Softening the Ride

I will be lowering my truck 3 and 5 but i need to retain the trucks work capabilities. My question is, can i soften the ride with replacement springs of a much lower rate, install stiffer or adjustable shocks and then use airbags to recover all of the weight carring ability that I lost with the softer springs?
My goal is to have springs that are just stiff enough to maintain the unloaded ride height and then add air to compensate for all extra weight. I know it will never ride like a BMW 750, but i want to improve the ride and handeling unloaded as much as possible without comprimising her main purpose, which is work. And without replacing the stock suspension system beyond springs, shocks, and sway bars.

What are some good sources for softer springs and stiffer and adjustable shocks? Its a 93 F-350 2wd diesel dually crew cab long box.


Thanks

do a 3/5 drop and keep your springs and your towing capacity the same as it is right now.

you could add helper bags in the rear for added load, but a 3/5 drop is pretty standard.

Thanks for your input. Lowering it will be a start, but in my experience with cars, only lowering will actually stiffen the ride. I'm looking to improve ride quality as much as i can too.

i have a 5/7 on my chevy dually, and i have tow bags on it, i just keep air in the bags to keep the truck from actually riding on the leafs.. makes a world of difference in ride quality.

Domer, how is your suspension set up? Are you riding on the air bags at all times and the factory leafs are on a shackle or swivel of some sort that ends up as being overload springs?

I don't have the upper overload spring pack anymore. I just have the regular leaf pack with my airbags over the leafs. Then I just put enough air in them to keep the trucks weight off them and on the bags... I hope it makes sense...

well you are not lowering a car.

3 inch spindles and a flip kit, and your using the same shocks, and same springs..=same exact ride you have now.

a 1 inch lowering spring wont change the ride at all, and now you are at 4 inches in the front.

how low do you want to go?

The 3 or 4 front and 5 rear drop is plenty. That lowers it enough that my elderly mother and my young niece and nephew can get in and out easily while leaving it high enough for driving across a field when I need to.
My main objective in suspension mods is improving ride quality while not sacrificing load carrying capability. At the end of the day, my dually is a work truck first. The way it rides right now is fine on small bumps but driving over anything more than a wide road seam is a bone jaring event. I weigh 205 and when i jump in the bed the truck barely moves. Literally less than 1 1/2". Great for hauling weight but brutal when unloaded. And at least half its time will be unloaded.

Ok now we are getting somewhere.
If you can post a pic of your rear leaf spring pack, there usually are a couple of leafs you can remove which will help out the ride a lot.
And being you are lowering it for more function then

I will snap some pics in the morning. With a multilink setup at the rear, it sounds like i would have the ability to control both height and load capacity across a pretty wide range. Maybe higher that it sits now and lower than might be reasonable to drive, so maybe lower the tailgate down to make loading a little easier. Is that the right impression?

What about the front? I know the height control won't be as wide of a range due to I-beam travel limits and suspension geometry, but is there an equally reliable way to assist the front springs, or a way to replace the springs with an air system without comprimising reliability? I'm willing to wait till I have the money to do it right instead of just hack-n-slash.

It sounds like this may get pricey, so quality is even more important. I only want to do this once. Who makes the better setups in the light of durability and reliability for a vehicle that has to work?

Sorry for all the questions but I get the impression from my searches that an F-350 this old is not a real popular platform for mods like this. The 150 and 250 are much better supported.

Thanks
Keith HP