Midwest winter tow rigs

[DRB10SEVEN]

5 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

counterpoint -- aside from towing I totally miss the cushy ride of my F150 vs the F250.  When we decide to sell the boat, the F250 is going to go too.  I like having a truck for all kinds of reasons, but would definitely downsize to one that doesn't ride like a dumptruck.

4 hours ago, Slayer said:

To an extent, I agree with you.  However, I do know that there are aftermarket options that improve the ride dynamics of the Super Duty.  Carli comes to mind.  If I didn't have a Tremor, I'd likely do something similar to what @Stevo did with his truck.  Not as big as his, but something similar.  I'm sure he can offer comment on ride improvement.  All being said, I'm not at all unhappy with the ride in my truck.  I expected it to be worse than it is.  I don't see myself in another half ton anytime soon and I drive on trash southeastern Michigan roads.  Some of the worst around.

This is right in my wheelhouse. I up fit trucks for a living (lift kits, wheels, tires, shocks, air bags, etc.) and in my experience, there are 2 main types of customers. It sounds like we have one of each of you in this discussion. I am going to make some assumptions that may not be true for you two specifically, but I am trying to make a point. The first would be a customer more like Shawn, who wants a truck to be able to do truck things, but highly values ride quality, comfort, and luxury. Those types of customers are not going to be happy with the ride of most 2500/3500 trucks, especially when lifted with wide wheels and big M/T tires. In order to meet expectations for this type of customer usually involves very well thought out suspension, high end shocks, springs, tires, and the rest. This is a very expensive strategy. Also, this type of buyer should beware of suspension companies claiming that their kit will make the ride a million times better. At the end of the day it still has to be able to support towing a lot of weight, and usually a heavy diesel engine. They just aren't going to ride like a 1500 truck can.

The other type of customer, lets say Slayer, has expectations of trucks that are more basic. As long as it isn't clunky or harsh, a decent ride is acceptable, and they will not lose any sleep over the truck not riding like a "Cadillac". I fall more into this category, so I am a bit biased. These customers tend to be easier to meet expectations for as far as ride quality goes. Prime example was him stating "I expected it to be worse than it is".  The expectation was low, and the ride quality of modern 2500/3500 trucks are actually not as bad as they used to be, so his expectations were met, and he is happy.

When looking at a truck, take a second and try to make an honest assessment of where you fall between the two people I just dreamt up. It will help you know what you may be able to tolerate.

 

Also, I personally really like the 4WD auto, even in my old Sierra, when I am at the ramp. The earlier comment about how it is nice when going between a slippery ramp and then dry pavement is spot on. I also prefer it when driving on ice and snow. Off road driving is the only time I use 4WD or 4LO.

Edited October 5, 2023 by DRB10SEVEN
Grammar

[DRB10SEVEN]

4 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Get a GM Heavy Duty.  The IFS is nice.  The ride quality difference between my Silverado 2500HD and my previous half ton Denali is much less pronounced than I expected.  I'd argue the dampening is even better in certain situations (crossing speed bumps, for instance).

I also completely agree with this. Solid axle trucks are not for ride sensitive people. (Again, heavily biased since I mostly work on GM trucks)

[rennis]

3 hours ago, Slayer said:

To an extent, I agree with you.  However, I do know that there are aftermarket options that improve the ride dynamics of the Super Duty.  Carli comes to mind.  If I didn't have a Tremor, I'd likely do something similar to what @Stevo did with his truck.  Not as big as his, but something similar.  I'm sure he can offer comment on ride improvement.  All being said, I'm not at all unhappy with the ride in my truck.  I expected it to be worse than it is.  I don't see myself in another half ton anytime soon and I drive on trash southeastern Michigan roads.  Some of the worst around.

This.  Factory super dutys ride like doody.  The aftermarket fixes this.  My Roush 250 does not ride much worse than my F150 did and all it has is Fox2.0s and different front springs.  It's an easy fix.  edit:  easy fix for 80% of us.  To DRB's point, there are some people who will never be happy with a heavy duty truck's ride quality.  To which I say, get smaller stuff to tow around, or go all-in on reaaaallly spendy suspension solutions like Kelderman. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by rennis

[DRB10SEVEN]

58 minutes ago, rennis said:

This.  Factory super dutys ride like doody.  The aftermarket fixes this.  My Roush 250 does not ride much worse than my F150 did and all it has is Fox2.0s and different front springs.  It's an easy fix.  edit:  easy fix for 80% of us.  To DRB's point, there are some people who will never be happy with a heavy duty truck's ride quality.  To which I say, get smaller stuff to tow around, or go all-in on reaaaallly spendy suspension solutions like Kelderman. 

I have installed a few Kelderman kits and can confirm they ride really nice. I can also confirm that they are really expensive. Install is not something to be taken lightly either. They usually take me a few full work days to install. And at shop labor rates now, you are talking about almost as much in labor as the kit itself costs.

Edit: Not all Kelderman kits are full 4 link/air conversions, and obviously installing a Kelderman 4 link on a GM truck is a ton of work VS something super straightforward like the air bag kit to replace the coils on the back of a Ram are not even comparable. But I think my point still stands.

Edited October 5, 2023 by DRB10SEVEN

[SurfNAZ]

See, I knew I could count on all of you to be bad influences!  Sorry OP for derailing the thread.

And yes, a bad a$$ 6.7 is on the maybe list too.  When I lived in AZ, the diesel was necessary for the T250 and the mountains.  Here in MN, my normal boat launch is a 1/2 mile away, and the baby F150 does fine with the terrain here.

I am sure newer diesels are better than my dinosaur 7.3 (heavily modified), but when it’s -20F outside, gas trucks seem to be easier to live with.

Edited October 6, 2023 by SurfNAZ
Autocorrect corrected

[Steve B.]

Little side track. Unless I forget I always use 4 Lo pulling out of any ramp. It's just so much easier on the entire rig.

[carguy79ta]

I have a 04 yukon with AWD. It is extremely sure-footed but the fuel economy sucks.  Have a 13 ram 2500 6.7 with 200 tune and Fleece turbo it doesn't have auto4wd. Don't miss it. Have  hand calcd 22.5 mpg on 519 miles on one tank spread out over 4 days. It's 'ok' in the snow..but 8k lbs is hard to stop in slick cond. Wife has a 21 hicrunchy HD dmax that rides like a half ton almost. Totally stock. The fuel mileage isn't as good as the Ram.

[redrooster]

On 10/5/2023 at 12:26 PM, UWSkier said:

Get a GM Heavy Duty.  The IFS is nice.  The ride quality difference between my Silverado 2500HD and my previous half ton Denali is much less pronounced than I expected.  I'd argue the dampening is even better in certain situations (crossing speed bumps, for instance).

Or ram 2500.  Coil sprung at all 4 corners.  It rides nice and I can pull up to 16k.  That's with the 6.4 hemi.