Long story short I went from the stock 15in with 235 75 to the RT's stock 16in with 265 55 and ever since the truck has a lot more body roll. Does anyone have any recommendations to reduce the body roll? I can't find a sway bar larger than 1 1/4in which is already in it. Any help is appreciated!

1998 Dakota Sport Regular Cab
2.5L I4
Camper Shell+Tool box

 

Are your sway bar links in good shape? Tires at proper pressure?

 

RT stock wheels are 17's. The sport package stock wheels are 16's, and base stock is 15's.

The wheels won't affect your body roll. They will increase the roll center a little, but I think you're experiencing placebo affect - it was always there but now it's worse. That tool box and camper shell will raise your roll center ALOT, more along the lines of a Durango. A stiffer rear bar is what you're looking for. I think stock is 3/4-7/8" and you probably need something closer to 1" or 1-1/8".

 

What brand and size of tires were you using, and what are you using now?

 

Sorry for the late reply- I've been quite busy.

HeyYou- Swaybar connectors look good and bushing were replaced 2-3 years ago. Tires are at 32 psi. One has a very slow leak so I don't feel like plugging/patching it so I keep it aired.

Magnethead - I didn't really think about the fact that the CoG has been raised thanks to the camper shell however it had started before I got the camper shell.
Also, I don't have a rear swaybar. I got the truck 3rd or 4th hand so I'm not sure when it was removed but it is quite nonexistent lol. I think I will start looking into getting a rear sway bar though- I think that would help

Vimes - I had Dextero DHT2 275/35/15 and now I have Uniroyal Laredo 255/65/16.

 

tires are a big factor effecting body sway. a good set of low aspect ratio tires will do more than sway bars and tower braces. I went from 60's to 45's on a car...and could not believe the difference. 45's on a truck would be a rough ride though.

 

I looked up those tires on the Uniroyal web site, and that is a HUGE part of your problem. Those tires are P255/65R15s. P-rated tires are passenger car tires, and the sidewalls are not strong enough to hold up to a loaded down pickup. You really need LT tires to carry that camper shell safely, and LT tires will help somewhat with the body roll.

You should also look into replacing the front sway bar with a heavy duty model, and add a matched rear sway bar. While you're at it, the shock absorbers need to be heavy duty to manage the extra weight of the shell.

 

Primem - The sidewall of the tire got smaller with the switch though the overall size stayed about the same. I'm not really sure I'd want to go any smaller though

Vimes - I didn't realize that. Those are just the tires that came on them when I got them off craigslist lol.
They're getting down to the wear markers anyway so I'll just have to pay attention when I get new ones.
I've looked into a new front sway bar and the one I have on it is the same size as the biggest one I can find - 1 1/4in. I am definitely going to look into a rear sway bar. I'm not sure if I really need to get bigger shocks though because the camper is actually pretty light. Do you think it is worth the upgrade as I am on a somewhat tight budget?

 

I have to say yes, it's worth the upgrade. That being said, wait till you get new tires and see how it does.

I suggest going to tirerack.com to research tires, because they have thousands of tire specs at your fingertips. The best for your rig is going to be Load E rated LT tires. They are the strongest you're going to find in the size you want, and are designed for carrying a load. They won't ride as smoothly as P-rated tires will, but to me the safety more than makes up for a slightly bumpier ride. If you can't swing the name-brand tires, find a few possibles then look up what you can on them. A lot of the off-brands are made by the big boys. The tires I have on my work truck, for example, are some no-name brand but when I looked them up I found they were made by Michelin. While they're not as good as Michelins, Michelin isn't going to put out a complete crap tire like Pirellis. After you replace the tires, decide if it's enough.

I would go ahead and get the front/rear sway bars though. You can probably get a set off a V8 crew cab Dakota at the salvage yard. Measure your front bar before though, you may just need the rear. If the front is smaller than what comes on the donor though, go ahead and get the donor and see if you can trade yours in on it.

 

A Dakota with the 2.5 L engine has the smallest size sway bar so a better bar is a good Idea. A same year Dakota with the V8 will have a larger sway bar so a used junkyard bar may do you but that can vary.

measure your bar go check out a same year with a V8 in a junk yard the 2.5 has a 28mm bar.

Better shocks will help