Mixing 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton springs

[saxart]

I just figured out that the "HD springs" on my C-10 means that it's a 1/2 ton truck with 3/4 ton springs. No wonder it rides so harsh! Now that the former farm truck is living the retired life of a weekend cruiser, would it help the ride quality to replace the front springs with new 1/2 ton springs while leaving the rear HD springs to keep the good towing ability? (Or would it still ride just as rough because there's no weight in the back?)

Has anyone here done this?

[Steeveedee]

What exactly do you have on your truck? Do you have the rear leaf springs, coils with overloads, what? I'd like for my truck to ride better, but when that 6000 pound trailer is hooked up, I want all that capability. What do you really do with your truck these days? Do you ever expect to haul anything heavy again? Careful how you answer! If not, you could downgrade its hauling capability without worry.

[saxart]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

What exactly do you have on your truck? Do you have the rear leaf springs, coils with overloads, what? I'd like for my truck to ride better, but when that 6000 pound trailer is hooked up, I want all that capability. What do you really do with your truck these days? Do you ever expect to haul anything heavy again? Careful how you answer! If not, you could downgrade its hauling capability without worry.

Duh...I should have mentioned those details earlier. My bad... The truck has the original coil springs. They're listed on the SPID as:

G50 HD Rear Springs
G60 Aux Spring Eq ("overloads")
F60 HD Front Springs

I don't normally tow or haul with this vehicle (weekend cruiser) but would like to maintain the capability for those rare times I need to use it as a real truck. I'm wondering if swapping in a pair of new 1/2 ton springs up front while leaving the original 3/4 ton rears would be the best of both worlds....softer ride, but with a strong towing ability.

[truckster]

Much of the ride you feel on these trucks comes from the rear. I don't think you're going to perceive a much better ride by just changing the front springs.

[cornerstone]

On my 05' silverado I had helper airbags on the rear, just hooked up to a schrader valve. I had the Hotchkiss Total Vehicle System suspension on mine for a sportier handling truck, but some times I needed to haul a heavy load so I would just fill the bags with enough air to compensate for the load and this allowed me to have the best of both worlds. I would say for your situation , install the 1/2 ton springs to get the plush ride and add the airbag helper setup also. The Firestone helper air bag kit was only like 100 bucks. I really liked it. I kick myself for selling that truck..... I thought I needed a crew cab.

[saxart]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

On my 05' silverado I had helper airbags on the rear, just hooked up to a schrader valve. I had the Hotchkiss Total Vehicle System suspension on mine for a sportier handling truck, but some times I needed to haul a heavy load so I would just fill the bags with enough air to compensate for the load and this allowed me to have the best of both worlds. I would say for your situation , install the 1/2 ton springs to get the plush ride and add the airbag helper setup also. The Firestone helper air bag kit was only like 100 bucks. I really liked it. I kick myself for selling that truck..... I thought I needed a crew cab.

Bingo! I have similar bags in my 2011 Suburban's coil springs and they work great. Why didn't I think of doing this? LOL . Anyway, looking at RockAuto.com, it looks like there are a couple of options for a standard height 1/2 spring. (Moog, or AC Delco?)

Or does someone know of a better option for 1/2 ton springs?