Here’s an overview of the key differences between the steel SuperSprings helper spring and the SumoSprings airbag alternative. This will give you a better idea of what’s best for your particular application or build.

SuperSprings are a bolt-on steel helper spring designed to add spring rate to your existing leaf pack. This is our namesake product and it’s what we started with back in 1996 when we began our U.S. operations. This is the helper spring built as an alternative to adding a leaf to your spring pack.

The design of the SuperSprings eliminates sag and helps reduce body roll. What makes SuperSprings unique is the patented roller bolt design. This creates a self-adjusting feature to the SuperSprings and helps in situations where the weight can vary.

For example, a pest control or salt spreader truck has a heavy load at the beginning of the day. Yet, as the day goes on and the work is completed, that vehicle’s weight changes. As the weight adjust, SuperSprings adjust with it.

Instead of breaking apart a spring pack and adding another leaf, this solution is a bolt-on, zero maintenance, high-grade steel solution that comes with a lifetime warranty.

This product line is a totally different animal. SumoSprings are not rubber and they’re not airbags. This is the airbag alternative that is made from micro cellular polyurethane. Consequently, these suspension upgrade never requires any lines, compressors, or maintenance. This is a fit it and forget it solution that comes with a lifetime warranty.

Because SumoSprings aren’t rubber they perform differently. Unlike rubber or air suspension solutions, SumoSprings have a progressive spring rate. This upgrade installs where your factory bump stops live and is engineered to make contact with your vehicles frame much sooner. This design provides load support reduces body roll, and helps stop rear end sag on your truck, SUV, or motorhome. SumoSprings have been tested to show that they reduce vibration on the vehicle by at least 68% on average.

For a more in-depth look at the SumoSprings check out the post on SumoSprings colors and SumoSprings vs airbags vs bump stops.

Let’s look at some example applications of SumoSprings vs SuperSprings and where each one works best. This is what will help you decide which one is right for you, and in some cases when you might need both.

A lot of our customers are in the work truck industry – for example Royal Truck Body builds out heavy work trucks that need constant load support. Check out the story on Royal using SuperSprings. With companies building truck fleets that add cranes, booms, and other heavy equipment there’s a need to add the SuperSprings add a leaf alternative helper spring.

It’s also the case with heavy on-sided applications, from trucks with a boom on one side or a Class A motorhome with a heavy one-sided slide out. These builds benefit greatly from the constant load support of the SuperSpring.

In most recreational situations however, your vehicles not constantly loaded. Whether you have an overland rig like a Tacoma, a Class B van like the Travato, a truck and trailer for camping, or a Class A F53 motorhome, SumoSprings make the journey better.

Let’s take the example of the truck and trailer. Having Coil SumoSprings on the front, SumoSprings for towing in the rear, and Trailer SumoSprings on the trailer provide full driving support. Additionally, SumoSprings are designed to work with your factory suspension so that when your truck isn’t loaded or towing, you unloaded ride is as good as it was from the factory.

Remember to always consider constant load versus variable load. Generally speaking, SuperSprings are designed for constant load applications while SumoSprings work best in variable load applications. The negative impact of adding SuperSprings to vehicle that’s mostly unloaded is a harsher ride.

There’s a few instances where using both SumoSprings and SuperSprings together is the best solution. This is most often seen in RV applications. A couple of examples would include the RAM ProMaster and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Class B or C van builds. We’ve see this be particularly successful with NoMadderWhereVan on their ProMaster and MatthersOnTheMap on their Sprinter.