Front End Bottoming Out...

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

big tom

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Posts
29
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 6.4
OP is right on. I have the same 2016 big horn blacked with all the heavy duty options including plow prep package. Every morning on my way to work doing 45 mph in a 35 mph;) theres a dip in the road and I hit the stops. I have ran lots of trucks in the woods and used to be a wrench at a dealership. Its Hitting.. not hard but bottoming. lol getting full range of suspension . Might be poor compression of factory shocks?. I have 18k on mine. Thinking Thurn leveling spring kit, would give 2in more range of motion..
 

big tom

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Posts
29
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 6.4
OP is right on. I have the same 2016 big horn blacked with all the heavy duty options including plow prep package. Every morning on my way to work doing 45 mph in a 35 mph;) theres a dip in the road and I hit the stops. I have ran lots of trucks in the woods and used to be a wrench at a dealership. Its Hitting.. not hard but bottoming. lol getting full range of suspension . Might be poor compression of factory shocks?. I have 18k on mine. Thinking Thurn leveling spring kit, would give 2in more range of motion..
 

big tom

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Posts
29
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 6.4
OP is right on. I have the same 2016 big horn blacked with all the heavy duty options including plow prep package. Every morning on my way to work doing 45 mph in a 35 mph;) theres a dip in the road and I hit the stops. I have ran lots of trucks in the woods and used to be a wrench at a dealership. Its Hitting.. not hard but bottoming. lol getting full range of suspension . Might be poor compression of factory shocks?. I have 18k on mine. Thinking Thurn leveling spring kit, would give 2in more range of motion..
 

big tom

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Posts
29
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2016
Engine
hemi 6.4
Really don't know why it did that 4 times.
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Slick61, I have had the same issue on my 2018 2500 4X4 since new (only about 6 months old). If you don't slow down to a crawl when going through intersections, it bottoms hard. The truck handles exceptional and the ride for a 3/4 ton is great other than that. I took it to the dealer, but all they did was look underneath and tell me everything looked good. I have been living with it just knowing I have to act like my 4X4 is a low rider when I approach dips in the road. I love the truck and this would be my only complaint.

Have you had any success in identifying an issue?
 

22hemi13

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Posts
3,805
Reaction score
5,795
Location
Tucson AZ
Ram Year
2014 2500 4x4
Engine
5.7
Try better bump stops. Thuren has bump stops that would get rid of the harsh hit
 

RamCares

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Posts
3,782
Reaction score
1,513
Location
Michigan
Ram Year
n/a
Engine
n/a
Slick61, I have had the same issue on my 2018 2500 4X4 since new (only about 6 months old). If you don't slow down to a crawl when going through intersections, it bottoms hard. The truck handles exceptional and the ride for a 3/4 ton is great other than that. I took it to the dealer, but all they did was look underneath and tell me everything looked good. I have been living with it just knowing I have to act like my 4X4 is a low rider when I approach dips in the road. I love the truck and this would be my only complaint.

Have you had any success in identifying an issue?

Hello Toddz,
Given the findings of your dealer, you can certainly choose to visit a different local Ram dealer for a second opinion. If you’re not familiar with any other dealers in your area, you can head to https://www.ramtrucks.com/find-dealer.html and enter your ZIP code to find a dealer near you. If you decide to go this route and are interested in additional assistance throughout that process, please do not hesitate to reach out to us privately.
Laura
RamCares
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Thank you Laura, I will try a second opinion. If they can't fix it I may have to try aftermarket such as the Thuren. I just hate to do it with only 3800 miles on the truck.
 

Nickx86

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Posts
181
Reaction score
112
Location
NJ
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4 Hemi
Might be a bit of a better insight, I had the harsh almost bottoming out feeling from my factory springs and shocks. It also handled turns awkwardly. I swapped in thuren front springs and bilstein shocks and everything feels better including the speed humps. It could almost be the super stiff springs or under damping of factory shocks not helping either
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Nickx86,
Thanks for the information brother. I have another appointment for ram to look at the front end. I didn't want to, nor should I have to, spend thousands on a four month old truck to fix the bottoming out problem. If they can't resolve it, I may have no choice. I will keep everyone updated on what happens though.
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
I wanted to give an update on the truck. There was nothing visibly wrong with the suspension according to the dealer. I have played with the tire pressure and I found it has made it much more liveable with lower front pressure (dealer had it at 80 so that may have been a big contributor.
 

Nickx86

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Posts
181
Reaction score
112
Location
NJ
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4 Hemi
I wanted to give an update on the truck. There was nothing visibly wrong with the suspension according to the dealer. I have played with the tire pressure and I found it has made it much more liveable with lower front pressure (dealer had it at 80 so that may have been a big contributor.

I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would need max pressure up front except maybe slow plowing. They should of really thought the whole theshold for the TPMS at about 50-55psi.

Mine rides so much at 50 than it does 80psi...
 

22hemi13

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Posts
3,805
Reaction score
5,795
Location
Tucson AZ
Ram Year
2014 2500 4x4
Engine
5.7
I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would need max pressure up front except maybe slow plowing. They should of really thought the whole theshold for the TPMS at about 50-55psi.

Mine rides so much at 50 than it does 80psi...
I think the real issue is people are stupid lol. They’re rated to tow x amount of lbs. They can’t assume somebody is smart enough to adjust air pressure accordingly lol. I know I know it’s a lot to ask people.
 

gofishn

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
5,082
Reaction score
10,130
Location
Iowa
Ram Year
2022 Ram 1500 5th Gen, Big Horn, 4X4, Crew Cab, 6'4" Box
Engine
hemi 5.7L, 345 cu in
My 1999 2500 Quad Cab 4x4 long box rode best at 80psi.
Anything below 70 was intolerable. Did not feel planted, too roly poly olly.
I much preferred to have the tires aired up to max.
Toss 500lbs in the bed and the Thing rode like a Cloud.
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Yeah I don't like the TPSM threshold it should be lower. With all my trucks I always have topped the tires off before towing and in between aired down. Right now I am running 60 front 70 rear. Doing the chalk test the contact patch is acceptable at those numbers.
 

RamCares

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Posts
3,782
Reaction score
1,513
Location
Michigan
Ram Year
n/a
Engine
n/a
I wanted to give an update on the truck. There was nothing visibly wrong with the suspension according to the dealer. I have played with the tire pressure and I found it has made it much more liveable with lower front pressure (dealer had it at 80 so that may have been a big contributor.

Hello Toddz,
We are happy to hear your dealer was able to offer some assistance throughout this process. If you need any additional assistance in the future, please know our team is available.
Laura
RamCares
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
I wanted to give an update. The dealer didn't ever fix the problem (again they said everything looked fine), but I love the truck and had to try something to help. I installed a 1" Traxda leveling kit and it took care of the problem by giving an additional inch of travel to the bump stops, but still maintains 2" of rake for towing. So for anyone who has the same issue it is a pretty quick fix and still rides great.
 

Leonard Russo

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Posts
83
Reaction score
65
Location
Rhode Island
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
My truck came with the Bilsteins & even with a 750 Lb 8’ Boss Superduty plow hanging off the front end my truck has never bottomed out like what your experiencing ? You have an issue going on for sure!
 

Toddz

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Posts
138
Reaction score
118
Location
San Bernardino
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Thanks Leonard for the reply. I think they have tried so hard to make these trucks ride better that the shocks are too soft. On yours if it has the snow plow set up, it is probably firmer up front. The good news is the 1" level resolved the bottoming.
 
Top