Test RV is a 40' Silverback 5er. It has 4 slide outs, one over the hitch. It has a 15,500# GVWR. Loaded as it was, the 5ers pin weight is likely over 2500#.His truck is a 2014 Ram 3500 SRW, Cummins, 4x4, crew cab, short bed equipped with the factory leaf springs.Mine is a 2014 Ram 2500, Hemi, 4x4, crew cab, short bed equipped with the factory rear coil springs.Neither truck has any after market rear suspension gizmos, and are completely stock. Both are under 5000 miles on the odometer. Both have the exact same OEM wheels and tires.Keep in mind the driveway slopes down to the street, then the street slopes up at the end of his driveway. There are no sidewalks in the neighborhood.Here are the pics.RAM 3500 SRW:Unloaded height - 42 3/4"Loaded height - 40 1/4"Overall view hitched upRAM 2500:Unloaded height - 43 1/4"Loaded height - 40 3/4"Overall view hitched upSo both sagged about 2.5". I didn't have time to do a test drive, but we might do that in the future. That is a huge 5er.

Was the trailer loaded? A 15,500# GVWR trailer should have a pin weight over 3000#, not 2500#.My advice is a dually for that trailer, not a SRW.Ken

That is a very large FW for 3,040# of payload.

I, for one, would love to hear more about the results of your experiments. Keep 'em coming! :)

most importantly it looks like you have plenty of bed clearance

Way to much camper for either truck, did noone notice how low in the back both were.

Ram 2500 coil vs Ram 3500 leaf: squat test | Good Sam Community

90 Replies

Sport45
Explorer II
Sep 15, 2014
06Fargo wrote:
2500 and 3500 have same axles, tires, wheels, frame strength, and sound systems?

Why should they ride and handle a whole lot different from each other?

In this case, maybe because one has coil springs in the rear while the other has leaf springs?

Tomatoes and tomatillos. :)
noteven
Explorer III
Sep 15, 2014
Before you reach for the rotten tomatoes (tomahtoes) (tomaatos?) and start arguin' about stickers - everyone remember your pickup truck rating math 5200lbs + 6200lbs = 9900lbs

2500 and 3500 have same axles, tires, wheels, frame strength, and sound systems?

Why should they ride and handle a whole lot different from each other?
AH64ID
Explorer
Sep 15, 2014
Huntindog wrote:
And more importantly... I understand it.

Could have fooled me :-)
FishOnOne
Nomad
Sep 15, 2014
SKG wrote:
ib516 wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
Ian and SKG,

Did you notice any stability performance of the leafs vs the coil springs setup during your towing tests?

Since neither of you drove both trucks while towing the same trailer it maybe impossible to report any differences!

We were looking for that when we were doing the towing test. I was in his truck for the whole test and he was in mine. The 3500 did feel stiffer, but I'm not sure if that was just the resistance to downward motion or if it was less "squirm".

If there was a difference, it was very slight. Certainly not a really noticeable difference - at least not to me.

Like IB said the 3500 is stiffer but the 2500 is fairly close in ride to the big brother CTD 3500. :) LOL Sorry IB I couldn't resist. All kidding aside the 2500 had marginally more squirm for being at its maximum pull weight but nothing either of us thought was detrimental to a safe towing experience.

Interesting... And thanks
Huntindog
Explorer
Sep 15, 2014
AH64ID wrote:
Huntindog wrote:

OK some research then.

Dodge certainly sees it differently than you do.

They rate the 2014s wayyyy higher..

Perhaps you should get a job with Dodge as you seem to know more than they do.

You didn't do enough research, seeing a trend here, and yes they are rated higher but not much in the RAWR and FAWR department, just the GVWR.

None of those have any effect on what a DRW does over a SRW.. that comes down to tires right? I mean that's everyone's argument, width for stability and 2x the sidewalls. The 2014 is the SAME as a 2008, or even a 2003 in that aspect.

1,700lbs more GVWR is now wayyy higher, it's 13.8%. It's also not a BIG difference, it's a well deserved increase but it is NOT a reason to say a 2008 isn't comparable.

All of this info is out there from Dodge/Ram.. so research the whole thing, not just what you want to find.
Yes I have read it ALL of it. And more importantly... I understand it.

Have a nice day.
AH64ID
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
Huntindog wrote:

OK some research then.

Dodge certainly sees it differently than you do.

They rate the 2014s wayyyy higher..

Perhaps you should get a job with Dodge as you seem to know more than they do.

You didn't do enough research, seeing a trend here, and yes they are rated higher but not much in the RAWR and FAWR department, just the GVWR.

None of those have any effect on what a DRW does over a SRW.. that comes down to tires right? I mean that's everyone's argument, width for stability and 2x the sidewalls. The 2014 is the SAME as a 2008, or even a 2003 in that aspect.

1,700lbs more GVWR is now wayyy higher, it's 13.8%. It's also not a BIG difference, it's a well deserved increase but it is NOT a reason to say a 2008 isn't comparable.

All of this info is out there from Dodge/Ram.. so research the whole thing, not just what you want to find.
Huntindog
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
AH64ID wrote:
Huntindog wrote:
2008 to 2014. BIG difference.
Nuff said.

Not really, how about a little research.

The rear suspension and tire arrangements are the same. The frame is different, but there just isn't that much frame flex on a heavily loaded Dodge/Ram.

The front suspension is completely different, but that has no effect on DRW vs SRW so not valid and will only help make the '14 SRW better than the '08 (03-12 FWIW) DRW.

nuff said

OK some research then.

Dodge certainly sees it differently than you do.

They rate the 2014s wayyyy higher..

Perhaps you should get a job with Dodge as you seem to know more than they do.
SKG
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
ib516 wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
Ian and SKG,

Did you notice any stability performance of the leafs vs the coil springs setup during your towing tests?

Since neither of you drove both trucks while towing the same trailer it maybe impossible to report any differences!

We were looking for that when we were doing the towing test. I was in his truck for the whole test and he was in mine. The 3500 did feel stiffer, but I'm not sure if that was just the resistance to downward motion or if it was less "squirm".

If there was a difference, it was very slight. Certainly not a really noticeable difference - at least not to me.

Like IB said the 3500 is stiffer but the 2500 is fairly close in ride to the big brother CTD 3500. :) LOL Sorry IB I couldn't resist. All kidding aside the 2500 had marginally more squirm for being at its maximum pull weight but nothing either of us thought was detrimental to a safe towing experience.
SKG
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
Huntindog wrote:
ib516 wrote:
It should be noted that though SKG hasn't said so - he towed that RV all the way from Canada to Florida and back with a 2008 RAM 3500/Cummins DRW before he bought the 2014 3500 SRW he has now, so he's very familiar with how a DRW and a SRW Ram pull his RV. If anyone can make a real world comparison, it's him. He has pulled the same RV with both. How many here can say that?
2008 to 2014. BIG difference.
Nuff said.

If there is such a large difference between 2008-2014 than your point is moot?

My 2014 SRW Ram is very stable! Its not 100% as stable as a DRW but its not "the sky is falling" towing experience, its very pleasant. I stand by my rating that's the SRW is comparable to 90% of the DRW.. Again if the pin weight is 4.5k and above than a DRW is better but for my 15.5k Silverback the SRW is pure golden for towing. In the past 4 years I have towed approximately 15,000 miles so my towing seat time would not be rated as small. I also have my heavy trailer class licence for over 10k in weight.
AH64ID
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014
Huntindog wrote:
2008 to 2014. BIG difference.
Nuff said.

Not really, how about a little research.

The rear suspension and tire arrangements are the same. The frame is different, but there just isn't that much frame flex on a heavily loaded Dodge/Ram.

The front suspension is completely different, but that has no effect on DRW vs SRW so not valid and will only help make the '14 SRW better than the '08 (03-12 FWIW) DRW.

nuff said