I need to beef up the back of my 03 4X4 Ram. During the winter I put a pretty large (300 gallons) tank for liquid de-icer in the back. When filled it weighs enough to squat a bit. And since leveled the front, it will be more pronounced. I'm looking at a cheap way to increase my load capacity. I found these at Summit: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HEL-991/

I don't want to drop the $300 for air bags, and I don't want my ride to be excessively rough when unloaded. Even when I'm using it it's only filled for 1/2 hour at a time. So are these considered an overload or helper? It looks like they would stiffen it up at least a little all the time, not just when unloaded.

 

Ain't seen a set of helper springs yet that didn't cause a bounce in the back going over uneven terrain when unladen.

Bag it, you can get a name brand set for around $200 and an ebay set for less. Only proven way to handle high loads and have a pure stock ride when unladen.

Only way bags will cost you $300 is if you can't operate simple hand tools and have to pay for the install...

 

Yeah, that's what I want to avoid is any more bounce. This truck easily has the most payload capacity of any 1/2 ton I've ever owned, but I don't want it to be any stiffer when unloaded. Off to eBay i go.

 

i have these and love them.
http://timbren.com/aeon-rubber-springs.htm

 

I have some helper springs and it makes the ride some what rougher w/o a load. If your worried about ride quality you might as well put bags.

 

I had a set of the Firestone bags with on board compressor and gauges on my old truck. World of difference. Smooth ride empty, no ridin like a Chevy when loaded.

Just make sure you get a kit with the on board tank/compressor/gauges. Pain in the *** if you don't have them.

 

I believe the OP said he was trying to NOT spend a boatload. All them fancy bells and whistles cost way more than the bags.
Although I agree for someone who has to constantly adjust bags for variable loads, they are indispensable. But for someone like me, who uses the bags a couple dozen times a year, they are a waste of money.
I carry a compressor in my toolbox, have a 220v in the barn and even have a small compressor in my ATV storage bin, so it's no issue for me to take the 15 seconds to air the bags manually...

 

i carry a bicycle pump with me. takes literally 30 seconds per bag to hand pump it. I love my bags

 

Apologies..did not see the cost factor in there.

 

The Timbren springs look like they might be good on lowered trucks. I looked at their site, but didn't see any prices.