Do all HD pickups ride rough?

[ericm979]

Did Ram lengthen the wheelbase in the newer model? I know GM did. That will make it not turn as tight even if the overall length is the same.

 

[Gator6x4]

What was the configuration? A reg cab rides like a ox cart. A crew cab is noticeably better.
I have a 2020 Ram 5500 crew cab 4WD and it actually rides pretty nice. My wife and I drove it on a 1,000 mile trip and about 1/2 way through the trip she said “I’d travel anywhere in this truck”.
I keep my tires slightly deflated. 95PSI is recommended, but I run 85-90 in the rear tires and 80 in the front tires when not towing.
When towing really heavy, I’ll run 95 in the rear tires.

Don't take her down I-95 in the 5500. I foolishly agreed to ride with a individual down into northern Florida to deliver something he had sold on the internet. That 5500 series Dodge not only loved diesel it also rode like it had double springs under it. Pulling the empty trailer back north seemed to make the vehicle ride rougher.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Traded my old Sierra 2500HD for a Sierra 1500 AT4 2 years ago. My butt is just now starting to recover.

 

[4570Man]

The turn radius on my 23 Ram is significantly worse than my 12 Ram. My 23 is the crew cab long bed and not the megacab like my 12 making it longer by a foot but it it feels much bigger trying to manuver in tight spaces.

My dad’s F-550 with a 12ft bed and coil springs will out turn my old model ones with leaf springs. My Volvo truck will significantly out turn all 3 of them. I had a tandem axle international before the Volvo and it would still turn sharper than the leaf spring fords.

 

[5030]

Real easy to alter the turn radius on a big truck, not so easy (but still doable) on a smaller truck. In fact my Western Star tandem axle turns pretty tight.

What I did (and was SOP for the outfit I worked for) was we ran in the stop bolts on each axle end until when the wheel cut was at full lock, the tires just cleared the wheel wells and no more. Of course that also means that mounting a wider front tire will require adjusting bolts (stops) so the tire clears the wheel well.

Your steering gear don't know any difference, the steering gear will provide wheel cut until it comes up against the stop bolts and big trucks all use stop bolts as the limit for wheel cut.

On a smaller truck, it's a bit more involved because you have to physically grind the wheel stops as there are no stop bolts.

The Western Star road tractor I own has had the stop bolts run in as far as the tires will allow (without hitting / rubbing the fender wells). It turns plenty tight for a 255 inch wheelbase tractor.

 

[TMGT]

My dad’s F-550 with a 12ft bed and coil springs will out turn my old model ones with leaf springs. My Volvo truck will significantly out turn all 3 of them. I had a tandem axle international before the Volvo and it would still turn sharper than the leaf spring fords. View attachment 2410351View attachment 2410352View attachment 2410353

You got that right, my old 2000 F550 had the worst turning radius of anything I've ever driven. Used to haul cars with someone else that was driving a 11car low fifth wheel. Was trying to follow him into a dealers lot, I couldn't make the turn, he didn't belive it until he saw it. If you know how bad the turning radius of a low fifth wheel is, you know how bad the F550 turning was.

That truck was awful on many levels!

 

[4570Man]

You got that right, my old 2000 F550 had the worst turning radius of anything I've ever driven. Used to haul cars with someone else that was driving a 11car low fifth wheel. Was trying to follow him into a dealers lot, I couldn't make the turn, he didn't belive it until he saw it. If you know how bad the turning radius of a low fifth wheel is, you know how bad the F550 turning was.

That truck was awful on many levels!

The 555 has the Volvo beat on having 4x4. I’d rather drive the Volvo besides that. The Volvo has more power, better brakes, better riding comfort, a lot better visibility out of the truck, higher GVW, higher GCVW and not much worse mpg. You can drive the 550 with no trailer without a CDL but pretty much any trailer will require a CDL behind the 550. The Volvo has air ride suspension, suspension dampeners on the cab and an air ride seat. The F-550 has spring ride that’s hard as a rock, a rigid mounted cab and a seat that’s ridged mounted and not very comfortable to start with. That lowboy trailer on the Volvo is pretty short and the Volvo will turn sharper than it will follow. You could hit the cab on the trailer if you don’t straighten out.

 

[jk96]

Did Ram lengthen the wheelbase in the newer model? I know GM did. That will make it not turn as tight even if the overall length is the same.

No. Model to model hasn't changed. Difference was going from the megacab on my 2012 to the crewcab longbed on my 23. Wheelbase on the megacab is 160.5" and 169.5 on the crew cab longbed.

 

[dstig1]

The Superduty's were leaf spring in the front up until like 2004 or 5. Mine was an '05 and had coils. Supposedly much better turning radius but I never drove an older one to compare.

 

[4570Man]

The Superduty's were leaf spring in the front up until like 2004 or 5. Mine was an '05 and had coils. Supposedly much better turning radius but I never drove an older one to compare.

The turn around at the end of my road is 72 feet wide and my 4 door long bed with leafs barely makes it without backing up.