chrismez

Ok, I live in LA, sit in traffic 2 hrs a day on our wonderful freeways. If by chance I ever get above 30mph my truck bounces like heck. I have the long wheel base 4x4. I'm guessing its a wheel base problem, but is there any way to eliminate it or even reduce it? I'm going to need a kidney transplant if this continues.......

DPG

OEM shocks are usually not too great. A lot of guys switch them out for Rancho 9000's. I have them on my 3500, and really like them. Just a thought.

rouxsterre

Wow - I live in SoCal, and experience the same thing. Must be the wheelbase.

It IS annoying. If it IS wheelbase - we're screwed. The shocks feel fine.

Nevada

I don't know if they make Velvet Ride Shackles for third gen trucks yet, but I have had them on a second gen truck and they helped.

tractor-man

I have the same problem on the concrete section of the 101 between Morgan Hill and Gilroy CA. Smooths out when I get to blacktop. I put "Velvet Ride" shackles on my '87 F250 4X4 super cab long bed and it made a big improvement on this section of freeway. They don't make them for our 3rd gen. Dodges. My new 600 sure has a good ride for a pickup, but the wheel base does not like the spacing of the concrete seams.

Tom488

A T-Rex suspension will definately smooth out the ride. Of course, the question is does it do it via better damping, or does it simply reduce the amount of sprung weight by lightening your wallet?

In all seriousness, it's a great suspension system - just a bit pricey: http://www.trexengineering.com

blownaway

Here is a good idea from another post!!


"Hairbrained Way to Add Weight To Truck
I've been really wanting to add some weight to my truck to make the ride a little smoother so I came up with a great idea that I thought I'd share with others.

I went to the local Line-X shop and had a spray in bedliner installed in order to seal the bed and prevent rust. I gave it a couple of days to cure and then poured a three inch layer of concrete in the bed and smoothed it out. In doing so, I not only added a good amount of weight to the bed to smooth out the ride, but I also gave myself a nice, smooth surface in the bed.

The results are outstanding. The truck rides smoother than ever and I now have the equivalent of a garage floor to work with in the back of the truck. Best I can figure for a short bed truck, this added about 1,240 pounds to the bed (roughly 16.5 cubic feet times concrete's weight of 150 pounds per cubic foot).

I highly recommend this for anyone looking to smooth out their ride. "

HA, HA

________________________________

Raspy

chrismez,

If you are talking about the effect from the "cupping", or whatever it's called that happens on concrete freeway sections, where the sections are poured about 20 feet long and seem to sag after while, it's a problem. The best fix is to get a Mercedes
Or, you can get some Rancho 9000's and lower the tire pressure, or load in about a thousand pounds. I found the stock shocks to be too bouncy and they were not tunable to the conditions. Sometimes the tires get pumped up to max pressure which is way too high for an empty truck.

Wetspirit

Dodgezilla

Wow, I haven't noticed any abnormal bouncing in mine. Have you tried dropping your tire air pressure? Adding weight will really help but then if you need the bed you always have to work around what you put in there.....

Hounddog

A 1500 TRuck Could not IMANGINE adding 1200lbs of concrete to smooth out the ride. These are the SMOOTHEST riding 4x4s YET produced.

ppsi

I think adding concrete to the bed of a truck is insanity. The mileage would be knocked down well over 10% and the height to the top of the sides would be reduced. A much better idea would be to add a full bed trampoline on top of which would go some pebble size rocks. These would be released in varying degrees (highway section height discrepancy dependent) and would crack the windsheild of the vehicles following.. After a number of commutes the wiser drivers would find an alternate road or travelling schedule and the road would therefore be less crowded. At this point you could get your truck going at a speed that is comfortable.
Stupid is what stupid does.

ksadz

Driving back from OR to Socal was great until we hit the Grapevine in SoCal and those wierd concrete patterns that I've only experienced here. It went from a reasonably comfortable truck ride to being jackhammered. It's not everywhere and I know where the areas are locally but there's got to be a better way. I want to stay as close to stock as possible so think I'll do some research on the Ranchos.

sbutter

Yes, SoCal has some aweful spots. I think the worse is on I-10 about 1/2 way between LA and San Bernadino.

It physically hurts unless you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

I've wanted to keep my truck stock as far as suspension but I might opt for the Rancho 9000's. I have them on my Rodeo and it's made a huge difference in all driving situations. Guess now I just need to scrape the cash together.

-Sam

ksadz

Looks like either the Rancho and Bilsteins should solve the problem. Most of my driving is freeway commuting. I also tow a 2 horse bumper pull and a 3H gooseneck. Both are under 9K. I would like to install em and forget em so I'm leaning towards the Bilsteins if they would work well for my driving habits. I'll be keeping this truck for a long time so I'd be willing to pay more now.

Here's what I've summarized from reading a bunch of posts here and TDR:

Bilsteins - not adjustable, better overall ride, preferred by offroaders

Ranchos - adjustable, harsher ride than Bilsteins, longevity issues

What do you think?

Thanks

EdsGarage

I am glad to hear somebody else has the same problem. Well, not really. I thought it might be just me.

It is real bad down in the San Diego area. I even know which lanes are worse than others. With my boat behind me, it rides very smooth.

I also have a gasser 1500, same year, short bed. It is so smooth in comparison.

On another note, I have evil thoughts about what a three-inch "blade" of concrete would do on impact...