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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
I drove my truck to the Mopar Nats on fri and stayed through sat. Had a great time but I'd forgotten how stiff a 1 tone rides. The front has new Moog OEM spec coils and the rear is stock. Here's what I'm thinking, my tires are rated at 80psi. I'm sure they're close to that. Do you guys see a problem with lowering the psi in the duals? I can always air them up if I tow. How low can I go?
That is a very nice ride, best bet is to put about 1000 lbs of weight in the back that should help and I wouldn't run over 50 lbs in your tires as long as they don't touch
That is a very nice ride, best bet is to put about 1000 lbs of weight in the back that should help and I wouldn't run over 50 lbs in your tires as long as they don't touch
The tires are 235/80r17s. There's a lot of space between the duals. I was thinking 40-60 psi so I'm on track. Thanks for the post and the props.
I run 45 in the front and 55 in the rear when unloaded. If I'm hauling/pulling full gross, then I up the rears to 80psi. Me, I'm an old school die hard. If you want a car ride, buy a car. Leave a truck a truck.
Very nice, red and black my favorite. Really like the body color grill.
Cougar, you must have a good back! And wear a kidney belt.
On my truck, admittedly way different, without a load I never run more than 60 in the front and with a steel shell on the back, 35-40 max rear. That's with 285 singles. Been doing that forever with good tire wear and safe handling.
On that dually, play with lower pressures. mark a chaulk line across the tread on the rears drive a straight road, pull off without turning check your marks. You want pretty even wear across the whole tread. If you get really low just make sure they don't overheat at freeway speeds.
I run 45 in the front and 55 in the rear when unloaded. If I'm hauling/pulling full gross, then I up the rears to 80psi.
Agreed. There's no reason to run anywhere near full air in the rear of an unladen truck. (unless of course its to deadhead to your next haul)
I ran my D250 with 30psi in the rear for a good long while when I just shuttling myself around with no payload. Definitely helps the ride, and also traction.
EDIT: Also, if you have overload leafs... be sure your main springs aren't sagged to the point where the OL's 'slap' the stops on bumps.
nice truck. do you actually use for towing? i would say running lower tire pressure when not hauling anything would help a bit. longer leaf springs would help give it a better ride but generally require you move the shackle and spring mount do so. could also remove a leaf spring or 2 and install air bags to compensate for the lost leafs if you need it to keep the tow capacity.
Thoroughly pressure-wash the leaf-spring packs and let dry well. Then flood them with an aerosol heavy chain or wire-rope lube.
Such makes a surprising improvement. It's still a covered-wagon but, it takes the sharp edges off the bumps.
nice truck. do you actually use for towing? i would say running lower tire pressure when not hauling anything would help a bit. longer leaf springs would help give it a better ride but generally require you move the shackle and spring mount do so. could also remove a leaf spring or 2 and install air bags to compensate for the lost leafs if you need it to keep the tow capacity.
Thanks and yes I do. The last time I towed with it was before I started fixing dents. I drug my car hauler with a few cross ties across Cheat Mt. looking for a bed that wasn't so beat up. Never found one. Fixed what I had.
Thoroughly pressure-wash the leaf-spring packs and let dry well. Then flood them with an aerosol heavy chain or wire-rope lube.
Such makes a surprising improvement. It's still a covered-wagon but, it takes the sharp edges off the bumps.
Friday evening I took my wife out for her birthday dinner and we took the dually. After dinner we stopped and picked up 10 40#bags of salt for the softener. Such a huge difference. I'm going to make a false bottom and load it with ballast, Thanks for the good advice guys.
One could put some sort of tank and fill it with water for ballast. This way it could be drained and the tank taken out when you needed to haul something real. Me? I just got used to being jarred and having the back snapped occasionally. I got a pair of bucket seats to install once I get to Okiehoma. I'm thinking I could build a spring suspension under each one with a little shock absorber also. Maybe an air bag would work.
08-15-2021, 04:12 PM
