Timbren Spring Helpers - Review With Pics

This is my truck. I live in a very rural area on a property with a dug well. Dug wells are not known for their copious water supply capability. I have dozens of new trees on my property to water, and a 20x40 inground pool to maintain and have need for lots of water during the dry summer months.



This tank, which is empty in this photo, can hold 125 gallons. That is over 1200lbs not including the weight of the tank and the wood blocks holding it in place. Add in the driver and pretty soon I am exceeding the payload capacity of my 2005 V6 4x4 6-speed.

I don't have very far to go, but it is not a pleasant ride down there on the bump stops. So in May of 2008 I bought and installed the Timbren spring helpers. If I remember correctly, they were around $200.

http://www.timbren.com/

These Timbren rubber bumpers replace the small little rubber bump stops that are mounted to the springs.



They are not difficult to install. An impact would work best to loosen the U-bolts that hold the springs to the axle. The bump stop is held on top of the springs by the U-bolts. I used a breaker bar to loosen the nuts. They weren't all rusted on my 4-year old truck. I can probably thank my regular undercoating for that!

BTW, this truck has not had the TSB done to it. I was out of warranty when that came out. Here is the L/S Timbren mounted on the truck.




Pulling out of my garage, I could tell these were not for me. There is a one to two inch drop from my garage floor to the gravel of my driveway. When the rear dropped off the concrete, it felt like I bottomed the truck out. I could feel the rubber bumpers hit the frame.

Not nice. But I decided to ride with them on for the season to see how they ride. Perhaps they will soften up with use.

I took that "before" pic up top in hopes of getting an "after" shot with the tank full of water. But it never happened. There was noticeable sag, but definitely better that stock. Ride was better fully loaded that stock also. The Timbrens were nice and cushy. I probably hauled a couple dozen tankfuls all year.

It was unladen that left me with the negative impression. That first harsh "bang" of the Timbrens striking the frame never softened, nor did it ever become less jarring.

Now, just mild humps in the road made the truck bottom out with a crude thump. Actual bumps caused the Timbrens to kick the frame with a solid whack. The springy Timbren then sent the ass end of the truck flying up high into the air.

Driving on any road that was not glass smooth was a never ending series of bangs and flying "bitch-in-heat" ass in the air suspension extensions. Good thing I ride my bikes most of the time in the summer.

I grew to hate the things and knew they had to come off. One of my last rides with the things was a situation I was glad to have them:




Here I am hauling a travel trailer from London, Ontario to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the MotoGP race in September. This rig had the weight distributing hitch and anti-sway bar. Truck worked beautifully BTW, even in high cross winds. For anything this size, the weight distributing hitch is a must. So is a brake controller of course. The ass end rested on the Timbrens and the ride was excellent.

But once back home and unladen, there was the "boing" and "bounce." When it came time to put on the winter tires, I went right back to the stock bumpers. Ahhh, my gentleman's ride is back.

This is not my solution to my weight hauling needs. Perhaps the Firestone air suspension helpers that can be deflated when not being used might work better for me. In the meantime, I am examining my options. Perhaps I need to purchase the TSB springs and shocks and just do the TSB in my garage!

Anyone want to try these Timbrens? I will be moving them down the road...in a shipping box!

 

Great write up! Do you have your well water tested? I work for a water well drilling company. Dug wells are not good IMO, surface run off contains all sorts of contamination.

 

i recently put these on my dads truck, double checked all part numbers and they also made contact, i know what you mean with the harsh thump

 

Id do some air rides with a small compressor then you just fill them when you need the extra support!

 

Yep, I get the water tested. Our system has a 20 inch five micron sediment filter first, then the Trojan UV light, then the water softener. Works great.

 

Good to hear, those UV "filters" are great!

 

Excellent write-up and the #1 reason why I didn't go with helper springs or AAL's. They definitely stiffen up the ride when you're unloaded or not towing. Instead I added a set of Roadmaster Active Suspension springs to my truck to help with the bit of sag I was getting when towing a trailer similar in size to the one you have in your picture. It's 26' long and about 5000# or so loaded. The Roadmaster system is great IMO and actually helped soften the ride when unloaded. I don't even really know they're on.

http://www.activesuspension.com/home.html