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2014 rear suspension changes

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Has anybody heard the specifics about the rear suspension changes for the 2500/3500 trucks? The idea seems very interesting to me as the 1500 series trucks seem to ride well but lack payload. I wonder if Dodge has found a reliable system. It seems like automotive systems are not reliable and expensive to fix.



http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/2014-heavy-duty.html



http://www.automotive-fleet.com/channel/vehicle-research/news/story/2013/06/2014-ram-heavy-duty-to-feature-all-new-v-8-engine-and-new-rear-suspension-system. aspx?ref=rel-trending&prestitial=1
 
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The air suspension is shown on Ram's site now, looks like it's what people have been asking for for years. The 2500 will get a coil spring REAR suspension similar to the 1500, and the 3500 will retain the leaf spring setup with air springs working as helpers. The 2500/3500 air suspension will only be on the rear, so the front will still have coil springs.
 
I'm jumping on the 3500 Air ride. . if you look at ALL the HD air systems They ALL have cam Arms or Bags Front and Rear Axle, TDC axle bags just make the Truck sway on Heavy loads, its simple divide the weight on 4 points that are spread apart, No doubt it will ride better.
 
The roads in LA will tear that suspension apart and 4X4ing will break that system, but if you don't live in LA and/or you don't 4X4, it will wear it to the point you will have to have rear end alignments and have to have it rebuilt like front ends. Leaf springs might be a rougher ride, but are stout and can take the repeated abuse of rough roads, and LA streets and freeways will test that system. The last time I took my 5ver through LA, all of the contents in the cupboards ended up on the floor.
 
Did some searching for measurements with air suspension and ran across this:

http://www.sae.org/mags/aei/12353/

"New link-coil rear suspension for 2500

In the chassis, the major change for 2014 is the new five-link-coil rear suspension system for the 2500, which benefits from lessons learned on the 1500's link-coil system introduced in 2009. Importantly for the HD segment, there is “absolutely no compromise in payload,” Mets said. “As a matter of fact, we increased the GVW [gross vehicle weight] all the way up to the class max 10,000 lb in both our gasoline and our diesel applications. ”

The system offers a 40-lb (18-kg) weight reduction compared to the previous leaf-spring configuration, Chrysler engineers claim. (See video at 2014 Ram 2500 gets 'beefed-up' link-coil rear suspension - SAE Video for more details on the 2500's rear link-coil system. )

An active load-leveling air suspension, for which an airbag replaces the coil spring, is also available on the 2014 Ram 2500. Load capacity is not sacrificed, and the load-leveling function detects load on the rear suspension and automatically increases air pressure until the vehicle reaches normal ride height.

“We wanted the vehicle to have a 1° positive grade angle—whether loaded or unloaded—for a very solid, strong look on the road,” Mets explained. “Unloaded, the air suspension is about two inches lower than the steel suspension, offering you better ingress and egress. ”

The air suspension system has two modes—normal and tow—that can be controlled via a button on the center stack. In tow mode, the grade angle is lowered to 0° “so when you hook up to a trailer, you're looking more level as opposed to pitched in the center,” Mets said.

Engineers took a different approach with the air suspension for the 2014 Ram 3500. “We actually kept the main leaf, but we softened it up, and we added the airbag [and] an upper control arm to manage the axle torsion,” said Mets.

The supplemental airbags allow for more unladen suspension movement. When a high-load capacity condition exists, the air suspension automatically fills the rear airbags to level the truck and improve stability and ride quality, including with a claimed best-in-class 30,000-lb trailer in tow.

As on the 2500, the 3500's air suspension has two modes—normal and trailer—and is optional on both single and dual rear wheel models. "


The 2500 and 3500 have air bags on the rear axle only. The 1500 has air bags on all four corners.
 
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I'm still pessimistic on that setup, it will wear out like front ends and cause alignment issues. There's a reason why GM dumped that 40 years ago, although it was a spring coil system. I took one out in an accident in 1985, but they were less complicated and seemed to be stout. Another reason I wouldn't want one, ever change out air bags on semi's and trailers. By the time my 3500 wears out, and that seems to be a long time, considering its an 07 with only 49K miles, hopefully they have beefed up on lessons learned.
 
I took a few pics of the 2500 coil set up if anybody is interested

Pics would be great.

I'm still pessimistic on that setup, it will wear out like front ends and cause alignment issues. There's a reason why GM dumped that 40 years ago, although it was a spring coil system. I took one out in an accident in 1985, but they were less complicated and seemed to be stout. Another reason I wouldn't want one, ever change out air bags on semi's and trailers. By the time my 3500 wears out, and that seems to be a long time, considering its an 07 with only 49K miles, hopefully they have beefed up on lessons learned.

All the items I am aware of that wear out rapidly on our front ends are due to it being a steering axle, and will not be installed on a drive axle. I don't recall any discussions on control arm bushing wear causing issues.

I think it's a great idea, and like the 3500 setup.
 
Front ends wear out due to the reason of steering, no mater how you set it up you will wear them out. A couple of years on Los Angeles freeways, (they won't repair the roads because they give our money away on liberal issues) will tear them up.
 
Front ends wear out due to the reason of steering, no mater how you set it up you will wear them out. A couple of years on Los Angeles freeways, (they won't repair the roads because they give our money away on liberal issues) will tear them up.

Correct, but we are talking about the rear suspension.
 
my old 72 chevy had a similar setup. That was the last truck i owned that rode worth a crap.
Just cant decide between the air ride and spring.
 
Correct, but we are talking about the rear suspension.
Correct, the rear suspension with several rubber bushings that will wear due to more movement than the leaf spring bushings will move. They are going to wear faster then leaf springs, I can never remember ever having to repair leaf springs bushings. Ya, it will ride nice, but at a cost that the owner will bear when the warranty is long gone. And to think they cost up to $60K, in the video link provided it even has lateral rods that will wear out as well. On edit, warranty won't cover wearable parts like front ends.
 
I guess a little more maintenance for a better ride, empty and loaded, no need for aftermarket airbags, and a suspension that controls axle wrap is a good thing. I also don't recall seeing too many issues on the front of the current trucks where they need bushings at an early stage in life.

I have a little, but not much, more power than the new motors produce and the OEM leaf setup is barely sufficient for controlling axle wrap. On an OEM setup it isn't, and I am really surprised they didn't address it on the 2013 models, but it is only 1 year.
 
I have a friend who drives a '06 Turd powersomething 1 ton that came off the North Slope, low miles, but road hard and put away wet several times over. He got sick of the buckboard ride, went with a full air ride all the way around, and with oversized wheels/tires most turd owners have. This guy shows his truck no mercy off roading and the 1 time I rode in it, was amazingly smooth, almost car like. Its been almost 3 yrs and he hasn't had an issue one other then icing in winter. He paid a huge fortune for his kit,and I didn't think it would last a month. Boy I was wrong.
 
Local dealer is telling me that the air ride will be a LATE 14 option. that kinda blows since Im wanting to purchase a new truck after the first of the year. Would like to do some side by side comparisons between the two before purchasing.
 
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