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.

[Cummins12V98]

mpierce wrote:
I have a '14 3500 DRW RAM. the steering is GREAT! Handles like a dream. Smooth as silk. It is an awesome truck.Steering is smooth as a babys bottom.

They way upped the massiveness on these new RAMS. Have a look at one, and compare the size/strength to the others. Massive.

My 11 Dually is great. Can't imaging the 14's being better but I am sure they are.

[mpierce]

I have a '14 3500 DRW RAM. the steering is GREAT! Handles like a dream. Smooth as silk. It is an awesome truck.Steering is smooth as a babys bottom.

They way upped the massiveness on these new RAMS. Have a look at one, and compare the size/strength to the others. Massive.

[jwduke]

Earlier Dodges can develop death wobble. Dodge has had a few recalls to try and stop it.

[LowRyter]

I've owned a Silverado 1999 2500 6.0 and 2004.5 2500 HD Duramax (LLY). They have the best ride, best handling, quietest engine and most comfortable seats of all HD trucks of their era. I've driven Ford & Dodge and Chevy is best in those categories.

I've done several 800 miles days towing in both (Indy to OKC and Ft Collins to OKC).

[bmanning]

john b wrote:
My 2001 f350 SRW has always and still does go down the road perfectly. I don't understand these posts on them driving sp badly. I love to get behind the wheel and go with or without a 33 ft fifth wheel,no problems.jb jmho

I've always found it interesting too because so many complain about it that there must be something to it, however my former 2002 F250 & current 2008 F250 had/have no hint of steering or handling issues.

If anything my 2002, with its old-school leaf-spring front end, rode even nicer than my 08 does. That heavy 7.3L probably helped.

Michelin LTX on both.

Maybe our trucks were the exception but not the rule.

[N-Trouble]

The new Duramax trucks do not come from the factory with a steering stabilizer(cost cutting). Without it you do get noticeable bump steer when closing RR tracks or uneven surfaces. I added a Bilstein stabilizer to my 2012 and no more feedback. Everything is there to mount up. Only a 15min job.

[jus2shy]

Older Dodges/Rams were vulnerable to the death wobble as older Fords. Now for 2013, the Rams have a very similar front suspension to the Ford: 3-link 2 large radius arms and a locator arm and they did some significant beefing-up of all the links. However, I only have 6,000 miles on my rig and it doesn't seem to get shaken up. I test drove a Ford Powerstroke as well and between the 13 powerstroke and 13 RAM, the steering felt the same to me on my city roads. When test driving, I purposefully run over a few manhole covers and speedbumps to get a feel for how the suspension and steering react. Sadly, I've never driven an older Ford superduty so I can't fully relate to how much better/worse the steering is. I can say that I haven't had the death-wobble yet, but as someone noted, it could just take time and the fatigue in the ball joints may allow for death wobble in the future. Time will tell.

However, in reviewing the NHTSA videos showing death wobble in the older Fords, it looked like the entire front frame and even the engine were oscillating upon initiation of the death wobble. I think the death wobble on the older Fords had something to do with the elasticity of the frame and the amount of "give" that all the other components in steering and engine mount had allowing the wobble to persist. I know on the newest RAM, the frame is completely different in design so it will be interesting to see if the wobble comes back for RAM.

[rottidawg]

johndeerefarmer wrote:
I have had two Ford diesels- an 05 with the famous death wobble.

Google Dodge Death Wobble for a week or so of reading.
Not many will argue against the GMs HD 4x4 IFS as having by far the best handling and ride.

[Cummins12V98]

travelnutz wrote:
To the OP;

You asked about Dodge Rams with the solid front axle ride and steering wheel jerking?

As one poster had eluded to: A new Dodge Ram may feel good right off the off the showroom floor (but be sure the tires are at full inflation like when towing) and have a better ride than the Ford and have slightly less steering wheel jerking than your Ford. However, it's short lived and as the miles pile on, you'll be back in the same boat you're in now.

As has been the subject of several threads right here on this forum: Dodge Ram dealers are famous for having very low tire pressures in their trucks on the lot so people trying them out think they ride nice. Only to find after the purchase, when they inflate the tires properly, the ride is very harsh and jolty and the steering wheel feels every bump or tar strip. It doesn't get better with miles driven as it gets progressively worse.

Do yourself and your arms a favor and drive several used Dodge Rams and GM's with over 50K or over 100K on the same roads at the same speed and you'll see the big difference that miles driven really sets them way apart. GM's IFS and front end symmetry design is so far superior in ride, lack of steering jerk, and handling even after many miles of driving and that there's no comparison. It's been posted for years on every forum I have been on and so many times about the real difference in ride and handling quality between the GM's and Dodge Ram or Ford trucks and written by the actual owners of these various vehicles, not advertisement or brand cheerleaders bloviating BS about what they own. The owners should know as they have and very experience of the issues every time they drive their truck.

Drive new and used trucks of from all 3 manufacturers and you'll be much better informed as to what's best for you now and down the road!

YOU ARE WAY OFF.

I run 80 in the front and 45 rear solo and my RAM Dually rides great. No feedback in the steering wheel at all.

[kennethwooster]

I finally went to Ford super duty in 03. At the time I was farming and was on field roads as well as very bad county roads. The Fords handled perfect. I now drive the F250, and it is a pure joy to drive. Our area (Texas Panhandle) is in a b ig oil boom and highways as well as county roads are terrible. Truck still drives great. No steering problems.

[travelnutz]

To the OP;

You asked about Dodge Rams with the solid front axle ride and steering wheel jerking?

As one poster had eluded to: A new Dodge Ram may feel good right off the off the showroom floor (but be sure the tires are at full inflation like when towing) and have a better ride than the Ford and have slightly less steering wheel jerking than your Ford. However, it's short lived and as the miles pile on, you'll be back in the same boat you're in now.

As has been the subject of several threads right here on this forum: Dodge Ram dealers are famous for having very low tire pressures in their trucks on the lot so people trying them out think they ride nice. Only to find after the purchase, when they inflate the tires properly, the ride is very harsh and jolty and the steering wheel feels every bump or tar strip. It doesn't get better with miles driven as it gets progressively worse.

Do yourself and your arms a favor and drive several used Dodge Rams and GM's with over 50K or over 100K on the same roads at the same speed and you'll see the big difference that miles driven really sets them way apart. GM's IFS and front end symmetry design is so far superior in ride, lack of steering jerk, and handling even after many miles of driving and that there's no comparison. It's been posted for years on every forum I have been on and so many times about the real difference in ride and handling quality between the GM's and Dodge Ram or Ford trucks and written by the actual owners of these various vehicles, not advertisement or brand cheerleaders bloviating BS about what they own. The owners should know as they have and very experience of the issues every time they drive their truck.

Drive new and used trucks of from all 3 manufacturers and you'll be much better informed as to what's best for you now and down the road!

[MARK_VANDERBENT]

check out those new GM HDS !! they will be awesome!!!!

[Hannibal]

Compared to my previous 4X2 Rams, My 4X2 F250 steers like a river barge. The car like rack and pinion in the Ram makes a huge difference from the driver's seat. I haven't driven a GM in years but don't they also use rack and pinion IFS in both 4X2 and 4X4? Might be worth looking into.

[JIMNLIN]

The OP is asking about steering input from the road/pastures and IMO he's going to have to drive each particular truck and find one thats suits his medical issues.

Don't assume all F250 have as much feed back as other F250's with a different package.
Same goes for a Dodge and GM as feed back is different even in a 2wd vs 4x4.
Tires can make a difference in feed back. The bigger the tire the more feed back.

Our older vehicles had PS systems that the driver had little road surface feed back. It was great.
For whatever reason the industry decided the average driver needed more road surface feed back. Now with certain tires/suspension setups a crack in the road feels like a rough RR track crossing.