WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Making a 3/4 Ton Truck Not Ride Like A ¾ Ton Truck

Chili Palmer

Master of My Domian
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
10,652
Reaction score
19,880
I was planning on getting a new ½ ton GMC truck this year, but the pricing on all new vehicles is beyond stupid so I’ve decided to keep my 11 year old ¾ ton Silverado a couple more years. One of the reasons I want a new truck is that even with all the road use taxes we pay in fuel prices they still can’t keep the roads from falling apart. What do they do? They add carpool lanes, WTF? Driving a ¾ ton truck you feel each and every irregularly in the road and after riding in a newer AT4 of one of my coworkers, and it was so smooth, and so easy to get in. Now I want a new truck. The stupid pricing is holding me back - $80k for a decently equipped ½ ton after taxes and fees.

Maybe there’s another way, maybe for the time being - can the 3/4 ton suspension be made more compliant? If so, what is done and how much am I looking at?
 

MPHSystems

Hallett 240
Joined
Sep 10, 2021
Messages
3,583
Reaction score
8,498
My 07-1/2 2500 road pretty good, it wasn’t a Cadillac but I was happy with it.
 

Ultra...Good

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2021
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
2,611
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.
 

Your ad here

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
4,602
Reaction score
7,413
Tires and air pressure. I'm going with Michelin highway tires on my 4wd 3/4 F250. It's a leaf sprung front end but I'm hoping for a better ride. Got the Michelins on my 4wd F350 service truck with a leaf sprung front end and its smooth but bucks with the service bed on it. Rear leafs have been re arched on that truck...
 

Your ad here

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
4,602
Reaction score
7,413
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.
Location of weight changes ride quality as well. If I put a 700lb. concrete saw in the bed over the spare tire it rides smooth. If I put it over the rear axle the truck will buck bad.
 

Willie B

aberrant member
Joined
Sep 7, 2008
Messages
8,542
Reaction score
9,426
… my 97 dodge ram 2500 extra cab diesel… Rides pretty stiff as it has the extra heavy duty suspension… put the 3600 pound lance camper on it and put 80 pounds of air in the Firestone airbags and it rides a lot better than with no camper…

… neighbor lady rode with me to get new batteries for the truck last Monday …there was a towel on the passenger seat and she sat on it…wondered why she looked so uncomfortable… Under the towel was a half a dozen screwdrivers…woops???…

… She is 78 years old… And a trooper…
 

Ultra...Good

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2021
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
2,611
Location of weight changes ride quality as well. If I put a 700lb. concrete saw in the bed over the spare tire it rides smooth. If I put it over the rear axle the truck will buck bad.

Very true. Most of the time when I am using weight in the bed it is because I have the plow hanging off the front. If you do not have weight in the back there is no traction in the back and that is terrible in snow. I always have it as far back as it will go. Truth be told, unless I am using the truck to work, it does not go anywhere, especially at current fuel prices.
 

CLdrinker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
8,281
Reaction score
15,790
80k for a half ton where the hell are you shopping?
 

MARCYTECH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
230
Reaction score
520

They replace your rear leaf spring shackles. With a 2 piece design that uses a rubber bushing for the initial small movements. When you load it down it maxes out the rubber and then engages the leaf spring like normal. No towing or payload capacity lost.
I love em. My 06 2500 Chevy rides better than my fiancés Acura lol.
 

wallnutz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
7,236
Reaction score
15,380
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.
I used an old air bed and filled it with water to figure out how much weight made a difference. Then filled up a few sand bags and placed them right over the axle, used the 5th wheel hitch to hold them in place. It really didn’t take that much weight to make a difference. That was in a 2005 Chevy. The front I raised the torsion bars just a little and put some good shocks on. If I wasn’t towing I ran the air 40 psi all around.
 

Bpracing1127

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 31, 2012
Messages
10,022
Reaction score
12,902
But a newer half ton and still tow the same as your older 3/4 ton, but with the plush ride
 

LargeOrangeFont

We aren't happy until you aren't happy
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
49,690
Reaction score
76,151
80k for a half ton where the hell are you shopping?

Lol everyone must have a Limited/Denali/Platinum Reserve/Capstone 1/2 ton now as barrier of entry to RDP. Did you not get the memo?

Nevermind that a modern $45k 1/2 ton LT/XL/SR5 has more creature features than the 11 year old truck he’s replacing.

But people are free to buy or not buy whatever they want.
 

mjc

Retired Neighbor
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
11,769
Reaction score
8,772
On my 1 ton I also removed the bracket above the overload springs so there was nothing for them to hit. It help some mostly on rough roads.
 

LargeOrangeFont

We aren't happy until you aren't happy
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
49,690
Reaction score
76,151
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.

I’d say the easier way is drop the tire pressure to 45 if he truck isn’t loaded.
 

HBCraig

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
8,848
Reaction score
10,907
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.
This
When I had my 3/4 truck I put skid steer tires in the back. Seriously. The addrd weight made it ride smoothly
 

MPHSystems

Hallett 240
Joined
Sep 10, 2021
Messages
3,583
Reaction score
8,498
The cheapest, easiest way is to put some weight in the thing. I have a one ton dump body and when it is empty it will rattle your fillings out. Get half a load or more and it rides really smooth. I have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand. Easy to put in, take out as needed. And I do not really see much of a difference in mileage.
I always drove around with +/- 1,000 pounds in the bed, that may be why my 07 rode so well
 

pronstar

President, Dallas Chapter
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
34,461
Reaction score
40,892
My ‘07 Ram ride like a Caddy.
All it takes is buckets of cash LOL

Steps I took:
17” wheels with 35’s: lots of sidewall.
I ran ~40 psi front / ~38 psi rear generally.
Played with pressures a lot, more for a load, less for off-road.

Plus long-travel airbags for max loads

Carli progressive coils in front
Full leaf replacement deavers, not the add-a-packs

Carli-valved 2.5 Kings front and rear

Carli torsion sway bar - massive improvement for when bumps don’t hit both front wheels at the same time.

Plus basically everything else Carli offered

So the main things to consider are:
Tires, tire psi.
Aftermarket progressive coil springs.
Deaver leafs.
Good shocks with custom valving…a 2.5 or larger will have more valving and valving options than a 2.0/oem-type shock.
 

copterzach

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
6,570
Reaction score
6,188
125 gallons of avgas and 40 gallons of diesel. My 3500 rides great. Both tanks empty kinda rough.
 

Chili Palmer

Master of My Domian
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
10,652
Reaction score
19,880
My truck is riding on 305/55/20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires, I’m running 60 psi in the front and 55 in the rear. At this air combo the tires wear evenly, any less and the fronts cup and the rears wear on the outsides. I’ve running Bilstein 5100 shocks. The only weight most of the time is just a Gaylords tonneau cover.

Right now dealers aren’t discounting and trucks have gone up $10,000 in the last 12 months - A ½ ton Denali with a 6.2 engine, the heads up display, with the standard 20” wheels is almost $73,000. With almost $12,000 in taxes and fees puts it over $80,000. A similarly equipped AT4 is a couple grand less. Unless you get a Summit White paint color, every color is an additional charge of at least $450, the metallic white is $1100.
 

HNL2LHC

What is right and what is wrong these days!
Joined
Jun 25, 2018
Messages
13,834
Reaction score
24,803
Never have had a concern with the ride of our 2500 GMC truck. Heck it does not even flinch when I load up anything in the bed or throw on the trailer. If I wanted a smoother ride I’d jump into another vehicle out In our fleet. LOL. This is RDP after all Don’t we all have a fleet of cars? LOL
 
Last edited:

BigRedBryan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Messages
1,141
Reaction score
4,156
This is why I built my suburban, has 3/4 ton truck platform but rides very nice for what it is, and will tow anything put behind it. I need to start playing with tire pressures to see how much ride quality will improve.
 

CLdrinker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
8,281
Reaction score
15,790
My truck is riding on 305/55/20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires, I’m running 60 psi in the front and 55 in the rear. At this air combo the tires wear evenly, any less and the fronts cup and the rears wear on the outsides. I’ve running Bilstein 5100 shocks. The only weight most of the time is just a Gaylords tonneau cover.

Right now dealers aren’t discounting and trucks have gone up $10,000 in the last 12 months - A ½ ton Denali with a 6.2 engine, the heads up display, with the standard 20” wheels is almost $73,000. With almost $12,000 in taxes and fees puts it over $80,000. A similarly equipped AT4 is a couple grand less. Unless you get a Summit White paint color, every color is an additional charge of at least $450, the metallic white is $1100.
When I ordered my truck I could of got a a f250 diesel lariat for mid to high 60’s.
Right now it’s much cheaper to order than buy off the lot.
I got 2% under invoice. Yeah I have to wait for ever and drive it back from Iowa. But I will have 10k of equity in it when I drive off the lot.
 

Havoc Powesports

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2020
Messages
152
Reaction score
236
Mark Dodge in Louisiana is discounting ordered trucks. I'm averaging about 10k-11k below invoice on 1/2tons thru them. 3/4 ton thru them was13k off. no other bs from them either. Have ordered now 5 trucks for family and all have been the same deep discounts.
 

Ladsm

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
1,158
Reaction score
2,739
I leave my 25K 5th wheel hitch in the back of mine and it helps smooth out the fwy rides
 

MK1MOD0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2019
Messages
3,429
Reaction score
6,635
Just to add, my BIL did the respiring and airbags on his Dodge duelly, and it rides like a completely different truck now. Worth every penny.
 

ka0tyk

Warlock Performance Boats Merchandise Connections
Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
9,025
Reaction score
11,374
put like 500lbs of crap in the bed and any truck will ride better.
 

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629

They replace your rear leaf spring shackles. With a 2 piece design that uses a rubber bushing for the initial small movements. When you load it down it maxes out the rubber and then engages the leaf spring like normal. No towing or payload capacity lost.
I love em. My 06 2500 Chevy rides better than my fiancés Acura lol.
I used these on my F250 made a huge difference, that and dropping the tire pressures down from the recommended 80 psi.
 

evantwheeler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2015
Messages
2,418
Reaction score
4,583

They replace your rear leaf spring shackles. With a 2 piece design that uses a rubber bushing for the initial small movements. When you load it down it maxes out the rubber and then engages the leaf spring like normal. No towing or payload capacity lost.
I love em. My 06 2500 Chevy rides better than my fiancés Acura lol.
I put these sulastic shackles, a set of Deaver leaf springs, and new Fox 2.0's on the rear of my 2500HD, and it rides great. I have a longbed and full fiberglass cap on the bed. It was some coin, but cheaper than buying a new truck just to get a smoother ride!
 

Deano

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
455
Reaction score
357
On my 3/4 excursion I took all but the main leaf spring out. Added a 3" block to make up for the removed springs and traction bars. Self leveling airbags with the biggest diameter you can fit.
Rode like a Cadillac and could haul anything.
 

Chili Palmer

Master of My Domian
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
10,652
Reaction score
19,880
The sulastics, airbags and Deavers sound like the way to go, what are you guys doing about the front end? My truck is a 2 wheel drive.
 

evantwheeler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2015
Messages
2,418
Reaction score
4,583
The sulastics, airbags and Deavers sound like the way to go, what are you guys doing about the front end? My truck is a 2 wheel drive.
I just replaced my old rachos with some Bilsteins up front. I have 4wd and my front end is torsion spring supported. If you have struts or springs up front, you can go to a tunable adjustable coilover and get it riding really nice, but for highway driving, likely not worth the effort. A nice set of shocks up front and the formula you have for the rear should make you happy.
 

Flying_Lavey

Dreaming of the lake
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
20,412
Reaction score
17,215
The sulastics, airbags and Deavers sound like the way to go, what are you guys doing about the front end? My truck is a 2 wheel drive.
Typically just going to a good shock makes a good difference up front. But, if you want to go better without COMPLETELY changing the suspension, I know my buddies over at LSK have a coil over conversion kit for your truck.
 

Chili Palmer

Master of My Domian
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
10,652
Reaction score
19,880
I just replaced my old rachos with some Bilsteins up front. I have 4wd and my front end is torsion spring supported. If you have struts or springs up front, you can go to a tunable adjustable coilover and get it riding really nice, but for highway driving, likely not worth the effort. A nice set of shocks up front and the formula you have for the rear should make you happy.
The front end suspension is a torsion bar setup. When I changed out my stock shocks at 200k miles to the Bilsteins I really didn’t notice much of a difference, but when I had my front end rebuilt it really smoothed it out, but it still feels like it bounces from high spot to high spot on the pavement on rough patches - especially at the transition from the 210 east to the 57 south, that’ll make your head tingle it’s so damn rough.
 

Flying_Lavey

Dreaming of the lake
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
20,412
Reaction score
17,215
The front end suspension is a torsion bar setup. When I changed out my stock shocks at 200k miles to the Bilsteins I really didn’t notice much of a difference, but when I had my front end rebuilt it really smoothed it out, but it still feels like it bounces from high spot to high spot on the pavement on rough patches - especially at the transition from the 210 east to the 57 south, that’ll make your head tingle it’s so damn rough.
Be a big baller.... lol!

 

Chili Palmer

Master of My Domian
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
10,652
Reaction score
19,880
I’d like to do it but then I can’t get to my fuel filter, so it’s a no go. And I can’t lay a decent bead when it comes to welding so I’d have to have someone weld it up. Baller is right, too baller for me though.

That’s DCB baller right there, I’m Howard 22 Offshore baller - that’ll get you that banana split with the whole banana, not that half banana bullshit.
 

Bajastu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2017
Messages
716
Reaction score
1,683
My 2021 Ford F-250 Tremor rides real nice. Completely different than a same year regular F250
 

Flying_Lavey

Dreaming of the lake
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
20,412
Reaction score
17,215
I’d like to do it but then I can’t get to my fuel filter, so it’s a no go. And I can’t lay a decent bead when it comes to welding so I’d have to have someone weld it up. Baller is right, too baller for me though.

That’s DCB baller right there, I’m Howard 22 Offshore baller - that’ll get you that banana split with the whole banana, not that half banana bullshit.
Yeah, it's a real nice set-up. But with everything else that's really nice, comes with a hefty price tag.
 
Top