Improving the ride in my 99 Dodge Ram

Bobalos

Bobalos

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Ive been riding around with a bunch of rocks in the bed of my truck, and last night I got rid of them.  Now............. I hate the ride in my truck again.  LOL.

Ive heard of bladders for truck beds for this reason.  has anyone done something like this?

I thought about buying some free weights & just bolting them down in the bed.  Anyone done anything like this?

I have tried a whole mess of shocks over the years & there does not appear to be anything that makes it work well. 

other thoughts?

 
My 2500HD rides like a dream when its loaded down with a TH full of stuff  :dunno: ....funny how when its empty it sucks in back, front is not bad with IFS.

I'm sure a Dually 3500HD is even worse...

 
I like the idea of using water. It’s heavy and would be the easiest to unload when you need to put other stuff in the truck.

 
There has got to be someone out there with a whole mess of weight plates sitting in their back yard rusting from the last time they decided they were "going to get in shape again".  LOL.

I took a quick peak @ the water bladders & most of them cover the entire bed, which makes it useless... 

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
Put a secondary fuel tank in the bed.  If you're gonna add weight, make it useful.
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I have one for dune season, but it sits up against the cab & is not super helpful when its full of gas & I have a diesel truck.  LOL.  I suppose I could simply fill it full of diesel, but damn that would be expensive.

 
Get a twin air mattress and fill it with water.  Lay it cross-wise since no one cares if it gets pinched up and doesn't lay flat.

If it sucks, $10 lost.

 
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Crusty said:
My 2500HD rides like a dream when its loaded down with a TH full of stuff  :dunno: ....funny how when its empty it sucks in back, front is not bad with IFS.

I'm sure a Dually 3500HD is even worse...
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I had to two Fords, both the same years and 4x4.  One was a f250 and the f450, the F450 rode ten times smoother than the F250.  In most Duallies, the leaf springs are longer thus they ride smoother, at least in the Ford.

I am not sure a 1999 Dodge will ever run smooth suspension wise.

 
I thought about adding more weight to my diesel dually to make the ride better when I’m not towing the 5er. 
But the additional weight would increase fuel costs, wear and tear like brakes, etc. 

Decided to just live with it and enjoy the ladies boobs bouncing. 

 
I don't know how much this weighs, but it was all of the bigger rocks sitting there on the ground, plus a few more pavers. 

For sure it makes it ride nicer, and 200 lbs of rocks compared to 6000 lbs of truck....  it makes zero difference in fuel mileage..  

20220522_073826.jpg

 
Full Carli 2.5 King system…wasn’t cheap(I was able to find most of the parts used)but since I’ve owned the truck 14+ years it’s more than paid for itself. 

 
Had a 01 Dodge and anytime I drove it empty I needed a kidney belt and a set of ear plugs.

Sold it got a 16 FORD that has air bags.  50lbs when I have my trailer on it and 14lbs when It is empty.  Ride feels the same.

Oh and you can go thru the drive -thru and leave the truck running.

 
Dunerking said:
Full Carli 2.5 King system…wasn’t cheap(I was able to find most of the parts used)but since I’ve owned the truck 14+ years it’s more than paid for itself. 
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2x4 or 4x4?  Lots of stuff for the 4WD, very little for the 2WD.

 
Jammer75 said:
Softer springs with bags….
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That helps but your still stuck with that medieval torture device DODGE calls a seat. A pillowcase full of rocks on top of a milk crate would be an improvement for the older DODGE's. I swear my YFZ450R had more padding in the seat than my Dodge

 
It's not that bad......  fortunately after 22 years all of the rocks are smooth.  LOL 

 
Dunerking said:
Sorry it’s 4x4 shouldn’t all trucks be 4x4? Lol
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Yes they should, but this one is not.  and this is part of my problem.  about my only 2 options are Bilstein and Monroe, and they are essentially identical to each other (ive tried both @ the same time).  weight up against the tailgate helps quite a bit though...

 
one thing I thought of today was bolting a whole mess of brake Rotors in the back corners.  I thought about 45/50 Lb weights, but folks want real money for those on craigslist/offerup.....  seems like there should be tons of them laying around from folks abandoning their news years resolutions.  LOL.

 
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