Forum Discussion

Road_Phantom's avatar
Road_Phantom
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017

2500 VS 3500 for xlite 5th wh?

At 8500 lbs, a 3500 might be a little overkill. The reason I'm considering it is because Ram offers an air ride suspension that supposedly gives a good ride.
Here's where I get the (It's a truck, so how did you expect it to ride?) people.
The truck I have in mind is a new 2018 regular cab (We have a short driveway and don't need the back seat and want the long bed) however, the 1 tons ride stiffly for a short wheel base and the air suspension only comes with a 1 ton dually. Any one out there have a newer Ram reg cab dually and how does it ride? Is it better than a 2500 reg cab without the air suspension where it's not offered as an option? Thanks.
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  • Searching_Ut's avatar
    Searching_Ut
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2017
    In comparing the older 2500 4 door 2500 I owned (2011), with a 4 door 2015 rear air suspension, the 2500 was smoother riding, and it had the leaf rear springs as opposed to the coil spring setup on the newer 2500's. The 3500, even with the rear air suspension setup is definitely a harsher riding vehicle. On the plus side, the air suspension handles heavy loads beautifully, and really shines running at max load.
  • Durb's avatar
    Durb
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2017
    Take a tape when shopping. A 2011 Cougar 5er may not fit any of these trucks. As a mater of fact a new Cougar will not fit these trucks. If you have already done lifting mods on your trailer you could be OK.
  • transamz9's avatar
    transamz9
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2017
    Road Phantom wrote:
    At 8500 lbs, a 3500 might be a little overkill. The reason I'm considering it is because Ram offers an air ride suspension that supposedly gives a good ride.
    Here's where I get the (It's a truck, so how did you expect it to ride?) people.
    The truck I have in mind is a new 2018 regular cab (We have a short driveway and don't need the back seat and want the long bed) however, the 1 tons ride stiffly for a short wheel base and the air suspension only comes with a 1 ton dually. Any one out there have a newer Ram reg cab dually and how does it ride? Is it better than a 2500 reg cab without the air suspension where it's not offered as an option? Thanks.


    You can get a 2500 with air on the rear. You can also get a 3500 single rear wheel with air. The 3500 is a hybrid system that has leaf springs with air bags to level the load. The 2500 is full air only on the rear. Honestly my 3500 with air don't ride any better unloaded that one without air.

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