Dodge ride much improved

[blacktop]

The pre-2014 2500 Dodges I've had rode hard. I would equate it with riding in Fred Flintstone's car pulled by Dino, the one with stone wheels.
Dodge has changed the rear from leaf springs to coil and the difference is amazing, but the newer 2 wh drive trucks sit higher.
Has GM and Ford done the same modification on their new trucks and do they ride as well as the Dodge? Has anyone compared them in their search for a new truck?

[45Ricochet]

mamasmax wrote:
It was no where near as firm as my brothers '06 Dodge 1 ton, a truck with a truly brutal ride and one I would not own.

Your right about that if your tire pressure is to high. Some will fill em to whatever the sidewall says (80 for most). I use to run 45 in the rear of the dually, big difference in ride when empty. Down side was changing pressures.
It rode the best when it was loaded down close to max RAWR.
No I'm not comparing a 06 with a 16. I'm sure a ten year newer truck would ride better.

[mkirsch]

FishOnOne wrote:
The '13 and up Ram's 2wd front suspension is a solid beam suspension similar to the 4wd trucks.

So we're back to the 1950's?

I understand the reason for doing it: They sell so few 2WD trucks that they're saving a bunch of money by having one suspension system for all trucks, and just swapping out the axle.

My guess is, in the next 5 years, you won't be able to get a 2WD truck period. At least not from RAM.

[goducks10]

GordonThree wrote:
thought fiat went to coil over in 2012? my 2013 has coilover, don't see any change on the 14,15,16 but I haven't studied that close, not time for me to shop until the 17 are out

coilover is nice, compared to the gm Ive owned previously... esp with the rear end unloaded. my 13 is the first struck i've carried any weight in for long periods. i does seem to sag a lot, probably why they try to upsell the $$$$ airbags. i put a set of sumospring helpers on the rear coils and took out the sag my tiny 20ft trailer causes.

1500 yes, 2500 no. My 12 2500 CTD has leafs and still had leafs in 13.

[LIKE2BUILD]

blacktop wrote:
The pre-2014 2500 Dodges I've had rode hard. I would equate it with riding in Fred Flintstone's car pulled by Dino, the one with stone wheels.
Dodge has changed the rear from leaf springs to coil and the difference is amazing....

I had a 2004 Chevy 2500HD and always thought it rode pretty well for an HD truck. Then I got my 2014 Ram 2500 this fall. What a complete night and day difference. I would have never thought an HD truck could ride so well. I got 10 mostly trouble free years out of the Chevy and I full expect the Ram to last longer than that.

For comparison I've also towed with an F350 dually (single cab, 8' bed) . I've been tasked with pulling a 28' bumper pull trailer for my son's HS marching band when they travel to competitions. I think it's a 10,000lbs GVWR trailer but I don't know the loaded weight on the trailer. Recently I used that truck (owned by the school) to pull the trailer about 150 miles to the Chicago area. All I can say is my kidneys and back screamed at me all the way. That truck rode worse than a log wagon and fully felt every bump in the road. By about 50 miles into the trip I regretted not using my truck to pull the trailer on that trip. There was just no comparison between the F350 and my Ram for ride comfort. I know they are two completely different chassis and towing capacities, but wow, I couldn't believe how hard the F350 rode.

So, just to drive the OP's point home, yes the 2014 and newer Ram's HD's with coil spring suspension ride extremely well compared to other HD trucks using leaf springs.

KJ

[mamasmax]

I went test driving trucks a week ago and came home in a 2015 GMC 2500hd CC 4X4. My personal feeling was the GMC offered the best ride with the Ford a very close second. The Ram was definitely the firmest riding of the 3. All 3 were 3/4 ton trucks. It was no where near as firm as my brothers '06 Dodge 1 ton, a truck with a truly brutal ride and one I would not own. Surprisingly, the Ram carried the least payload of the 3, nearly 400 lbs. less. Air pressure certainly makes a huge difference in ride quality but I can only assume they were all comparable. An earlier poster was correct, you pick the tool you like best and live with the negatives

[JIMNLIN]

My '03 2500 Dodge/Cummins quad cab 2wd rides much better than my wifes '06 1500 crew cab Z71 chevy. In fact she is looking at the new 2500 Rams with the coil spring to replace her 1500 rough rider. She's driving my old 3500 DRW crew cab 4x4 chevy beater mostly on short 25 miles trips to Walmart/etc.
We have about 6 miles of rough county roads before we reach a state hiway.

[blacktop]

Some here took this post too literally and out of context. Of course these are trucks and don't ride like cars, but who was comparing them to cars?
As an only drive, I don't want a bone jarring truck as my daily ride. My '06 4 door Dodge dually rode really well, which I can attribute to the long wheel base. I had a reg cab 2010 Ram deisel that I hated for its bad ride.
Too get back to the original post, It seems from the above that all three have acceptable rides and only Dodge Rams made the coil spring mod. Thanks.

[GordonThree]

thought fiat went to coil over in 2012? my 2013 has coilover, don't see any change on the 14,15,16 but I haven't studied that close, not time for me to shop until the 17 are out

coilover is nice, compared to the gm Ive owned previously... esp with the rear end unloaded. my 13 is the first struck i've carried any weight in for long periods. i does seem to sag a lot, probably why they try to upsell the $$$$ airbags. i put a set of sumospring helpers on the rear coils and took out the sag my tiny 20ft trailer causes.

[SouthpawHD]

When I was looking at used trucks earlier this year, I looked at '12-13 Fords and GMs. They rode decent enough, they are trucks after all.

I ended up with '15 GMC 1500 and it rides way nicer than the previous generations. And rides 10x better than my '03 Explorer that I had!!

[FishOnOne]

The '13 and up Ram's 2wd front suspension is a solid beam suspension similar to the 4wd trucks. The Chevy and Ford 2wd front suspension both have independent front suspensions. IMO an independent front suspension will ride smoother than a solid beam suspension.

Bottom line if you're used to the older Dodge trucks ride any brand of the new trucks will be a big improvement.

[rhagfo]

donn0128 wrote:
I think ride is subjective. I do not believe that my 2007 Ram dually rides bad at all. If you really want a soft ride, get a car. Otherwise you need to have the correct tool for the job at hand.

X2!
It is your TV, and maybe a commuter vehicle, it is not a car!! Will never ride like a car, if it does the tow experience with be very scary!!
My 2001, doesn't ride like a car, doesn't ride bad for a truck, dfoes a great job of carrying our 5er.

[N-Trouble]

1) All the newer trucks sit higher
2) it's a Ram, not Dodge any longer...
3) GM and Ford are still using rear leaf. GM is the only front IFS.

[donn0128]

I think ride is subjective. I do not believe that my 2007 Ram dually rides bad at all. If you really want a soft ride, get a car. Otherwise you need to have the correct tool for the job at hand.