Overload warning 3500 factory air suspension

[JasonGaley]

Sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else. Just bought a truck camper for my 2017 3500 ram diesel with factory airbag leveling. I’ve had some heavy loads on before and never seen the warning light but it’s on now and says I’ve exceeded my payload and the airbags cannot complete the leveling program. I’ve discovered that the factory airbag system deletes the overload springs and possible maybe even one of the main leafs. My question is can I add and extra leaf or should I replace the entire leafpack with a heavier duty setup. It gets it real close to level but I still need to add some hitch weight to this as well. I know I’m over weight but I just need to know the answers. Anyone got some insight?

 

[gimmie11s]

[mod cleanup: removed confusing 2500 air suspension posts and quotes and split threads]

In your case, with the OEM air assist 3500, I would start with a set of these and adjust them to get you level. Not sure if this will cure your issue, but I'd start there.... minimum investment.

2014-2023+ RAM 2500/3500 Adjustable Air Suspension Links For Lifting

These easy-to-install kits quickly replace the stock rear sensor arms to Billet Aluminum Fully Adjustable Sensor Links. With these links you can safely adjust the stock ride height by up to 2.5

www.revelperformance.com

 

[JasonGaley]

In your case, with the OEM air assist 3500, I would start with a set of these and adjust them to get you level. Not sure if this will cure your issue, but I'd start there.... minimum investment.

2014-2023+ RAM 2500/3500 Adjustable Air Suspension Links For Lifting

These easy-to-install kits quickly replace the stock rear sensor arms to Billet Aluminum Fully Adjustable Sensor Links. With these links you can safely adjust the stock ride height by up to 2.5

www.revelperformance.com

Look at that! This is what I was kind of looking for and couldn’t find. I assume they’re easy to remove and swap around? I only need it when the camper is loaded I would think. Do you know if a sway bar can be installed with the factory airbags still?

 

[gimmie11s]

Look at that! This is what I was kind of looking for and couldn’t find. I assume they’re easy to remove and swap around? I only need it when the camper is loaded I would think. Do you know if a sway bar can be installed with the factory airbags still?

They are definitely easy to use. I have a set on my DRW. It will take several tries/adjustments to get them just right, but they do work as advertised.

Im not sure on the sway bar... would have to do some digging to see if it would fit. I'd imagine so.

 

[AH64ID]

Sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else. Just bought a truck camper for my 2017 3500 ram diesel with factory airbag leveling. I’ve had some heavy loads on before and never seen the warning light but it’s on now and says I’ve exceeded my payload and the airbags cannot complete the leveling program. I’ve discovered that the factory airbag system deletes the overload springs and possible maybe even one of the main leafs. My question is can I add and extra leaf or should I replace the entire leafpack with a heavier duty setup. It gets it real close to level but I still need to add some hitch weight to this as well. I know I’m over weight but I just need to know the answers. Anyone got some insight?

SRW or DRW?

Have you weighed your setup? The 3500 isn’t known for giving an overload indication easily.

Are you using alternate ride height?

There are still overloads, rather large ones, but you must be in alternate ride height to use them. They are lower overloads, not upper overloads like the DRW with standard springs has.

The main leaf pack is completely different than the standard spring pack.

 

[JasonGaley]

SRW or DRW?

Have you weighed your setup? The 3500 isn’t known for giving an overload indication easily.

Are you using alternate ride height?

There are still overloads, rather large ones, but you must be in alternate ride height to use them. They are lower overloads, not upper overloads like the DRW with standard springs has.

The main leaf pack is completely different than the standard spring pack.

SRW short box. I’ve had some very large loads in it before and this is the first I’ve seen this warning light. I had to Google what it meant even. I haven’t weighed my set up yet as I just put the camper on a couple days ago, but the camper is dry, like I mean no fluids and not a single thing in it. The truck had a large load on it, like near to max GVW, for work for about 50000 miles. I’m wondering if the leaf pack has weakened maybe. I’ll probably look at replacing the leaf pack with a little heavier ones and probably go to that adjustable leveler link thing and see what happens.

 

[JasonGaley]

SRW short box. I’ve had some very large loads in it before and this is the first I’ve seen this warning light. I had to Google what it meant even. I haven’t weighed my set up yet as I just put the camper on a couple days ago, but the camper is dry, like I mean no fluids and not a single thing in it. The truck had a large load on it, like near to max GVW, for work for about 50000 miles. I’m wondering if the leaf pack has weakened maybe. I’ll probably look at replacing the leaf pack with a little heavier ones and probably go to that adjustable leveler link thing and see what happens.

Oh and I didn’t try alternative height. I was worried if I did that it might not stop bleeding the air and then maybe wouldn’t pump up again. But I do see the lower overloads you mentioned. I wonder if I could put a bigger bump stop on those to?

 

[AH64ID]

SRW short box. I’ve had some very large loads in it before and this is the first I’ve seen this warning light. I had to Google what it meant even. I haven’t weighed my set up yet as I just put the camper on a couple days ago, but the camper is dry, like I mean no fluids and not a single thing in it. The truck had a large load on it, like near to max GVW, for work for about 50000 miles. I’m wondering if the leaf pack has weakened maybe. I’ll probably look at replacing the leaf pack with a little heavier ones and probably go to that adjustable leveler link thing and see what happens.

The simplest answer is your camper is far heavier than you think, and unless you’ve upgraded the wheels/tires they are overloaded.

Most the payload weight is supported by the airbags in this setup, so the springs fatigue much less than a standard spring suspension.

You have the same suspension as a DRW, with a 9,750# RAWR, nothing should need to be upgraded.

Oh and I didn’t try alternative height. I was worried if I did that it might not stop bleeding the air and then maybe wouldn’t pump up again. But I do see the lower overloads you mentioned. I wonder if I could put a bigger bump stop on those to?

Just engage alternate ride height, by staying in normal ride height you at requiring all the payload to be supported but the airbags and that’s part of why you’re getting the overload message.

By dropping into alternate ride height the overloads will support a lot of the payload and the bags will support less.

I also wouldn’t try the adjustable ride height arms until you try alternate ride height AND weight your truck.

I have a feeling you’re going to be quite shocked at what your RAW is.

 

[JasonGaley]

The simplest answer is your camper is far heavier than you think, and unless you’ve upgraded the wheels/tires they are overloaded.

Most the payload weight is supported by the airbags in this setup, so the springs fatigue much less than a standard spring suspension.



Just engage alternate ride height, by staying in normal ride height you at requiring all the payload to be supported but the airbags and that’s part of why you’re getting the overload message.

By dropping into alternate ride height the overloads will support a lot of the payload and the bags will support less.

I also wouldn’t try the adjustable ride height arms until you try alternate ride height AND weight your truck.

I have a feeling you’re going to be quite shocked at what your RAW is.

I’ll definitely weigh it and I’m sure you’re right that I’m at the limit of weight. It’s an AF811 so it’s definitely heavy but the guy I bought it from had the same truck, minus the OEM airbags, and he also pulled a cargo trailer with a couple bikes and gear in it. I know he was overweight as well but there is room for error if set up correctly. I’ll have to upgrade the rims and tires for sure. They are 10 ply but 12 ply are pretty common now so next set will be 12 ply.

 

[AH64ID]

I’ll definitely weigh it and I’m sure you’re right that I’m at the limit of weight. It’s an AF811 so it’s definitely heavy but the guy I bought it from had the same truck, minus the OEM airbags, and he also pulled a cargo trailer with a couple bikes and gear in it. I know he was overweight as well but there is room for error if set up correctly. I’ll have to upgrade the rims and tires for sure. They are 10 ply but 12 ply are pretty common now so next set will be 12 ply.

Many of the 12 ply tires don’t really increase the load index, which is what matters.

Get it weighed at see what you need for wheels and tires, but 19.5’s probably aren’t out of the question.

 

[JasonGaley]

Many of the 12 ply tires don’t really increase the load index, which is what matters.

Get it weighed at see what you need for wheels and tires, but 19.5’s probably aren’t out of the question.

I know the 12 ply won’t change much but I can run higher tire air pressure at least, my tire shop recommends 80 psi in the rear and my 10 ply rating is only got to 65 psi. My 2022 Ram requires 80 psi according the air pressures required on the door label, I can only find 12 ply in the tires I like to run that will take 80 psi.

So when that warning light comes on you cannot engage alternative ride height, you’re completely locked out of it. I had to lift the camper a bit to take some weight off and then engage the alternative ride height. It lowered but still didn’t sit right down in the lower overloads but the warning light did go away. It rides quite well now but I’d like to add a sway bar and possibly something else to beef up the suspension a bit more, maybe change the bump stop on the lower overload might be enough to completely engage them, if that’s possible? I did scale the unit and I am definitely over the RAW limit by nearly 800lbs. I haven’t even put any gear in the camper yet. I’ll have to be sparing on the gear.

 

[AH64ID]

I know the 12 ply won’t change much but I can run higher tire air pressure at least, my tire shop recommends 80 psi in the rear and my 10 ply rating is only got to 65 psi. My 2022 Ram requires 80 psi according the air pressures required on the door label, I can only find 12 ply in the tires I like to run that will take 80 psi.

What size tire are you running?

So when that warning light comes on you cannot engage alternative ride height, you’re completely locked out of it. I had to lift the camper a bit to take some weight off and then engage the alternative ride height. It lowered but still didn’t sit right down in the lower overloads but the warning light did go away. It rides quite well now but I’d like to add a sway bar and possibly something else to beef up the suspension a bit more, maybe change the bump stop on the lower overload might be enough to completely engage them, if that’s possible? I did scale the unit and I am definitely over the RAW limit by nearly 800lbs. I haven’t even put any gear in the camper yet. I’ll have to be sparing on the gear.

I’m not sure why it didn’t lower onto the overloads, it takes less than an inch of drop to do that.

How much space was between the bumpers and the main leaves?

 

[JasonGaley]

What size tire are you running?


I’m not sure why it didn’t lower onto the overloads, it takes less than an inch of drop to do that.

How much space was between the bumpers and the main leaves?

 

[JasonGaley]

Tire size is 35x12.5x20. I know I know that’s probably too big for a camper truck but it’s only a camper truck 20 days a year. It’s my main vehicle for the other 344 days lol.
I’ll take a pic tomorrow of my bump stop but there’s probably close to 3/8” gap still while it’s loaded. But my bump stop looks way smaller and thinner than yours. What year is that on, maybe something changed?

 

[superjoe83]

I was thinking that the DRW auto level trucks have the same leaf pack as the srw auto level trucks so the max load must be in programming. I looked at alfaobd and there is an option to select srw or drw under the ASCM settings. I wonder if that setting could be changed to DRW to raise the load limits? It may not be possible but it was a thought I had.

 

[AH64ID]

I was thinking that the DRW auto level trucks have the same leaf pack as the srw auto level trucks so the max load must be in programming. I looked at alfaobd and there is an option to select srw or drw under the ASCM settings. I wonder if that setting could be changed to DRW to raise the load limits? It may not be possible but it was a thought I had.

View attachment 77011

It is the same suspension, so likely there is a setting difference. @Jimmy07 might know

Tire size is 35x12.5x20. I know I know that’s probably too big for a camper truck but it’s only a camper truck 20 days a year. It’s my main vehicle for the other 344 days lol.
I’ll take a pic tomorrow of my bump stop but there’s probably close to 3/8” gap still while it’s loaded. But my bump stop looks way smaller and thinner than yours. What year is that on, maybe something changed?

Ah, yeah that’s why the LRE is only a 65 psi tire.

That’s off my 2022, but dads 2017 and my 2018 were the same.

What’s the gap empty in normal ride height?

 

[Jimmy07]

I was thinking that the DRW auto level trucks have the same leaf pack as the srw auto level trucks so the max load must be in programming. I looked at alfaobd and there is an option to select srw or drw under the ASCM settings. I wonder if that setting could be changed to DRW to raise the load limits? It may not be possible but it was a thought I had.

View attachment 77011

It would probably be the vehicle line in the BCM that the ASCM looks for to determine that. But changing the vehicle line could have other consequences too.

 

[JasonGaley]

when I first managed to drop into alt trailer height it didn’t sit on the bump stops. But it has settled onto them now. And the bump stops are the same as posted so I guess it’s all normal. Torklift makes a device called StableLoad to replace the bump stops and activate the overloads sooner but says they won’t work with factory airbags because there is no lower overload……am I wrong here or doesn’t this look like it would work on my truck?

 

[AH64ID]

You do not want to use those on your truck.

You don’t need to engage them sooner, you just need to use alt ride height when loaded.

What is the gap between the bumper and spring in normal ride height?

 

[JasonGaley]

You do not want to use those on your truck.

You don’t need to engage them sooner, you just need to use alt ride height when loaded.

What is the gap between the bumper and spring in normal ride height?

I’m not real sure what the gap is prior. I never paid attention to them until I put the camper on. I’ll be removing the camper in the next day or two so I will check then. I think it was around an inch before I put in alt height mode but it already had the camper on at that point and failed to raise it to full height when the warning light came on.

If it’s the same spring pack as a DRW then we know it’s capable of taking the extra weight, just because of the SRW they de-rate the max GVWR for DOT purposes. What is the difference between SRW and DRW max GVWR, 1600 lbs? All that extra weight must be in the RAW I would assume.