2015 Ram 3500 factory air ride suspension

I care as much about how it rides empty as I do about how much it can haul. The way I use the truck it's driven unloaded more than loaded. That's why I am considering waiting for the new suspension.

I cannot think of a single successful effort to make trucks ride like cars and not reduce their effectiveness as trucks. This includes the coil springs used on the Chevy trucks in the 60's and 70's, the Ford Expeditions mushy suspensions that made them terrible tow vehicles, the Land Rover air suspensions that need frequent and expensive repairing.

I would not want to be a Ram guinea pig. It really make little sense to have a 1-ton truck that rides like a car. I have two cars that ride like cars and my truck is for heavy hauling. I only care about how the truck rides and handles with a full load in the bed.

There are 2 options on the 2500, a link coil suspension and a full air suspension. On the air suspension model there are no coil's, they are replaced with airbags.

The 3500 is assisted, pretty much airbags with much a softer monoleaf spring and no overloads. The bulk of the weight will be on the bags, the spring is more of a placement thing from what I can tell.

Interesting...

We run air suspension. It works for a number of reasons. First, when we're running lighter weight (as with a standard camper) or worse yet, empty, the truck is still smooth. I have a work truck that is loaded (13k constant on the back axle, +/- 1k at any given time) with spring suspension. It's smooth as can be going down the road. Literally, you can put a coffee cup on the back rail and it won't spill a drop. Empty it, and it's the buck board from hell.

Our rig with camper is about 16k I think. Load up one of the heavy trailers and fill the camper, and the rear adjusts without a note. Truck always stays level.

Get to the camp site; drop the bags, and the camper becomes pretty rock solid even before the out riggers go down.

Other advantages are switching trailers (dump the bags...heck with using the jack) and sway. Between the bags and the monster sway bar, the thing rides as well as any I've been in, and we sit taller than most (just over 12'6"), and most definitely heavier than most.

Disadvantages?? None really.

I'm not sure I'd stick a full air ride on a p/u though. 350's ride ok stock, and 250's ride like a car. And neither can carry very much weight anyhow, so I don't see the gain. Watching the video, he calls it a "link coil rear suspension" and then later "a true air suspension" for the 2500. Can't have both, so not sure what smoke they're blowing. And the 3500 is 'assisted', which reads the same as air bags. I read this as 'marketing'. It's ok and all, but it's not an 'air suspension'.

I'm a fan though. Wouldn't go back.

2BLAZERS wrote:
I'm not so sure we'll ever see a ''camper option'' from FIAT/RAM. TC are such a small small percentage of the users we might not be on their radar in Italy.

In three years or so it will really matter for me. That will be new truck time. Might go with a Ram 4500 flatbed.

I'm surprised Ford still offers a Camper Package option. Plus they offer up a lot of info in their builder guide about hauling TC's with their trucks.

This came up over at natcoa
A gentleman bought the new dodge assuming he would be fine
Don't remember the outcome but he was trying to return the truck
Measure 2x
Cut once!

I'm not so sure we'll ever see a ''camper option'' from FIAT/RAM. TC are such a small small percentage of the users we might not be on their radar in Italy.

In three years or so it will really matter for me. That will be new truck time. Might go with a Ram 4500 flatbed.

Any 4x4 with a snow plow prep package will get a "camper not recommenced" note in the glove box. Otherwise all 3500's will not have that note in the glove box, some 2500's might based on remaining payload.

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2014/docs/ram/hdramcg.pdf


Inch for inch the airbags will increase spring rate at a greater rate than leaf springs will. The same is true when unloading the springs, the decrease in spring rate is larger per inch than leafs..

What does that mean?? Well enter a corner and the inside bag will get compressed and increase spring rate, while the outside bag will expand and lose spring rate. When that happens sway is decreased.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a camper special option with a large sway-bar to further help with sway. It's something that has been missing, but needed, since 2002.

ah64id wrote:
Time will tell, but I don't think that the sway will be as bad as people are predicting.

So I think it will be really really really bad. And it ends up just being really really bad. That is not as bad?

I'm hoping the Ram Trucks did some serious testing with an actual truck camper up to the posted GVW. And I hope the notice of ''this truck is not recommended for truck campers'' is not in every glove box.

Time will tell, but I don't think that the sway will be as bad as people are predicting.