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Ram 1500 (2005) Rough Ride

29K views 58 replies 42 participants last post by  sat73 
#1 ·
Hi All,
I just bought a Dodge Ram 1500 (2005) a week ago and my ride is really rough! Even when I'm in the freeway I feel the whole car is bouncing at a rapid rate. It gets so bad it rattles my brain :mad: It is all dependant on the road condition. It looks like my shocks are too hard, any idea. This is my first truck so I'm not sure if this is normal. As far as I can remember I never had this problem during my test drives. Is this normal or I got me a bad riding truck?
 
#2 ·
Raker said:
Hi All,
I just bought a Dodge Ram 1500 (2005) a week ago and my ride is really rough! Even when I'm in the freeway I feel the whole car is bouncing at a rapid rate. It gets so bad it rattles my brain :mad: It is all dependant on the road condition. It looks like my shocks are too hard, any idea. This is my first truck so I'm not sure if this is normal. As far as I can remember I never had this problem during my test drives. Is this normal or I got me a bad riding truck?

dude it's a truck.....its not going to ride like a luxury sedan

it's normal
 
#4 ·
I aint typing all this out again look at where you have your fist post about this.
IT'S A TRUCK.
 
#5 ·
What BiIIy B0b said.
 
#6 ·
See your 1st post.
 
#7 ·
"It's a truck". So what? It still should ride better than these Dodges do. In fact, the reason why these Dodges ride so poorly is because they have car-like suspension softness on a 5,000+ lb. truck. If DCX would actually put a firm 4x4 truck suspension under these things they'd ride like they are supposed to.
 
#8 ·
Big-Red said:
"It's a truck". So what? It still should ride better than these Dodges do. In fact, the reason why these Dodges ride so poorly is because they have car-like suspension softness on a 5,000+ lb. truck. If DCX would actually put a firm 4x4 truck suspension under these things they'd ride like they are supposed to.
wtf is wrong with your guy's trucks? my '04 qc 4x4 hemi rides pretty nice. my prior car was a Mach 1 mustang and I think the truck rides a bit nicer (although the rear end bounces around more on bumpy roads).
 
#9 ·
I have a very comfortable ride in my truck, it helps to have a canopy for the little extra weight for the back. It rides nicer than my wife's car...mind you it is in the shop right now due to some punk or punks who attempted to steal it even though the red flashing light for the engine immobilzer was on. They didn't get away with it but they trashed the interior anyways.
 
#10 ·
patriotbluehemi said:
I have a very comfortable ride in my truck, it helps to have a canopy for the little extra weight for the back. It rides nicer than my wife's car...mind you it is in the shop right now due to some punk or punks who attempted to steal it even though the red flashing light for the engine immobilzer was on. They didn't get away with it but they trashed the interior anyways.

bummer man
 
#11 ·
The ride depends on the road. On certain freeways that are concrete and built in sections tend to ripple and dip in the middle of the sections. If you hit the right speed, the truck starts oscillating up and down like crazy. A couple hundred pounds of weight in the bed will take care of that.
 
#12 ·
Switch your factory shocks out and you will have a much better ride.

KB
 
#13 ·
Ok heres my take on it. First off this is a for real truck with the real deal truck suspension! its chasis is stiff and it is designed this way. the other is check the air pressure. When I took delivery of mine I also felt the ride extremely firm and bouncy. I have set the pressure to 32psi from the dealer set 45psi (A Holes). you will notice that the truck will have a better ride quality after aprx 4k miles. Suspension break in time. If you wanted a caddy type ride a GM or Ford SUV would have been the better choice. Also the guys on the forum are correct when they say when these bad boys are loaded they,re maners are much improved. As cool as these look they are designed for work. If you cant live with that this may not be the vehicle for you.

Dodge Tough Baby :rck:
 
#16 ·
The ride in this truck is 100% better than it was in my 96 ram was. I did have a problem when I went over a dip in the road though, the backend felt like it was off the ground but Slammed1 one took care of that and couldn't be more pleased.
 
#17 ·
Drive a Neon for a day, then when you ride in the Ram, a warm confortable feeling of "sitting in your living room" will erase the "harsh ride' you thought you were getting.
 
#19 ·
GM A Tech said:
Man your driving the truck I was thinking about getting but dealer says no 2 door :mad:
What did you end up getting? The dealership should have been able to order you one, since you pay for the freight charges anyway. I had to look for 3 months to get mine. All anyone had was white, since companies buy most of them, and I didn't want that. I really wanted the metallic grey, but settled for silver in the end. The silver has grown on me to the point that I'm glad I didn't get the grey. Scratches from bushes and stuff just rub right out-I even slid the dually flare on the gate in my complex and had a black streak down one side, it rubbed out, and you can't even tell now. I had a black truck once, and will never do that again. It was a pain to keep clean, and it showed ALL the scratches.
 
#20 ·
GM A Tech said:
the other is check the air pressure. When I took delivery of mine I also felt the ride extremely firm and bouncy. I have set the pressure to 32psi from the dealer set 45psi (A Holes).
I was going to suggest the same thing......I'd suspect the dealer (in your case) has not re-set the tire pressure properly during PDI. The tires are intentionally over-inflated when the vehicle rolls off the assembly line to minimize tire "flat spotting" and bounce while the vehicle in question is cranked down on the transport truck. Check your inflation guide booklet in your glovebox...there's recommended pressures for "light" load and "maximum" load situations. For better fuel economy, run your tire pressure 2-3 psi or so above the recommended pressure, as long as it's within the limits of the max psi as stated on the tire sidewall.
Greg
 
#21 · (Edited)
My dealership kept them extremely low, about 30psi, so that on the test drive it rode smoother. After I bought it, I checked it, and brought it up to 70psi, it rides like a lumber wagon now. My manual says to run between 65-75psi depending on the load. The tires are rated 80psi max.
 
#22 ·
I've ridden in lots of trucks, including my brother's 98 Dakota 4x4. My 1500 4x4 Hemi rides smoother than all of them put together. Shoot, it even beats my friend's Quattro and my mom's 96 Grand Am, and I have 20" rims which everyone keeps saying gives a rough ride. Couple that with the superb handling that Dodge has in this generation, and you one heck of a truck.
 
#25 ·
If you think a 1500 rides good, don't take a 3500 out for a test drive. I have a bad neck and will not drive Heather's 1500 on a logging road, its so rough riding.
 
#26 ·
Trucks always have firm suspensions because they are designed to haul payload far in excess of the weight of groceries.

Options :


1. Throw about 1000 lbs of something in the back and I guarentee you it will be a much softer ride. I'm sure a friend has a mother-in-law he'd be willing to lend you for this purpose.

2. There are mods to the suspension you can do, like pulling one of the leafs out of the springs, switching to softer shocks, or air shocks etc. These will soften the ride but they will also affect your towing/payload capacity.

3. Perhaps lowering your tire pressure a little ( stay with spec though so you don't cause heat buildup and tire failure ) might help.

4. Sell the Ram and Buy a Buick.
 
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