, the semi float Dana 60 is marginally sufficient or not? as far as weight rating. the 3" narrower track also bugs me and there is no rear sway bar! I heard about the dana 70-2u axle that came in the SRW cutaway vans that is 4" wider. I'm wondering if an axle upgrade is warranted and also which years I should look for for such axle. Sounds like 99-07? Not sure

If anyone has any experience with my situation I'd love to hear you thoughts. I did install new bilstein rv shocks and added castor to about 5 degrees. Helped but rear springs I think are definitely needed.

 

[loper]

Our van weighs 9100, 4300/4800 F/R.

I had handling issues a lot like what you're describing.

I had Alcan springs build a set of 5500# rear leaf packs (helped a LOT) and added front and rear sway bars from an F350. The sway bars made it just about perfect. I have CC880S coils with airbags in them for the front suspension. Fox 2.0s on both axles.

Our van is a 4x4 conversion using 2005 and up F350 axles, so we have a 10.5 Sterling rear axle/Dana 60 front axle. I'm not concerned about the axles being strong enough.

Bottom line, correct springs and sway bars should make a big improvement.

 

[PleasureWay2003]

Our van weighs 9100, 4300/4800 F/R.

I had handling issues a lot like what you're describing.

I had Alcan springs build a set of 5500# rear leaf packs (helped a LOT) and added front and rear sway bars from an F350. The sway bars made it just about perfect. I have CC880S coils with airbags in them for the front suspension. Fox 2.0s on both axles.

Our van is a 4x4 conversion using 2005 and up F350 axles, so we have a 10.5 Sterling rear axle/Dana 60 front axle. I'm not concerned about the axles being strong enough.

Bottom line, correct springs and sway bars should make a big improvement.

I assume that 5500lb is per leaf? If so that's more than I would have guessed. Is the 9100 lb with an empty van or loaded? Right now I am leaning toward the 4000lb springs and I didn't even consider the 5000lb ones as I thought they would be too much.

I recently got an estimate from Alcan by chance for my mostly empty 5300lb weight and they suggested adding 1200lb of capacity.

 

[loper]

No, it's 5500# for the entire rear axle (rear axle weighs 4800#).

The 9100 is trip ready (fuel, water, food, etc.). Sometimes I pull a trailer with a side by side, with about a 400# tongue weight.

I suggest getting a loaded weight for both axles and spec-ing the springs for that weight.

 

[PleasureWay2003]

Got my van weighed again. 8620 lbs with a tank of water and a few odds and ends. I'm sure it will be 9000 lbs fully loaded. 64% of the weight was on the rear axle so at 9000lbs that's 5,763 lbs on the rear axle. My springs are over loaded (5550 rating). I decided to go with 4,000 lb springs for the upgrade. Local shop recommended the same. What off the shelf brands do people recommend? Dayton? Dorman? ATS?

 

[marret]

I am not a Ford guy, but I haven’t seen anyone talking off the shelf options like you mention. May well be some though.
Deaver, Alcan Spring in Grand Junction, CO, Pohl Springworks in Spokane WA, etc.

Maybe someone will come along with better information. Personally, Dorman would be my last choice.

Search this forum for “springs”, couple to get you started:
Replacing leaf springs
Leaf Spring Replacement

 

[PleasureWay2003]

Just a follow up on what I did to my E350 Pleasure way. I upgraded the rear springs to the 6+1 HD springs with a total rear weight capacity of 7500 lbs. With a loaded rear weight of around 5800lbs these springs are a much better match. I probably could have gone to the 8,000 lb springs. I bought them from ATS out of PA. Less than $800 delivered with all new shackles and bolts. Van handles way better now but since I prefer handling over comfort I may add a 1 1/2" rear sway bar. Currently there is none. No need for the air bags now but have them inflated to the 20 psi minimum. New springs raised the back up a bit, well 2-3" over old springs without the helper air bags. I did take it in for another alignment to see how the rear suspension altered things and it somehow gave me more castor on one side (5.3>6.1) and less on the left side (4.5>4.0). Positive camber increase .3 degrees and toe increased from slightly out to slightly past the toed in spec. I may also install a steering stabilizer but will try the rear sway bar first. Are steering stabilizers worth it?

 

[BrianW.]

On my 98 E250 EB SMB, which weighed around 8700 loaded, I did the following upgrades that made a big difference (search the forum for a number of threads on these upgrades that others have done, too):
1. Upgraded rear leaf springs with a set of (somewhat) generic 5+1 (I think) springs from ATS Springs (like I see you did), which is local to me in Pennsylvania. That made a big difference right off the bat.
2. Added a rear sway bar from an E450 cutaway (junkyard find). On my 2011 I went with a Helwig sway bar, which is easier to source and install. Both helped immensely on my extended vans. This is an easy and low-cost addition and you should 100% do it IMO.
3. Added Bilstein shocks all around.
4. Upgraded front suspension, steering, and brakes to the 2008+ E-Series version. This is a mostly bolt-on swap and improves handling quite a lot, and gives you much better (larger) brakes.

Again, search the forum for more info on all these upgrades.

 

[PleasureWay2003]

On my 98 E250 EB SMB, which weighed around 8700 loaded, I did the following upgrades that made a big difference (search the forum for a number of threads on these upgrades that others have done, too):
1. Upgraded rear leaf springs with a set of (somewhat) generic 5+1 (I think) springs from ATS Springs (like I see you did), which is local to me in Pennsylvania. That made a big difference right off the bat.
2. Added a rear sway bar from an E450 cutaway (junkyard find). On my 2011 I went with a Helwig sway bar, which is easier to source and install. Both helped immensely on my extended vans. This is an easy and low-cost addition and you should 100% do it IMO.
3. Added Bilstein shocks all around.
4. Upgraded front suspension, steering, and brakes to the 2008+ E-Series version. This is a mostly bolt-on swap and improves handling quite a lot, and gives you much better (larger) brakes.

Again, search the forum for more info on all these upgrades.

Thanks for the suggestions. I did the leafs springs, Bilstein shocks, and alignment. Next I am going to get an 1 1/2" rear sway bar like you suggest. Not sure if I'll need or want to beef up the front (currently 1"). We'll see...

I'll have to look into the upgraded suspension you mentioned, however I just did all 4 calipers. Steering is definitely tiresome but the rear sway bar should help.