Tow Vehicle Bottoming Out

[Seon]

I have Chevy 1ton Dually that the previous owner lowered 3". As some of you know, I just bought a 24' GN trailer and when I loaded my JD 4210 tractor and and my dump trailer, the load dropped my truck down on the axle. Yesterday, I received my Firestone 5K lbs airbags, installed them and today I loaded tractor and dump trailer on the GN. Took it out for a 20 mile drive over rough back roads with 30psi air in the bags. Not once did it bottom out.
Sorry, no before or after pics. Just wanted to share how I overcame my delemma

 

[GIJOE]

Seon,
When the previous owner lowered the truck 3", he may have removed some springs from the pack. If that's the case, he basically turned a one ton truck into a dual tire half ton.

 

[DieselPower]

I would be checking to see how they lowered it. Spring over converssion, removed springs, different spring packs, modified brackets, etc... As GIJOE said, if they removed springs then they have lowered the GVWR of the vehicle.

 

[Bird]

I bought a new one ton dually extended cab Chevy in 1989 and for reasons unknown to me, I think most of them that year were high in the rear end. So I took mine to Weaver Spring & Brake in Dallas and had the rear springs "de-arched" two inches. That made the truck sit level but didn't really affect the load capacity. I probably had 5 or 6 hundred pounds of tools and stuff in the back end, and then was pulling a fifth-wheel travel trailer with 2500 pounds on the pin.

 

[Seon]

The previous owner had the rear shackles changed so it dropped 3". He did remove the over load springs. In the front he installed a 2" dropped spindles. All done professionally. I, on the other hand installed the 5K lbs air bags with an onboard compressor and gage myself.

 

[Bird]

He did remove the over load springs

I suspected that. Of course, I didn't so when I hooked up the fifth-wheel, it lowered the back of the truck barely enough to touch the overloads.

 

[BB_TX]

I am considering lowering my F350. Don't know how the Chevy is done, but the F350 has a spacer approximately 4" between the springs and the axle. Oddly, the F350 dually has a spacer of only about 1", same as the F250. I am going to see if I can replace my 4" spacers with the 1" spacers. That way I can lower it about 3" without messing with the springs.

 

[Darren]

These may not have worked in your case. Timbren Aeon Hollow Rubber Springs I've used them in the past to stiffen suspensions. They'll also take the roll out of heavily loaded large trucks.

 

[schmism]

is that a skid steer bucket?

 

[RobertN]

I am considering lowering my F350.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to lower a F350? A work truck?

Judging from this thread, often lowering means less springs or less capacity?