Here in the concrete jungle of So. CA, the freeways SUCK. Lots of them are concrete and besides having holes in them, are made of slabs that get longer wheelbase vehicles into a really annoying "bouncing" motion. Errrr, that is, when traffic is moving faster than 20mph . . . So far I've tried stock shocks and DJM's drop shocks . . . both suck (much like the freeways and traffic). Has anybody got any reccomendations for an aftermarket shock that has some decent valving in it????

my truck is solid,but it dont bounce enough to bother me....btw...if you put a little weight in the back that might help?..a few sand bags or?

Bilsteins or Ranchos.

Yes, add some weight, replace the shocks, and lower air pressure in the rear tires to 55 psi (depending on how much weight you added). It's not the end of your situation but it will help. For towing I use the Ride Rite system as well to fine tune things.

they are similar roads here in N. Cali...I have rancho 9000's and it took away enough of my bouce on my short bed to make it tolerable, but it did not take all of it away.

Your problem is not with shock selection.

Flip or dearch your platform leaf, you'll have a new ride.

Or run enough weight in the bed that the main spring pack rests on the platform, about 400 lbs will do it.

Killerbee, you can turn your PM's off.

did, but before I did, I noticed that if I PM'd someone else who had PM disabled, I would never know that I never actually sent a msg...till one day...

So, the message.

Well, I *had* the situation under control, until I installed a set of Firestone airbags . . . with the added spring rate (even at the min. of 10psi in the bags) the truck rides like a brick again. I'm looking for a set of lighter rate springs (like some out of a 1500HD) but even if I end up with a set of those, I still need a halfway decent shock!!

F-it......buy a cadallac de ville

I'm in SoCal also and notice that in some places, but it don't bother me either, in fact it's nothing compared to the bounce my SFA '78 has, which also doesn't bother me a bit.

i installed bilsteins. the bounce is still there but feels more controlled. i also have airbags (7psi). at that psi i do not think its enough to impact your ride. i also have a lift and 35 tires so that may soften my ride a bit more.

I am looking into a set of these http://www.drivetrain.com/velvetride.html
On my '82 dodge w150 they helped a little.. Hopefully with the stiffer springs on the 2500 they will do more..:)

I have Ranchos but it always rides smoother when I have a little weight in the back .....that is the truth

Yesterday I put Bilsteins on my 05 Dually. The change was startling. Much smoother ride, much less hop, better handling on tight twisties. I have used Bilsteins before many times but have never seen such a dramatic difference. Best $270.00 I have spent on the truck so far.
Now I am looking into propane for mileage. I know Eric (elowe) and what he says about MSD propane kit is probably true. He is very knowledgeable and a hands on no bs guy..............Jack

Rancho 9000s, the best thing I put on my previous 2500HD.

Fox shox work very well too IMO. Tire pressure can tune a lot oput if you don't want to spend any dough for the fix.

I have sympathy for you, man. Same problem where I'm at, except amplified by the fact that there's never any traffic, so I'm constantly getting The Interstate Kidney-Punch. But Killerbee's right -- gotta either put some weight in the back or do a spring flip. Bilsteins made a big difference, but didn't get rid of that bucking over the concrete expansion joints for me. One other thing you might consider, if you haven't already, is cranking up your t-bars a few turns. I found that the differential between the front (jello) and rear (granite) spring rates from the factory caused a lot of the ride harshness -- pulling the bars up a bit seemed to even out the suspension response.

I had they very same problem on my Longbed crewcab. In June of this year, I put a campershell on it, it weighs about 350 pounds.

This helped my ride alot, truck still bone stock except for the shell.

So 400-500 pounds is about right!

My 2004 CCSB rides like a Cadilac now. The thing that smoothed the ride out most was towing a heavy 5th wheel trailer out to Moab and back. After getting back i noticed that the truck road much better than before. Also i took the lower rear leaf spring off and put my Michelin 265's back on after getting back. You wouldn't believe how nice it rides now on the stock suspension.

I feel your pain......i hate driving down the freeway and its nothing but bouncy bounce.....add weight or do what killerbee said.

The velvetride parts are no longer being made. I have looked for them for quite a while. The company was looking to start making them again, but nothing yet.

Which spring do we need to flip? I am going to get the Bilsteins, and lower the tire pressure, but want to do it all at the same time.

Thanks,
Jim

Save your money, the VR does not support our bed weight well.

On the dually, I am not going to say it would be a good idea, because I don't know. Probably is OK if you don't tow real heavy. The bottom platform spring is the one I have flipped.

Anyone tried either of these. I am looking at an 06 cc sb d/a, but would like it to ride a little better empty.
http://www.roadtamer.com/
http://www.morryde.com/

The RoadTamer for our rigs runs $2,179. Very steep.

The MOR/ryde looks interesting as well but at only $595.

DEWFPO

As it was said in an earlier post. N. Cali is the same thing. I had my fiberglass campershell on and had my Rancho 9000's down to 5psi, tried all the settings on the shocks and it still did not help. I even had my tool box in the bed and that was another 200 pounds. What fixed the entire bouncy bounce ride was... Stay out of the left lane... Here in N. Cali it is only the fast lane that is bad on the bounce. I just pick one of the other 3 lanes and it is smooth.. :)

The reason those things bounce is because they're really not shock absorbers, they just look like one. It takes almost no force to compress on, seriously. Extending it back out takes a lot of muscle, but you can hold that same shock at arms length and compress it very easily.....that's not a shock absorber for any kind of vehicle, much less a 7,000 lb. truck. Switching to Bilstein all around solves the bouncing problem, and they last about forever.

I've been looking for some bilsteins, but no one can find a part number to fit my lowered truck!! Is there a catalog somewhere that has stroke lengths and mounting types so I can figure it out myself??