I’m a mechanic on these trucks and have worked on aftermarket suspension for 10-15 year and I’ve driven hundreds of different suspension combination on thousands of truck. The sway bar on the front of those trucks are to stiff to let the coil springs operate at 100%. The sway bar was not intended for that much travel or unsprung weight. You should disconnect one sway bar end link and tie it to the sway bar and then drive down the same road and see.🤯
What do you recommend? Is there a foot-pound torque the sway bar should be set at? I'm assuming you're talking about the Thuren sway bar, or are you referring to the stock one?
You know the seatbelt alarm trick @PDdieselpower? Belt plugged in with ignition off. Put switch to run (engine not on). Buckle unbuckle 2 times and the third time you buckle, leave it buckled. Press start switch and you will hear ding. No more seatbelt alarm
Holy cow, what a huge improvement in ride quality. I have a 2016 3500 Mega Cab 2wd dually with OEM rear air. I keep the air bags on the ALT TRAILER HEIGHT setting (lowered) for all driving. This lowers the rear slightly and provides a soft ride. I also have Sulastic shackles on the rear which absorb small bumps and joints before they reach the air bags. I installed the 1/2" lift coils this afternoon in 45 minutes. Front on jack stands, wheels off, disconnected brake lines from trailing arms, removed bottom shock bolt, lowered axle, OEM coils out and new coils in.
If they salt the roads at all where you drive I’d strongly suggest shock boots over the shafts of those Kings and Fluid Film on the shafts. As soon as those shock shafts get a nick, they start to corrode.
If you decide you need an adjustable truck bar, check out Carli. I think it’s a better design than Thuren. I’m running Thuren 2.25” spring and their King 2.0 shocks on my 2018 Ram 3500. Great ride and build quality, but carli has them beat on the track bar. It’s what I went with and couldn’t be happier.
nick00less - I’ve run both track bars. The carli has a nice frame joint/bearing, the Thuren uses a two piece bushing and sleeve. Currently, I run Thuren coils and king shocks, but went with the Carli track bar based on past experience.
Biggest turn off to me was loosing 26% load capacity... I kept the stock coils, added a leveling spacer, Thuren track bar, and fox shocks... big difference, and I can still haul / plow.
I thought he got the carli leveling kit that does not alter your capacity. Did he get something different? Either way it seems too good to be true. Seems physics would tell you if you soften up the ride you in turn, loose capacity. Then again, suspension tuners possibly know more than I do.
Why do you think there is a 26% load reduction when the coils are on the front? When I connect the 5th wheel (3,240 pin weight) only a couple hundred pounds hits the front axle.
@@caroldavid1019 what truck do you have and does it have the factory 5th wheel prep package? i always wondered how much weight gets transferred to the front axle. sounds like its about 10%?
@@Regal2800 2016 Ram 3500 Megacab 2wd dually with OEM rear air bags and OEM trailer prep. Pull with an Anderson Ultimate hitch which places the pin about 3" being the rear axle line. With only me and full fuel the truck weights 4920(F)/4020(R). With the 5th wheel everything weights 23,300 - Truck 12,180 (5155(F)/7025(R) with 5280 on the trailer front axle and 5840 on the rear. The Trailer is 14,360 with a pin weight of 3240.
I went with a Bilstein level kit on my 2500. Stock was way too soft. Bottomed out routinely on low speed larger bumps. I am completely satisfied with the Bilstein springs and 5160 shocks. No more bottoming out. Extra travel seems to really help. I do feel like the are a little harsh for the first few miles but it could just be me?
I've been searching for a solution to my 2016 RAM 3500 DRW Cummins rear factory air suspension. With no load, the right leans ~.5 - .7 to the right. When i put the truck camper on, the right leans ~1.5 in. Been to three dealerships to try and get it fixed. No luck. I'm thinking about inserting a 1 in spacer under the right air bag in hopes that resolves my issue. Do you have any insight into this sympton?
Dang glad/ sad to hear this. I have a 17 3500 ram, carli leveling kit with Fox shocks and 37s. The ride quality is absolutely amazing. Night and day difference from stock. Even the wife was impressed.
Regardless you only did a leveling kit. With basic King shocks. If you did a bigger lift with more spring and bigger bypass shock. You will know and feel the difference. Hardly on a leveling kit
I have an 18 mega 3500 with air rear. I notice my front end seems very soft compared to other trucks, like you explained. I didn’t know 14-17s are stiffer. I heard that tuning 18s is different than 14-17s also. It seems to me 18s are almost like 5th gens in some ways. Plan to do some Fox shocks all the way around at some point, the rear is quite stiff unloaded.
I knew you wouldn’t be impressed with the 2.0 king shock they are better then stock but they suck do you want to get a 2.5 king shock or bigger I’ve tried Carli with 2.0 shock yes better then stock but with the confidence you get to think you can hit bumps and dips you will be disappointed The same bumps and dips on the road with the 2.5 shock complete different truck
What would you do different? I Have a Ram 3500 dally 2019 I drive it like a car everyday but I also tow a whole lot. I also live an a bad dirt road so that's the biggest pain. Im also thinking about putting some 34' 12 ply tires on it.
Thanks for sharing Paul, I might be interested in that kit for my truck. I've got a hunting ranch here in Florida that we filled and graded the main road, within 2 weeks the wild hog's tore into it and now you can't physically see the bumps but they jar the heck out of the truck at crawling speeds every darn time.
I just installed the thuren and I’m not real happy. I ordered the overlander 2” softride and the damn thing just bobbles all over the place. It bounces around so much makes me car sick, feel like I’m deep sea fishing in a storm. Wishing I’d got Carli.
I leave my truck stock & just run 🏃 it . Aftermarket crap 💩 is a waste of money . The engineers 👨🏻💻 who designed the suspension already did the homework 📚.
Lmao. Ignorance is your middle name! The factory is cheap. All about the lowest cost part. Also have to keep stiff springs to get max payload numbers. Quality After market like carli and thuren are well worth the $. If not they would be out of business considering they sell 2k to 15k suspension upgrades!
@@roadglide1142 nobody was discussing durability u dipshit. If u like the rough factory ride that is fine. Doesnt make it better than aftermarket. Just proves u r a cheap hardass.
I can agree with on engine wise but not suspension. They use really cheap shocks and there's so much room for improvement. A lot of people also think that buying offroad shocks will improve the whole truck for street but that's not the case unless you custom tune the shims for a soft plush ride.
I’m a mechanic on these trucks and have worked on aftermarket suspension for 10-15 year and I’ve driven hundreds of different suspension combination on thousands of truck. The sway bar on the front of those trucks are to stiff to let the coil springs operate at 100%. The sway bar was not intended for that much travel or unsprung weight. You should disconnect one sway bar end link and tie it to the sway bar and then drive down the same road and see.🤯
What do you recommend? Is there a foot-pound torque the sway bar should be set at? I'm assuming you're talking about the Thuren sway bar, or are you referring to the stock one?
@@gadsdenconsulting7126 i was meaning your soft aftermarket springs will not work as good with a factory sway bar, it’s just to stiff.
@@justinkroeker1464 OK thank you for your help, sir!!
You know the seatbelt alarm trick @PDdieselpower? Belt plugged in with ignition off. Put switch to run (engine not on). Buckle unbuckle 2 times and the third time you buckle, leave it buckled. Press start switch and you will hear ding. No more seatbelt alarm
Holy cow, what a huge improvement in ride quality. I have a 2016 3500 Mega Cab 2wd dually with OEM rear air. I keep the air bags on the ALT TRAILER HEIGHT setting (lowered) for all driving. This lowers the rear slightly and provides a soft ride. I also have Sulastic shackles on the rear which absorb small bumps and joints before they reach the air bags. I installed the 1/2" lift coils this afternoon in 45 minutes. Front on jack stands, wheels off, disconnected brake lines from trailing arms, removed bottom shock bolt, lowered axle, OEM coils out and new coils in.
If they salt the roads at all where you drive I’d strongly suggest shock boots over the shafts of those Kings and Fluid Film on the shafts. As soon as those shock shafts get a nick, they start to corrode.
If you decide you need an adjustable truck bar, check out Carli. I think it’s a better design than Thuren. I’m running Thuren 2.25” spring and their King 2.0 shocks on my 2018 Ram 3500. Great ride and build quality, but carli has them beat on the track bar. It’s what I went with and couldn’t be happier.
nick00less - I’ve run both track bars. The carli has a nice frame joint/bearing, the Thuren uses a two piece bushing and sleeve. Currently, I run Thuren coils and king shocks, but went with the Carli track bar based on past experience.
Biggest turn off to me was loosing 26% load capacity... I kept the stock coils, added a leveling spacer, Thuren track bar, and fox shocks... big difference, and I can still haul / plow.
With stock springs, the fox shocks helped smooth things out? i was thinking to do the same thing.
I thought he got the carli leveling kit that does not alter your capacity. Did he get something different? Either way it seems too good to be true. Seems physics would tell you if you soften up the ride you in turn, loose capacity. Then again, suspension tuners possibly know more than I do.
Why do you think there is a 26% load reduction when the coils are on the front? When I connect the 5th wheel (3,240 pin weight) only a couple hundred pounds hits the front axle.
@@caroldavid1019 what truck do you have and does it have the factory 5th wheel prep package? i always wondered how much weight gets transferred to the front axle. sounds like its about 10%?
@@Regal2800 2016 Ram 3500 Megacab 2wd dually with OEM rear air bags and OEM trailer prep. Pull with an Anderson Ultimate hitch which places the pin about 3" being the rear axle line. With only me and full fuel the truck weights 4920(F)/4020(R). With the 5th wheel everything weights 23,300 - Truck 12,180 (5155(F)/7025(R) with 5280 on the trailer front axle and 5840 on the rear. The Trailer is 14,360 with a pin weight of 3240.
Same thing happened with my zone off road lift on my 19 3500. In order to fix that I changed to a Thuren sway bar. Night and day difference
I think you explained it well. Thank you Paul! I have my eye on the Thuren soft rate coils and King shocks for my 14 Ram 3500 dually megacab.
So at the end of the day Rough Country was "about the same." Difference being price
Quality in the build
Really need to upgrade the sway bar.
I went with a Bilstein level kit on my 2500. Stock was way too soft. Bottomed out routinely on low speed larger bumps. I am completely satisfied with the Bilstein springs and 5160 shocks. No more bottoming out. Extra travel seems to really help. I do feel like the are a little harsh for the first few miles but it could just be me?
Maybe try Carli on the next truck?
Change the valving. You may consider less compression valving?
Are you still running the 2" airbag and leaf spring spacers in the back?
.
I've been searching for a solution to my 2016 RAM 3500 DRW Cummins rear factory air suspension. With no load, the right leans ~.5 - .7 to the right. When i put the truck camper on, the right leans ~1.5 in. Been to three dealerships to try and get it fixed. No luck. I'm thinking about inserting a 1 in spacer under the right air bag in hopes that resolves my issue. Do you have any insight into this sympton?
Dang glad/ sad to hear this. I have a 17 3500 ram, carli leveling kit with Fox shocks and 37s. The ride quality is absolutely amazing. Night and day difference from stock. Even the wife was impressed.
He is running 20" wheels. That's part of the diff.
17 inch wheels for the win
Great to hear; I just ordered the same for my 19 2500. Can't wait to get it on there
Did you get rear springs?
Regardless you only did a leveling kit. With basic King shocks. If you did a bigger lift with more spring and bigger bypass shock. You will know and feel the difference. Hardly on a leveling kit
Did your MPG change adding the Rough Country or Thuren from stock MPG ? Just curious.
It wont
Always weird seeing kings without reservoirs lol
In the rear was it just 2" block on leaf or bag also? Thanks
2inch block with a 2inch bag spacer
I have an 18 mega 3500 with air rear. I notice my front end seems very soft compared to other trucks, like you explained. I didn’t know 14-17s are stiffer. I heard that tuning 18s is different than 14-17s also. It seems to me 18s are almost like 5th gens in some ways.
Plan to do some Fox shocks all the way around at some point, the rear is quite stiff unloaded.
Could you elaborate?In what way are 18s the same as 5th gens?
I have an 18 and 19
What do you keep your pressure at on those Toyos when unloaded? I was at 65 (for E 2 rated LT) but just went to 50 front 42 rear and it’s amazing.
I knew you wouldn’t be impressed with the 2.0 king shock they are better then stock but they suck do you want to get a 2.5 king shock or bigger I’ve tried Carli with 2.0 shock yes better then stock but with the confidence you get to think you can hit bumps and dips you will be disappointed The same bumps and dips on the road with the 2.5 shock complete different truck
Your problem isn’t with the suspension it’s with your tires and your wheels
What would you do different? I Have a Ram 3500 dally 2019 I drive it like a car everyday but I also tow a whole lot. I also live an a bad dirt road so that's the biggest pain. Im also thinking about putting some 34' 12 ply tires on it.
Sounds like the kit i have will do you good. Just make sure to adjust your rear air valves if you have factory air bags.
The problem was you bought the knock off version made by Thorn.
It Thuren . And its the best.
Thanks for sharing Paul, I might be interested in that kit for my truck. I've got a hunting ranch here in Florida that we filled and graded the main road, within 2 weeks the wild hog's tore into it and now you can't physically see the bumps but they jar the heck out of the truck at crawling speeds every darn time.
I had Carli and it was horrible on my Ram. I run a BDS 3inch with Fox shocks now and it's awesome especially compared to what those lifts cost.
U dont give any details. So i bet u didnt get the fully carli setup. To cheap or 2 dumb or both.
Carli
I fell off my chair
Get back in
I just installed the thuren and I’m not real happy. I ordered the overlander 2” softride and the damn thing just bobbles all over the place. It bounces around so much makes me car sick, feel like I’m deep sea fishing in a storm. Wishing I’d got Carli.
On a ram?
Carli is the best
Shocking video
First 😬👍🏻
I leave my truck stock & just run 🏃 it . Aftermarket crap 💩 is a waste of money . The engineers 👨🏻💻 who designed the suspension already did the homework 📚.
Lmao. Ignorance is your middle name! The factory is cheap. All about the lowest cost part. Also have to keep stiff springs to get max payload numbers.
Quality After market like carli and thuren are well worth the $. If not they would be out of business considering they sell 2k to 15k suspension upgrades!
Andy Hass My Truck’s have gone 100-200K with factory parts ! Can’t be that bad.
@@roadglide1142 nobody was discussing durability u dipshit. If u like the rough factory ride that is fine. Doesnt make it better than aftermarket. Just proves u r a cheap hardass.
Andy Hass Geez 🙄 you must be having Hemmoroids . Sorry your suck a pathetic angry person !
I can agree with on engine wise but not suspension. They use really cheap shocks and there's so much room for improvement. A lot of people also think that buying offroad shocks will improve the whole truck for street but that's not the case unless you custom tune the shims for a soft plush ride.
But my wife hates me being lower than the “max PSI rating”