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I put these on my 98 F150. They helped with trailer sway but honestly the negatives outweighed the positives. I would not install them again. I rode with them for about eighty thousand miles. They achieved my objectives for hauling heavier loads but honestly unloaded they kind of screwed the truck's ride up. I would not put them on a modern truck. If I had it to do over again I would install heavier leaf springs.
I put these on my 98 F150. They helped with trailer sway but honestly the negatives outweighed the positives. I would not install them again. I rode with them for about eighty thousand miles. They achieved my objectives for hauling heavier loads but honestly unloaded they kind of screwed the truck's ride up. I would not put them on a modern truck. If I had it to do over again I would install heavier leaf springs.
Appreciate your honest feedback, I wish I would have had the chance to talk to you when you still had it on your truck! I'm glad you brought up the unloaded ride quality as it underscores the importance of finding the right tension setting for each individual truck. One of the biggest compliments we get every day is the unexpected performance boost and unloaded ride quality, which I have also seen many owners on the F150 forum attest to.
One of the benefits of the RAS is the wide range of adjustability on the initial installation, according to the truck and application. Once you get that tension level set and find that happy medium, you should never need to make another readjustment as it will not stiffen or hard the ride. Having said that...An older model F150 leaf spring will react differently to the same tension setting as, for instance a newer 14' or 15' leaf spring set at that exact same tension setting(for several reasons). If you were to for instance, take a RAS spring size designed for an F150/F250 and put it on a Ranger, the outcome would be very similar the experience of your truck as the leaf spring pack is much lighter on that Ranger.(the reason we offer smaller springs) In the same thought; springs are typically aged and become worn on trucks several years old, too much tension on that aged spring = lost unloaded ride quality. Good tension setting will give you the best of both worlds with enough support when loaded and good ride quality, unloaded.
The ride quality somebody should experience when tension is set at the right level for particular truck is, as it's been told to me by a customer; "my wife loves it too because it helps my truck hug the road much better and takes a lot of the bounce out". Something anybody would be hard pressed to find with any other suspension upgrade.
Last edited by Roadmaster; 11-17-2015 at 05:11 PM.
Thank you for the reply. I just sold that truck two months ago. I honestly think Ford under built the suspension on the 1998 4.2 liter 4x4 XLT. The Roadmaster suspension was me trying to band aid a weak suspension. It did what i wanted it to do, there were just consequences on the other side.
Yea I have them on my 05 at a max setting of 3mm adjustment and by no means does it effect the ride if anything like jimmy said it really helps the handling it flys around curves like its glued to the road, I'm a roadmaster dealer but I have a few customers I've installed them on and they both love it one 11 ecoboost f150 and a 04 Dodge Ram 4 door with 8 feet bed and he flat loads the truck and loves them, I've got to get a set for my 15 f150 as it feels bouncy not planted like the 05
Installed the roadmaster active suspension on my 2014 ecoboost 157" WB in hopes of reducing the axel wrap on takeoff. Installation took an hour, the hardest part was jacking up the truck but the kit took 10 minutes per side.
All in all the kit worked! the shudder is 95% gone, it also raised the back end about an inch.
11-16-2015, 10:42 PM
