Best rear suspension helper springs for your Silverado 1500

Looking for a rear helper spring to install on your Silverado 1500 suspension? Find out whether or not your truck will need suspension upgrades, and if so, which ones are best for your truck.

What are helper springs?

An upgrade for a truck suspension could mean a number of things such as:

• A complete modification (mod) of the shocks, struts, sleeves, springs, mounts, and the truck’s ability to raise or lower the body of the truck.

• The addition of off-road bump stops to help soften and stabilize the ride.

• The addition of helper springs to increase spring capacity.

Whether you have a truck that goes off-road and needs off-road bump stops or your truck requires helper springs to assist with towing and hauling, Timbren Industries has a quality product to meet your individual needs. 

Today, we’re going to focus on helper springs that assist with towing and hauling by *increasing spring capacity. One of the products that we recommend are Timbren SES suspension upgrades. 

Why would my Silverado 1500 need helper springs?

Here’s what you should know about half-tons: Light-duty, half-ton Silverado’s aren’t designed to carry heavier loads – even though you expect them to. 

Okay. So why is that?

The trucks of today are designed to ride like a Cadillac. They’re designed to look sexy, offering all the bells and whistles of a luxury car. And that includes the nice, soft, Cadillac ride! 

But when you soften the ride of a truck, it comes at a price: reduced carrying capacity.

If you load 2,000 lbs onto the bed of your half-ton truck, you haven’t necessarily overloaded it. But if you back away from the truck about 10 feet and look at it from the side, you will notice that the back is sagging. And this will only get worse as you continue to load it up day after day, year after year.

Here’s the thing: your truck should remain level even when loaded. Sag and squat is a recipe for disaster, especially when you’re towing a trailer.

If you’re driving around in your Silverado 1500 every day without a load, you won’t need helper springs. But if you’re loading it up to the gills or towing a trailer causing the rear of the truck to sag, you will definitely need to increase its spring *capacity. One of the products that we recommend are Timbren SES suspension upgrades.

*Note: Increasing your truck’s spring capacity does not increase the GVWR set by the manufacturer. In other words, you must stay within the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating – the maximum weight a vehicle is designed to carry – which includes the net weight of the vehicle with accessories, plus the weight of passengers, fuel, and cargo.)

Where is the best place to install suspension helper springs?

If you have no tools or skills related to modifying a truck’s suspension, we recommend that you have your suspension upgrades installed by a professional. Because if they’re not installed properly, you could lose control of your vehicle. 

If, on the other hand, you have the tools and the skills to modify the suspension, you only need to know where the helper springs are supposed to be installed. 

The best place to install a suspension upgrade under your truck is somewhere between the frame and the axle (assuming your truck has factory leaf springs). One of the helper springs we recommend are Timbren SES suspension upgrades. On your 2023 Silverado 1500, part # GMRS15 replaces the factory bump stops on the frame.

What are the best suspension helpers for my Silverado 1500?

Here are three of the most popular suspension helper springs on the market today:

• Add-a-leaf
• Air bags
• Timbren SES

Let’s compare and see which one is best:

Add-a-leaf products (like SuperSprings) help to level the load. Unfortunately, they cost about $600.00 US for the pair. And they’re capacity is limited to approximately 4,000 lbs additional.

Air bag products (like Air-Lift) help to level the load but they’re expensive, costing anywhere from $1,000 - $1,500. And their capacity is limited to approximately 4,000 lbs additional.

Now let’s compare Timbren SES suspension upgrades with SuperSprings and Air-Lift…

Timbren SES - part # GMRS15 - retails for approximately $300.00 and provides up to 6,000 lbs of additional capacity. Without question, we recommend Timbren SES suspension upgrades for your GMC Sierra.

Why are Timbren SES helper springs your best choice?

Above, we compared Add-a-leaf products & Air bags to Timbren SES suspension upgrades. 

So, which one of the three is best? 

A quick observation suggests that Timbren SES products have the best price and the most capacity. And if you were to take a closer look, you’d notice that Timbren SES wins big points for:

• best ride quality loaded or unloaded
• best added stability
• best warranty

So, just in case you missed it, we highly recommend Timbren SES suspension upgrades for your Silverado 1500.

Think about it: Timbren SES products have been around for over 50 years and are still the best and smartest choice hands down! 

“Whether we’re towing with our Nissan Titan or our Toyota Tundra, our Timbren SES kit has been a game changer. Reduced all sag in the rear plus helps the tow rigs gain maximum control. Over a year with SES and we would never go back.”  @ClicOutdoor