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2,000-lb Capacity. Convert your vehicle's leaf springs into a mechanically active suspension system. RAS adjusts to your load to level your ride. The system also increases stability, handling, and control by improving traction and reducing sway.
Features:
Specs:
All-In-One Suspension System
When towing or hauling a heavy load, you may encounter a number of problems that can make your driving experience difficult or dangerous, such as sway, body roll, or bottoming out. When your vehicle is weighted down, your factory leaf springs can't counteract these problems to the extent that they are supposed to. The weight will overpower the leaf springs and cause them to twist or flatten out. When that happens, they cannot support, level, or stabilize your vehicle effectively. Additionally, because your factory leaf springs are passive, they won't begin to tackle problems such as sway until those problems have already started.
Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) kits enhance those passive leaf springs by converting them into a mechanically active, all-in-one suspension system. RAS kits have variable-rated coil tension springs that automatically adjust to your heavy load. Other suspension systems only solve a few problems and usually at the expense of other improvements your factory leaf springs may need. RAS, on the other hand, is a unique kit that provides everything you want in a suspension system without any trade-offs. It eliminates bottoming out like air springs, reduces sway and body roll like sway bars, keeps your ride level like helper springs, and improves traction and braking control like traction bars. This improves your vehicle's stability, handling, and control while you are towing or hauling, as well as when your vehicle is unloaded. RAS also makes your overall driving and towing experience safer and more comfortable, which greatly lessens driver fatigue.
Each RAS unit has a powerful variable-rated coil tension spring that converts your passive leaf spring into a mechanically-active system. Once your vehicle is loaded, the tension springs immediately activate to absorb and support the weight. This allows your leaf springs to maintain their bowed position and keeps them from flattening out or flipping over, which greatly hinders their ability to bear a heavy load. The tension springs are variable-rated, which means that the heavier your load is, the more assistance they provide to your leaf springs. Because of this design, RAS reacts instantaneously, whereas hydraulics, air springs, and other suspension systems take time to react. And unlike your factory leaf springs, RAS stops sway and sag before they even start to happen. Additionally, when your vehicle is unloaded, the tension springs disengage, allowing your leaf springs to perform as intended without hardening your ride. RAS won't hinder your leaf springs' movement, nor will it cause any friction between any of the brackets.
When under a heavy load, leaf springs are especially susceptible to axle wrap, which can cause wheel hop. Wheel hop is when the tires lose their grip on the road, causing a jarring, up-and-down movement. Axle wrap occurs when the circular motion of the tires cause the leaf springs to twist or rotate. If the leaf springs twist far enough, wheel hop can occur. RAS stabilizes your leaf springs by absorbing the force of the load they're trying to support. This eliminates axle wrap and wheel hop, as well as prevents your vehicle from bottoming out. Because of this, less strain is put on your vehicle. And by reducing some of this wear and tear, RAS helps extend the life of your leaf springs, shock absorbers, shackles, and even tires.
When driving along a curve while towing or hauling a heavy load, the back end of your vehicle or trailer can start to shift with that weight. If your factory leaf springs have flattened or twisted under this load, they won't be able to prevent it from shifting. Because of this, your trailer will sway away from your vehicle. This makes driving challenging and dangerous, as it increases the risk of body roll, which is when your vehicle drastically leans to one side. This can often cause you to completely lose control of your vehicle. Body roll is especially prevalent with multi-passenger vans and vehicles towing long campers, trailers, or boats. RAS provides a much safer ride by reinforcing your factory leaf springs and stabilizing your load. This helps prevent sway from occurring and reduces the chance of body roll while cornering, turning, and swerving. RAS also lessens the rocking motion that happens during windy conditions or when a semi passes by on the road.
When your vehicle is overloaded, the bulk of the weight transfers to the rear axle. Your factory leaf springs then become overwhelmed by this weight, as they are not strong enough to support it. This causes the back end of your vehicle to sag and the front end to rise, which means that the front tires have lost some of the grip they need with the road. In addition to loss of traction, it can also cause poor headlight aim, unintentional swerving, and an extremely bumpy and uncomfortable ride. RAS bolsters your factory leaf springs and enables them to provide support for your load without compromising ride quality or comfort. This keeps your ride level from front to back whether you are hauling a load in the bed or towing a boat, trailer, or camper. RAS also ensures that your tires have the traction they require while braking and accelerating, which improves the overall driving experience.
RAS is also customizable. During installation, the coil tension springs can be adjusted to 2 different tension settings or anywhere in between for improved road handling and support. To do this, rotate the springs while keeping the threaded rod still. As you turn the spring, use one of the 2 included spacers as a gauge to measure the widening gaps between the coils. In order for the RAS units to work as intended, you must tension the coils to a minimum of 25 percent with the 1mm white spacer and no more than 40 percent with the 2mm spacer. The springs can also be independently adjusted to compensate for off-center loads such as a handicap lift.
This custom-fit kit comes fully assembled and is easy to install. Each RAS unit simply bolts onto your factory leaf spring with the included hardware, and drilling, welding, and cutting aren't required. First, position the eye hook bracket so that it wraps around the top of the factory leaf spring eye. Then the axle bracket secures under the leaf spring and around the factory U-bolts on the other side of the leaf spring pack. Once the maintenance-free RAS units are fully installed, you won't need to monitor them as you would with air springs.
RAS is extremely durable and corrosion-resistant. The units are constructed of high-grade alloy steel, and they have an epoxy e-coat on the coil springs to provide extreme corrosion resistance. The brackets on the ends of each unit resist the effects of water and other elements, and they have a salt spray rating of more than 800 hours.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (427 Customer Reviews)
2,000-lb Capacity. Convert your vehicle's leaf springs into a mechanically active suspension system. RAS adjusts to your load to level your ride. The system also increases stability, handling, and control by improving traction and reducing sway.I bought these after seeing them on television. My truck dropped in the back when towing a horse trailer. Ruined my front tires. These kept the truck level with the horse trailer attached and even improved the ride when there was no load. Raised the rear about two inches I think. I highly recommend them.
Install was easy, about one hour and that's mostly because it was cold out.
Put on my F150. Did the job. Great product. Easy install.
It has made a great difference in towing my motorcycle trailer.. lifts like I need for towing, by accepting the extra weight ! It’s easy to make adjustments as needed !!
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Total transformation! I never knew how bad my ride was until I installed these RoadMaster 3611-HD active suspension. It took longer to safely jack my truck up and remove tires than it was to install them! Absolutely a game changer. I carry about 1000 lbs of tools and supplies daily and like riding a Rollercoaster when hitting bumps. Now, i hit bumps on purpose just to feel these RoadMasters work their magic! Love them!
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
I have a 2020 Silverado 1500 6 cyl Duramax with the Diesel Off Road package (3.73 diff). Travel trailer loaded is probably about 6,000 lb. I took several measurements during and after the spring kit installation. All measurements increased about an inch including the stock suspension with trailer and equalizer bars and with the spring kit installed at 1 mm spacing. A one inch improvement overall. I took the truck on a short drive and didn't notice any difference in ride (wasn't stiffer) which is what I wanted. Good to know that I can adjust the springs to the 2 mm spacing if I want to increase the suspension assist. Going camping next week and looking forward to see how it improves handling and porpoising.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Roadmaster active suspension seems to be built very well. I look forward to towing my travel trailer very soon to see if it improves the towing experience.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
The bed of the truck measured 37.5" with a tool box weighing 200 lbs. The truck felt weighed down with passengers weighing 600lbs. Total weight 800lbs with a tank full of gas. After the install the truck rides smoother and certainly " like new". The stopping distance and acceleration distance have shortened drastically. I'm planning on loading up the bed and the Roadmaster Active Suspension RAS4611. My wife even drive it and she could feel the difference. "It drives like a muscle car." Buy it. Install time at a reputable mechanic shop was a 30 min. Install. I received them today at 1 pm and got it installed at 3:00 pm and finished the install at 3:30pm. It's an investment worth the price over traditional air bag system. Mechanic installed this on 2011 Nissan Titan SV.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
This is my 2nd set of RAS! Just purchased for towing in my D-Max 2500HD. 1st set we’re on a Chevy 1500. I tow a 7000lb 259FKDS Freedom Express bumper pull and having the RAS-HD’s installed is night and day difference in towing. I have them set at 40% because of my cargo in the truck bed and tongue weight. I’m set up right now as I type on a 100 mile camping trip to set the springs and readjust if needed! So I say….”if you need support with towing, give RAS3611-HD a try…you won’t be disappointed with the results”
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Just had the roadmaster suspension assist installed today. The ride feels a bit smoother and truck back end feels tighter. Have not had a chance to hook up our 28 foot RV but I will be sure to revisit after. So far I feel good about this purchase
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Night and day difference on our 2011 F150. Before installing the vehicle was almost undrivable at highway speeds due to bouncing/jerking when pulling our trailer. The bounce/jerk has been virtually eliminated since installing the Active Suspension. Installation was a breeze, hardest part was getting the wheels off the truck due to corrosion between the wheel and the rotors. Total install time was roughly 1hr 15 minutes including the stubborn wheels. Initially I was hesitant to order due to the price, but very happy with the results, etrailer also did a great job at guiding me through the process, shipping and answering a few technical questions along the way. Highly recommend if you need a little more spring/payload.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Haven’t got to tow with them on yet. But overall they look and feel like they are great quality and were extremely easy to install. I had one slight hiccup and had to call customer support. I was on the phone and connected to an actually person within a minute, great customer service.
Without a load, my 98 Blazer rides very smooth, only slightly stiffer than stock. Also raised the rear maybe an inch, but not a big deal.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
I love the product since i have a 2021 toyota tacoma crew cab long bed with a campertop a robber mat and a jack thats around 450 pounds that a have at all times my truck was sittind low a lilbit plus it was swagging on the road i have summo spring to help my suspention but it was not enoght so i did my research but this was my better option i just installed it yerterday july-8-2021 and went for a ride where i ussually drive everyday and WOW now my truck rides very smood plus it lift my tryck 1 inch on the back now my tryck seats level it took me about 2 hrs but i did right i just follow the intructions and done i love the product the only thing that im concern is that the left side underneat the springleaft there is a breik line that is too close to the roadmaster suspention i hope that with the time dont hit that line because if it does thats the line for the breiks and i will be in trouble replacing it other wise evreything works great i recomend it 100% thanks guys i will buy it again?????best $500 that i spend on my truck
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Easy to instal on a 2014 F-150 4x4.Used the bump stop spacer even though installation was for 2015-present f-150 4x4. Many thanks to Corin for her help in getting the order sent in a timely manner. The only thing I forgot to do was measure the wheel well height before instal. I used the thicker black disk as I had concerns with tongue weight on the new trailer that I will pickup on Wednesday. Thanks again for the good service.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Silverado 2500HD
Ready to install out of the box. Simply extend the RAS out to become the proper length (shortened for shipping), remove the bolt to allow the fork to drop over the leaf spring and reconnect, hand tighten the assembly via turning the spring and check the "centered alignment", then tighten with a wrench (my socket wouldn't quite fit) until gap disc slips freely between the expanded spring. Took me longer to prep truck on a jack and two axle stands/remove tires for improved accessibility than the actual RAS installations.
Added 1 inch of lift "empty weight". Will see how much squat is removed under load of our travel trailer this weekend!
I'm not very mechanically inclined, and found this very easy to self-install - a level 1 project.
NOTE: etrailer customer service also took their time w/ me over the phone to ensure I had ordered the proper kit for my vehicle, and although my order was sent to the vendor for direct shipment, I got it to Alaska in less than 10 days.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Easy install 2011 Tacoma crewcab long bed. Helped with sag when towing microlite travel trailer. Keeps the rear end raised in the rear a little when unloaded, but I like that look. Only complaint and its nothing big when truck is unhooked and empty when i get out I can hear alittle noise from RAS. Sort of like a bedspring coil. Night pic is with RAS installed daylight pic is with out installed
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
I put these on my 2018 F150 and towed a fully loaded 17' foot cargo trailer from from Washington to Florida through bad weather and even performing some high speed emergency avoidance. I feel that the safety of that trip relied heavily on the positive effects of Roadmaster on my suspension!
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
I found this items cheaper on another site but etrailer match and then beat the price.
Item installed super easy, more work jacking up the truck and taking the tires off. Can be installed with out removing tires just make it easier to get it in. The item did lift the back of my truck 1 inch. See Pics.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
I tow a 31 foot trailer with my 1/2 ton. Before adding this product the sway was still noticeable, especially with 30 to 40 km wind gust, even with a Curt 4 point sway control hitch. After adding this product I noticed significantly lower sway and better towing.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Overall, very happy with the product. GMC didn't have any way to improve the truck from squatting when I hooked up my trailer. This kit didn't stop the squatting but significantly reduced the bounce on bad dips in roads, bridge/road transitions and bad railroad crossings.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Purchased the RAS system to help with some bounce I was encountering when towing my 7500# Airstream, especially on older segmented concrete highways.
The installation is pretty simple with a floor jack and a couple of jack stands. The instructions are easy to follow.
With the RAS set up in the lower range of it’s tension, the problem has disappeared — any oscillation is dampened within a cycle.
2016 Nissan Titan XD with the 5l Cummins diesel
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
etrailer asked if I would review the roadmaster active suspension kit after a year. Ok, I get a lot of junk email but this impressed me. This shows that they are a stand up company.
I purchased this product to help with the sag I was getting at the hitch.
I read a lot of articles and literature about the sagging issues and almost went with an air system as they are described as the end all be all fix. WRONG!
I installed this RAS on my 2018 F150 and the sag was gone. It has never returned. The trailer rides true behind my truck and my truck rides great when I’m not hooked up.
I have max towing capability with my truck from the factory but I pull a 10,000 lb trailer. Lot of concrete grinding equipment, big vacs, generator and I haven’t had any issues at all.
The Roadmaster active suspension works just as advertised. I’m very happy with the purchase and I’ll do it again on my next truck.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
A year later and they still work great! It’s impressive how improved the handling in our 2013 Ford F-150 FX4 even without our 30ft camper on the back. No more spinning shale going up our driveway or sway on highway, these give it a much more planted stance in all applications. Hauling our camper without a major squat or hitting the bump pads is achievable with these units! You will not regret this purchase! I installed them on my own, in my garage along with new Bilstine shocks I purchased online in less than an hour! Great instructional YouTube videos showing proper install. Not a mechanic at all, I work in Sales for ADT Security and drive over 4,000 miles a month.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
Easy install, instant results. I keep about 300lbs of tools in the back of my Ford F250 at all times. Usually when I drive the curvy roads in the San Bernardino Valley my truck leans and its not a very fun drive. Today after installation I went for a drive and the truck stayed level and flat during the turns. I also tow 7,000lbs regularly - but I haven't tested it towing yet. Money well spent.
Review from a similar RAS in Vehicle Suspension
This should be a legally required safety item for all half-ton trucks towing heavy trailers. I tow a 31 foot camper at about 8000 pounds loaded. That’s just a guesstimate. It could be more, but it’s well within the limits established by the manufacturer. Even with the anti-sway hitch the truck, a 2018 F150 twin turbo V6, would squat a few inches so that the back of the truck and the front of the trailer would dip down and neither would be level. I tried tightening up the resistance on the sway bars to no avail. I thought about getting a different shank that would raise up the ball hitch and trailer, but this would not have fixed half the problem. You have to get your truck level so that your steering wheels are firmly planted on the pavement.
Interestingly, before I got the truck we towed with my wife’s Lexus LX570. It’s the big V8 and did ok, but we needed the longer wheelbase of the truck for the towing. But one thing the F150 did not have that the Lexus did have was auto-leveling airbag suspension. So this squatting problem was a new one when moving from the Lexus to the F150.
So I wasn’t going to pay big money to add auto-leveling airbag suspension to the F150. I looked at Timbrens, but the RAS seemed to be much better. I did not like the idea of having to endure x amount of squat before the devices began to work. RAS starts to work as soon as the load is applied.
Installation was easy. Instructions were good. The most difficult part was getting the truck off the ground. A good floor jack and jack stands are an absolute must.
Now with RAS installed, the trailer is level, and most importantly, the truck is level. Steering is now as responsive as it is when not towing the trailer. No more white knuckling. I can go 80 mph if I want to. If the wind catches me, and there’s no cure for that, I remain in control and needed corrections are minimal. Bumps are even less bumpy. I remember my head used to pop back and hit the headrest, but that does not happen anymore.
Without towing and/or with no load in the bed of the truck, I can tell no difference in how the truck handles. The rake is a little more pronounced, but that’s ok with me. I bought the truck to tow.
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