Newer 2500 Driving Stability?

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Aelwulf

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Hey all. Been a bit. I traded in my 2017 when I 'retired' due to uncertainty of where/how we'd end up. I kick myself for it now but given the situation no actual regrets.

Now that we're settled and things are alright I just picked up a 2021 2500 Laramie 6.4 I ordered. Unfortunately (to me) the 18" black wheels that used to come with either the off-road or Appearance package don't anymore so I wound up with 20" wheels. My old truck didn't generally have issues on the road, but this new one seems a bit, well, squirrelly at times on the highway. Anyone else experience this on the newer ones? I'm guessing it's the 20" wheels and hope to drop back to 18" at some point but wanted to see what experiences have been.

Thanks!
 

dhay13

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I have the factory 20" off-road package wheels on mine and it's fine. No issues. Mine is a 2018
 
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Aelwulf

Aelwulf

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Thanks. If it keeps up after 'break-in' I might have them take a look to be sure everything tightened/put together properly.
 

cms1528

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So don't the 2500 have some issues with the steering box, traction bar etc. causing the truck to feel somewhat squishy in the front-end, especially at highway speeds. There are a few YouTube videos of folks beefing up those steering components.
 

SniperDroid

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I have a 2019 2500 Bighorn, with the 20" wheels. I have felt no issues that you describe, either city or highway, towing or not, with 12000 miles on the truck.
Maybe you have something the dealer should be addressing?
 

Firebird

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I only ever owned one heavy duty with 20" wheels, hated them. The ride quality was awful
 

RedneckHippy

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Hey all. Been a bit. I traded in my 2017 when I 'retired' due to uncertainty of where/how we'd end up. I kick myself for it now but given the situation no actual regrets.

Now that we're settled and things are alright I just picked up a 2021 2500 Laramie 6.4 I ordered. Unfortunately (to me) the 18" black wheels that used to come with either the off-road or Appearance package don't anymore so I wound up with 20" wheels. My old truck didn't generally have issues on the road, but this new one seems a bit, well, squirrelly at times on the highway. Anyone else experience this on the newer ones? I'm guessing it's the 20" wheels and hope to drop back to 18" at some point but wanted to see what experiences have been.

Thanks!
Had this issue, it was all in the caster angle adjustment. It was totally botched from the factory. Look up Thuren specs for alignment and make sure those cams are adjusted right, this made huge improvement in wandering and twitchiness, especially on the highway. No need for alignment shop, I did this in driveway without jacking up truck.
 

Razzman

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Have a 2020 2500 LTD and also noticed it felt a bit squirrely, soon realized it was partially due to coming from a 1500 as the steering systems are so much different. Also attributed it to the adaptive steering system. After a couple weeks it felt normal to me. I also did Thuren front coils and had the alignment done to their specs, if anything it felt even more responsive after at first.
 
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Aelwulf

Aelwulf

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Thanks again all! I'll check that issue out Redneck.

I wonder if maybe they're starting to try and share parts from the Gladiator or something. Doubt it, but they're having this kind of problem.

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BowerPower

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Have a 2020 2500 LTD and also noticed it felt a bit squirrely, soon realized it was partially due to coming from a 1500 as the steering systems are so much different. Also attributed it to the adaptive steering system. After a couple weeks it felt normal to me. I also did Thuren front coils and had the alignment done to their specs, if anything it felt even more responsive after at first.
THIS! I just picked up my 2021 power wagon. In the first 100 miles if felt like something was loose with highway and town driving. It dawned on me that it has adaptive steering and that must be what I am feeling. I don't notice it now. Before 8 haven't had anything with a similar steering system or a truck that big.

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Riccochet

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If you're coming from a 1500 to a 2500 or 3500, yeah, the steering is going to feel different. Going from IFS to SFA is always going to feel different. SFA tends to be a bit more flighty and follows road contours more.

That being said, if yours is exceptionally flighty you might want to have the alignment checked. Not enough tow in or positive caster angle can cause that.
 

mtnrider

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So don't the 2500 have some issues with the steering box, traction bar etc. causing the truck to feel somewhat squishy in the front-end, especially at highway speeds. There are a few YouTube videos of folks beefing up those steering components.

That's an issue with the old Gen 3 trucks (2007 and earlier)

.
 

cms1528

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I only say that as I see a few recent YouTube vids of 2500/3500 owners, with Gen4/5 trucks, making that distinction. I don't know at all but I have a 2500 arriving from the factory in about two weeks.
 
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Aelwulf

Aelwulf

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I had almost exactly the same truck barely two years ago (3.73 to 4.10, 18" to 20" wheels, & the interior is a bit better; pictured in avatar). I went from a 1500 to a 2500 then and yeah, there were differences as expected. But nothing like this. I just had to get used to the size difference mostly. Aside from the issue mentioned this one drives like the old one down to the bouncy rear end when not loaded.
 
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I have a 2015 2500 HD 6.7 and just came off of a 3300 mile trip to WA state with the spped limits of 80 mph towing a U haul auto transporter. Absolutely no Issues with handling. The only issue I have had was the draglink nut was loose and would let the steering wheel turn so I straightened out the steering wheel and tightened the nut.
 

jhjohnstone

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Check tire pressures. My dealer inflated to 80 psi which is max pressure specified on tire sidewall, but door sticker specifies 65 psi. Big difference in ride and handling, much better at 65 psi.
 

JayLeonard

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My 2021 feels fine. No it does not handle like the '17 1500 I had, but it's a much heavier, taller vehicle.
 

buckeyexx

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Check tire pressures. My dealer inflated to 80 psi which is max pressure specified on tire sidewall, but door sticker specifies 65 psi. Big difference in ride and handling, much better at 65 psi.

This ^^. The air pressure will play big part in how it handles. I just had new tires installed on my 2500 and noticed when I picked it up felt like the front end wanted to wander a bit. Just didn’t feel right. Checked the pressure and noticed they had air them up to 65 psi in the front. Aired them down and now feels much better.


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Aelwulf

Aelwulf

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Thanks for all the replies. Had the dealer check that out along with a few other things. Ends up the front wheels were toed out on the alignment. It's going fine since they re-aligned it.

I also had them check the brakes as they seemed a bit softer than they should with a fair bit of air noise upon application. He thinks something on the master brake cylinder is off so he ordered a new one.
 
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