Ballast ideas? Rear ride quality still sucks after full Carli Install

As far as plate you can do what us welders would do and bolt the plate through the bed at all 4 corners. You can use big washers on the underside if your worried about it pulling through the sheet metal.
Welders do it when they still got a factory bed and just tack on the plate to make holders for bottles and angle iron to hold machines and tool boxes down.
 
xler8r said:
Just looking for any ideas on ballast (other than cinder blocks) to help smooth out the rear ride quality. Family keeps getting sick in the back, nomatter the settings of the E-venture system; literally bought every option from Carli they sell for the 2.5/3.5 system. '22 SRW F350 Tremor.

Sad to say that if I can't figure this out, I'm gonna have to ditch the truck, I was hoping 20k on a Carli system would help...and it did, but only so much. We never tow with it, so we're always without a payload except for baby strollers and other baby support equipment, lol. Just wondering if I should have gotten a Raptor (never drove a Gen 3 one)...but I've used the full SD bed length more times than I can count picking stuff up for house and work.
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Would help to add some weight to your bed. I steer away from big aftermarket purchases for the most part for fear I’m doing more harm than good. 🤷
 
StrokinOut said:
That's strange, the lower PSI should not make it bounce more, it really should have made a noticeably softer ride.
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Wild a$$ guess - by lowering the pressure you change the effective spring rate. With the non-OEM suspension that may be lighting off a resonant frequency in the system... If you lower it more you may come back out of the resonance.
 
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HeavyAssault said:
Okay....I got you. Head to Home Depot or Lowes. They sell 40lb bgs of yard/fill dirt. Buy them for like $4 each. Do the math. Add in whatever amount you want. For me it's 5-6 bags that easily change the rear ride.
It's F_N cheap to add weight, easily disposable, earth friendly, multiple uses, can satisfy quite a few "honey do" items.

Thank me later.
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Similar idea... When I had a lighter truck (that wasn't real good in 2wd in the winter) I would buy 4 40lb bags of salt and throw them in the bed. As the water softener required I would remove one and replace it with another in the bed. Closer to Spring I would stop replacing them...
 
Add a bed rack and overland setup then you get to go camping!
Else the rubber horse mats were a popular option as listed above.
 
Donnie With A Dee said:
If you still want to use your bed and you're never going to take the ballast out, consider having some plate steel cut to the shape of the bed.
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This is exactly what I was thinking. We must both be “stupid “

But it’s not going to slide anywhere if it’s cut around the wheel wells. And as far as getting it in and out, well maybe maybe Mr F450 can leave that to those of us who are “stupid “. Trench plate is actually a fairly common way to weight a truck that runs empty. It can also be bolted in for the paranoid.
 
Potato Wilson said:
This is exactly what I was thinking. We must both be “stupid “

But it’s not going to slide anywhere if it’s cut around the wheel wells. And as far as getting it in and out, well maybe maybe Mr F450 can leave that to those of us who are “stupid “. Trench plate is actually a fairly common way to weight a truck that runs empty. It can also be bolted in for the paranoid.
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Mr F450 was right and made a valid point. Don’t be so sensitive.
 
Potato Wilson said:
This is exactly what I was thinking. We must both be “stupid “

But it’s not going to slide anywhere if it’s cut around the wheel wells. And as far as getting it in and out, well maybe maybe Mr F450 can leave that to those of us who are “stupid “. Trench plate is actually a fairly common way to weight a truck that runs empty. It can also be bolted in for the paranoid.
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It's all good. My feelings aren't easily hurt. He asked for suggestions, that's what came to mind. You have to consider the source, a guy that puts 44's on an F450.
 
xler8r said:
Just looking for any ideas on ballast (other than cinder blocks) to help smooth out the rear ride quality. Family keeps getting sick in the back, nomatter the settings of the E-venture system; literally bought every option from Carli they sell for the 2.5/3.5 system. '22 SRW F350 Tremor.

Sad to say that if I can't figure this out, I'm gonna have to ditch the truck, I was hoping 20k on a Carli system would help...and it did, but only so much. We never tow with it, so we're always without a payload except for baby strollers and other baby support equipment, lol. Just wondering if I should have gotten a Raptor (never drove a Gen 3 one)...but I've used the full SD bed length more times than I can count picking stuff up for house and work.
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i'll give you 20k for the truck ;)
 
devildog said:
Would a 60 GALLON REPLACEMENT FUEL TANK help? That’ll weigh 425 lbs with diesel when full.
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I’m getting it anyhow.. but.. yeah, probably could help, I personally like the SD ride.. keep the wife and kids from borrowing my diesel to run to the grocery store
 
StrokinOut said:
I've seen some say they use horse stall mats as a bed mat. Something like that might be useful in adding some weight to the bed. They are 3/4" thick and would probably add 150+ pounds to the bed without needing to be removed when wanting to use the bed.
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4x6 sheet at tractor supply is only like $45-50. Use one for an archery backstop and it takes two guys to hang it up. That would work well 👍

Lol, just saw the above post
 
You are planning on changing the tires with the lift why not go ahead and get 37s? I’m only running bilstein 5160s but with 37s at 45 psi my truck rides really good.
 
F450_on_44s said:
Wait till you get rear ended and that sheet of steel laying in your bed cuts through the cab like a hot knife through butter. Since I just replaced a bed side I know how thin the aluminum is. No way would I do that and feel safe with my kids in the back seat. I stand by my statement it's a stupid idea. Sand bags are great to add weight and in an accident won't kill you. Everything else in my bed is attached to the bedsides or uses Mac custom tie down attachments so it doesn't move around.

On a plow truck that is mostly working in parking lots with no rear passengers, that is a totally different story.
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Don't disagree with anything in your post.

That said, if you pulled the bed bolts and then used those to bolt the sheet of steel to the bed, would that be a "safe" way to implement the idea? Not sure how long the bolts are, so might require longer ones to accommodate the added width of the plate.
 
xler8r said:
Call me crazy...but this idea seems genius Sumo Max 1000 Ballast Bag Video here of how they fill it up link

Only catch is...how ya gonna secure a 1000lb bag of water :unsure: but for the price...
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There are many different sizes/shapes of water bladders out there which also have some form of tie down loops for securing it. Like this (flatter/wider) :


For the price I think you would still be better off with bags of sand and you shouldn't need 1000lbs to get a ride quality improvement... One layer across the bed floor and you can still pile stuff on top if necessary.
 
xler8r said:
Carli progressive spring pack; didn't add the airbags because CJC mentioned it could potentially add more stiffness...so I nixed that idea. @Lunch Box - very simple answer, personal wants needs don't always jive with family/spousal wants/needs :)
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Might also consider the Carli shackles if you didn't get those in your build.

In addition to the other ideas, upgrading the fuel tank to the Transfer Flow or S&B (gas or diesel) will also give you 150+ added pounds.
 
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