Maybe that's my problem. I was at the dealer to buy a 300C and brought a truck home instead. I really do need a truck, but I didn't think it would ride quite this bad. It actually rides pretty good most of the time. Even big expansion joints on the highway aren't bad. The problem I find is the little stuff. The ripples in the pavment that come and go so fast that the suspension never has time to react to them. Everything seems to go directly into the chassis. Reminds me of that (gulp) Ford commercial with the outboard vs. inboard shocks. Though I'm not convinced the new F150 rides much better.
My last truck/suv was (still is) a 1994 Jeep Cherokee with 200,000 miles on it. It also has solid axles and leaf springs but the ride it actually pretty good, and that's even with 31" mudders on it!

 

Well I think you are correct that it is odd to notice a change this early. The only other suggestions I have are 1) rotate the tires if you haven't and 2) it may be due to the change in temperatures this time of year. Tires get hotter and the 32psi (cold) can reach as much as 10-15 psi higher when they get HOT vs just warm. Also, gas/oil filled shocks get hotter as well and thus may have slighly less dampening action.
Even the difference between a full and empty gas tank is noticable to me.

The suspension wants and needs to be loaded so the spring preload, compression and especially rebound dampening of the shocks are better balanced.

 

Hey ram04...have you tried moving the tires around? Any irregular wear would cause the ride to be rougher than usual..perhaps you may have lost some wheel weights? that would also cause a poor ride quality.

 

Hmm Mines not an 04 its a 99 quad, but like the others said it rides like a truck ... And I love it . I bought a truck and I would hope it rode like one ...bumps jiggles and all. The Rangers were Cars tha looked like trucks and I didnt feel like I was in a truck. Now I do

 

Ram04,

Have you recently overloaded your truck? I did in my 02 and the rear shocks came loose. But I do have to say my 02 with 20's did ride better than my 04 with 17's. Does anyone know if there was a suspension change between the two?

 

jgralka,

I see you have a 2004 Pacifica I just bought one for my wife last sunday. We got an all-wheel drive model, loaded, leather, DVD, dual climate system, HID lights, the works. Unfortunately, it spent 2 days in the shop right off the bat. There are some horrible rattling noises from all the damn plastic in it. It also had to have the work done on the 2 recalls for the vehicle (computer re-program to fix the reported engine stalling problem and an extra clamp on the fuel line so it won't pop off). It is also making a strange sound in the right front at highway speed, sounds kinda like a plastic bag that is caught underneath and flapping around. The dealership said all is fixed, but I can still hear the noise up front. The other rattles seem to have been fixed. Have you had any problems with yours?

How long did it take you to learn how to work all the damn buttons in this thing? LOL! I swear, there are more buttons and gadgets in it than a nuclear missile silo! I do like the seat/mirror/radio memory functions, that is awesome! Hit my unlock button on my key and everything moves and adjusts back to where I originally put them. Nice!

 

My last two trucks were a 99 Chevy and then an '02 F-150. Both 4X4 extended cabs with off-road packages. I can say with absolutely no doubt my '04 QC 1500 Ram Hemi rides like total a$$ compared to them both. The suspension isn't any stiffer, yet it can't handle rough pavement or expansion joints well at all. It is thrown sideways very easily over bumps. It just about changes lanes itself sometimes. The steering wheel gets shaken back and forth a lot too. I have just over 6K on it, but it has ridden like that since new. I know it's not just me, because my wife hates driving it, and she loved driving my other 2 trucks. I don't expect it to ride like a Caddy, but I still don't like taking a step backwards in ride quality. I'm hoping maybe some better shocks will make a difference, like some Ranchos or Edelbrock IAS's.

 

Before I installed my lift kit, my 02 1500 QC would try to change lanes on me also. My scariest episode was coming home from a camping trip one time with it fully loaded, hit an expansion joint in the diamond lane and we were completely sideways....I kept my foot in the gas and sprint car'd it back into shape. As soon as I changed to some quality shocks, the problem has disappeared. Have you ever looked at the stock shocks? They have a plastic cover on them..how good can they be?

 

Break down and buy some new shocks. I have a 2003 dodge ram quad cab with 20" tires and had the same problem. Bought some monroe reflex shocks and problem was gone.

 

You also might want to try a good set of tires (like bfgoodrich all terrain/mud terrain) something with thicker sidewalls. the new tires that are made for comfort seem to have alot of sidewall roll and make the truck feel loose all the time changing the tires really helped my wifes Durango Sport, at times it was so bad that it would literally feel like you were sliding off the road if you hit a bump while doing a turn, especially at freeway speeds. My Ram doesn't seem to have this problem though. I have th 17" rims.

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