Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Ram 2500, any help for washboardy roads?

I like my 2015 Ram 3/4 ton with the 6.4 hemi. But the washboard gravel roads around here that I'm on for hunting, camping, and scouting are absolutely killing me. Airing down the tires and 4wdHi helps a bit, but not much. I was thinking about putting money into new tuned shocks, maybe some spring work, and it's time for new tires anyway. I'm pulling my camper (bumper pull) or enclosed ATV trailer about half the time, so I was thinking air springs for that. But, I'm no gear head by any stretch, so I'd just be going to a local shop, explaining my problem, and hoping for the best. I don't really want to get rid of it for a split front end GM. But if the work above turns into a giant bill, that might make more sense.

I traded my diesel out for this one and am glad I did, I definitely don't tow enough to justify that. My Cooper tires have not held up well, I've got about 25k on them and they're all crumbly, with your bare fingers you can pick a 1/2 inch square cube off any of the four of them. They're not wearing with respect to tread depth so the local shop was no help with warranty options.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Check the steering gear mount and associated linkage. All this will make it worse if worn too bad. Might be getting close to the " Death Wobble". 3/4 T Dodges ride hard. I put up with my 98 for 20 years. Never did find a cure. Good luck

I hear these are good.

https://carlisuspension.com/product...on-systems/3-inch/14-18-2500-hemi-3inch/

I'd talked to Carlisuspension first. They will probably have some ideas. Probably the best way is to go to large, 12.5, 37 inch tires and air them down. Going to longer travel, lighter load springs and shocks probably would help as well. The Ram Power Wagon has a much lighter load capacity than the standard 2500's which is probably a clue.
I know what you mean. I've got an 06 Ram 2500. E

I've got a 2006 Ram 2500 as my hunting/outdoors rig. I feel your pain.

I was going to offer the OP a ride in my truck, it'll make him appreciate the ride of his 2015.

Saddlesore is correct; 3/4-ton Rams ride hard.

Thanks, guys, I'll check out that Carli stuff and the steering linkage. All good advice here.

Timbren and old man emu are other names that I hear kicked around, although I haven’t used either. My fathers ram 2500 had a horrible ride compared to my Chevy, especially in washboard roads.

A ride in my old 2000 Cummins will make you appreciate the 15, I've learned to live with it but riding in the 3/4 ton Fords is no better, especially the diesels.

I recently drove a 15 Cummins with Carli suspension and 37s, it rode like a Cadillac compared to mine, it also had the Carli sway bar which he said made a big difference.

The only real fix for washboards is adjusting the speedometer so it reads about 10 mph. it's not much of a solution but not much else works.

Two fixes actually. Super slow, or relatively fast. Both smooth out washboards.

Check out Thuren fabrication coils. Cheaper solution than carlie and in my opinion just as good. I have them on my 16 3/4 diesel. I put them on right away to level the truck. They are a 2.5 or 3” easy ride coil. I didn’t upgrade to the good shocks just the thuren branded ones. Better than stock but my back end is still really stiff and makes washboard no fun. Helped front end a lot. I am sure the fox or other shocks offered would help even more.

Put some more weight in the truck bed. Go to bilstein shocks.

Guys that do hard labor, usually have stronger cores and back muscles:
Farmers, masons, roofers, loggers, concrete construction, soldiers, etc.

If you don't do hard labor, hit up a gym to strengthen your core and back.

Or.....sell it for a softer, wallowing marshmallow like tundra.

Hitting them fast might feel smoother but you're thrashing your suspension. Also, if it gets away from you at a higher speed, it hits things harder.

B2601 and box blade...problem solved.

Since we are offering rides,
A 93 Cummins if you stop by.


Didn't mind it when it was new and I was young.
Now I don't run it much, and every time I do,
I'm amazed how dam rough it is.

Yeah, as long as the shocks are still working, a bit more speed usually helps. Just slow enough to not drift around the turns but fast enough to stay on top.

This is true as well.

I had 3, 5' or 6' concrete parking blocks in the bed of my truck for a couple of weeks. Big difference in the ride quality.

I have air bags on mine. If they have any air in them, it gets REALLY rough. They're a pain to air up and down but I'm too cheap to spend hundreds for an onboard compressor.

King Racing shocks. Made a startling difference on my '14. Would be even better with softer springs, I know, but I wanted to retain the load capacity and tow capacity that I have.

Yes, good shocks will smooth out the ride at higher speeds. It only helps the seats and steering wheel, though. Your hubs, bearings, and steering gear are being torn apart.

I put a Carli Backcountry 3 inch on my 06 Dodge 2500 for running the haul road. If you get the add apack spring rather than full deavers you won't lose load capacity. I've put over 300k on this system and couldn't be happier.

Man if you can figure out how to get a 3/4 ton truck to not beat you to death on rough washboard gravel roads please share. I rode a 17 mile stretch of bad washboard in my buddies 2018 Longhorn 2500 a couple months back and it was absolute torture. But it’s not much better in a half ton either, and absolutely disastrous in a Tacoma.

the Carli is the ticket.

Cooper tires are GARBAGE. I have the Discoverer on my 07 Cummins and whenever I get back from an off-road adventure, they look like went through WWIII, Ive also replaced two with tread seperation. Absolute garbage tire.

Thanks, all. I spoke to a local shop about the project and they were very receptive. Carli's package is basically the cadillac system, they offered a couple lesser options as well. With 70k on the rig I need to check it out for anything ticking before I sink that kind of money in it, but I think Carli where I'm headed. They recommended Nitto Ridge Grappler tires and I'll have to pick out some new wheels as well. This is new territory for a stock truck guy. I've never had the urge for flashy rims, I hope there are some subtle options out there...a giant lift, shiny women on the mud flaps, and balls hanging from the hitch are not really my style! Thanks again, everyone, hopefully I'll have a good report later this year.

Dave, I put Vision Manx wheels on Whitey last year....

I have the ridge grapplers on mine and am very pleased with them.

How do those Kenda's hold up?

dunno yet, but the local oilfield guys are using the AP's and I haven't heard any griping about them.

Very nice!

Use that other pedal next to the accelerator.

Find a friend with a similar year 3500 (with leaf springs). Drive it a few miles. After that, you’ll think that 2500 is a Cadillac.....

I ended up putting Bilsteins on my 3500. It did help (some). I didn’t have good luck with Cooper ST maxx’s. They were worn out at 30k. The Falken AT3’s I’ve got now seem to be doing much better (and are smoother/quieter).....

Before we bought our Dodge 2500, we test drove a 3500. I thought they saved money when they built the 3500 by leaving out the springs and bolting the axles directly to the frame.

Doesn't the Cooper ST Max have stiffer sidewalls which would give a harder ride? I used them on my 98 Dodge for years because they didn't role on curves when I was loaded down running about 17K pounds with truck,trailer stock and gear. I had about 20K on them when I sold the truck and they were about 1/2 worn. I had Duratracks before that and although they rode better,the side walls were too soft.Onthos2019 Chevy 2500HD, There are Firestones on it. They suck.Ride hard,although I have to run 80PSI in them. They are noisy as all get out and have soft sidewalls