Steering/Ride Quality of Big Three HD trucks

[johndeerefarmer]

I have had two Ford diesels- an 05 with the famous death wobble. I then went half ton for awhile but then got a '13 Powerstroke. The steering wheel would still move with every imperfection in the road. I tried both 2wd with the Twin I beam and the solid axle four wheel drive -both stink.
I need a truck with NO feedback from the road to the steering wheel. I have tendonitis in both elbows and all of the movement of the steering wheel makes my arms hurt so bad that I can't drive for very long. I dumped the Powerstroke for a F150 but need a HD truck again.

If you have a Duramax how is the steering? If you let go of the steering wheel and drive down the road or thru a pasture does the wheel move with every imperfection in the road?
If you have had a Dodge, how was the steering on it? The report on pickuptrucks.com said that the Dodge had the best feeling steering but that's hard to believe since it's got a solid front axle.

Ride quality, as far as the rear end bouncing on bumps isn't as big of a concern but any input there would be helpful too.

[LimogesMan]

How about going out to the dealership and test drive them?
Honestly, I think the steering and drive of the Ram is best.

[MARK_VANDERBENT]

Big reason I drive chevy/gmc trucks is for that independent front end. Have 200,000 miles on mine and steering and front end are perfect! Had an excursion and could not believe how cumbersome that truck felt in the wheel. Wife would not even drive it after suburban feel. The 10s and up have an even heavy duty front end.

[Techie]

I've got an '11 DMax (2500HD; 3/4 ton) pulling my airstream @ 11,000 lb on a regular basis. Steering is fine with regard to the problem your having regarding excessive movement.

Very happy with everything on the truck and the engine braking/hill holder/towing brake/etc have been great.

Taken it from Seattle to San Diego a couple of times and never downshifted...left it in cruise (tow mode) whenever possible.

[JaredWPhillips]

+1 for Chevy steering. They get knocked because of IFS, but my 1500 has 191,000 miles on it and still drives and steers like new. All I've done is kept all the front-end parts greased. I haven't ever had to change the first part in the steering. I've owned it since 130k miles.

[Cummins12V98]

I can tell you the ride in my Dually LongHorn is great. The steering wheel is not effected by the road at all. I was shocked at how the truck handles and rode when test driving it. I know some will call BS but I compared the handling to our 90 Corvette we had.

We have friends with a F350 KR SRW that said our dually rode much better than their truck.

[Me_Again]

Hold up. Avoid the D/A 04.5-05 LLY engine. Many had over heating issues. Best of breed, 06-07 classic. And you get six speed allie. Chris

[KD4UPL]

I've had a lot of Chevys: '01 dually, '02 2500, '05 dually, '07 3500 SRW. I thought they all handled very nice. In fact the duallys rode better and handled better than either of the car's my wife's had ('05 Chevy Cobalt, '05 Toyotal Corolla.) I can't imagine the steering needing any improvements.
Last year my boss supplied me with a work truck, an '03 Ford F-350. I thought it handled terrible. The steering was down right scary. The tires were nearly bald so we put on new tires. No change. I took the truck for an alignment because I thought it must be way off. :"No", said the shop, "we aligned it but it was very close. Why did you think it was out." It told them I thought the steering was terrible and I was comparing it to the Chevy's I've always had. The mechanic said "Oh, we hear that all the time. People coming from a Chevy to a Ford always complain about the steering. Ford's just don't steer as well as Chevys."
So, there's my experience for you.
As far as buying a truck, I've kept buying Chevys because they've given me excellent service as work trucks in my business. This Ford I'm driving, by comparison, starts hard, idles ruff, has no power, handles terrible, etc.
Get a Duramax, no older than '04.5, and you'll be happy.

[2oldman]

Move up and get an MDT or bigger. If properly equipped, you'll have none of those problems.