Ride Quality - 2500 Power Wagon vs Rebel vs Laramie

[LarryM13]

I’m eyeing a 2500 Ram Rebel with the 6.4L Hemi, 4.10, rear air suspension

I’ve never driven a 2500 so I was concerned about ride quality as a daily driver or in snow conditions

Today I test drove a Power Wagon and Laramie with 4.10s

They rode substantially different, like night and day so I’m a little torn right now.

I love the looks of the Power Wagon, but it can’t tow (I’d get a TRX if I didn’t care about towing/payload).

So my question is, does the new 2500 Rebel ride like the Power Wagon or like the Laramie?

Part of me says the Power Wagon because of the tires and more off road suspension

Then part of me says the Laramie because of the stiffer suspension capable of 3K payload

I can live with the ride quality of one of the vehicles I drove today, I couldn’t possibly imagine living with the other.

 

[69GWC]

The PW is like a heavy duty half ton. Lol and I mean HD because of the 2500 axles.
Mine pulls my 8k camper very easy and better than my modified 1500 I had before it.

But if you want to pull heavy or carry heavy it’s not the truck for that so you will need to deal with the harsher ride.

As for the Rebel I would assume it would ride in between the two as I believe that’s the market they were going after, right in the middle of the two trucks.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Rebel will ride like the Laramie. Same springs etc.

 

[LarryM13]

The PW is like a heavy duty half ton. Lol and I mean HD because of the 2500 axles.
Mine pulls my 8k camper very easy and better than my modified 1500 I had before it.

But if you want to pull heavy or carry heavy it’s not the truck for that so you will need to deal with the harsher ride.

As for the Rebel I would assume it would ride in between the two as I believe that’s the market they were going after, right in the middle of the two trucks.

Thanks for your reply. In my original post I didn’t mention which ride bothered me. You mentioned the higher towing would be harsher due to the stiffer springs…which is what I thought

But, for me, the Laramie rode quite comfortably, but for some reason on relatively smooth highway there was a constant bumpiness in the Power Wagon. I could feel my stomach jiggling as if I were Santa. Very odd

I did go to another Ram dealership, but their Power Wagon was in the showroom so I asked to call me when I can test drive it. I’m wondering if something was off on the one I drove

 

[LarryM13]

Rebel will ride like the Laramie. Same springs etc.

That’s great, I thought the Laramie rode very nicely. I would assume the air suspension option could potentially improve upon that?

 

[Docwagon1776]

That’s great, I thought the Laramie rode very nicely. I would assume the air suspension option could potentially improve upon that?

No idea, never drove one with air suspension on a 2500. The PW is certainly more compliant, but I test drove three and one rode like absolute garbage. I don't know if it was modified or not but it was completely different than the others, including the one I bought.

 

[69GWC]

That bumpiness you felt could be the difference in the tires, mud tire vs a street/at tire ?
Mine is pretty dang smooth riding

 

[jejb]

That’s great, I thought the Laramie rode very nicely. I would assume the air suspension option could potentially improve upon that?

Definitely. In the 2500's, the factory air suspension gives them a much plusher ride.

 

[LarryM13]

No idea, never drove one with air suspension on a 2500. The PW is certainly more compliant, but I test drove three and one rode like absolute garbage. I don't know if it was modified or not but it was completely different than the others, including the one I bought.

The one I drove was new, only 25 miles and didn’t list any modifications from the dealership. Interesting you had an experience with one that rode like garbage

 

[LarryM13]

That bumpiness you felt could be the difference in the tires, mud tire vs a street/at tire ?
Mine is pretty dang smooth riding

Excellent to hear yours is smooth, this could be something off with this truck in particular and makes me a little more confident in ordering a Rebel

 

[DrTron]

That bumpiness you felt could be the difference in the tires, mud tire vs a street/at tire ?
Mine is pretty dang smooth riding

That, and tire pressure. When I picked up my PW, it had nearly 80psi all around. Good thing I already heard about that and aired it down right at the dealer lot.
Currently running around 50 and it rides well.
Although the difference between the stock Duratracs and my 35 AT's I have now wasn't really noticeable.

 

[Dean2]

I have the Laramie gas 2500 in 2021 with no air suspension and the Offroad package as well as the snowplow package. If you use your truck in cold weather do yourself a BIG favour and skip the air. I find the ride of this truck VERY nice, but it is a longbox and that helps smooth stuff out a lot.

I test drove a Power Wagon when I was looking. I did not like the ride of them either. I found it over soft, jiggley on paved roads and down right squirrely on rutted gravel.

Like DR said, tire pressure makes a big difference. With the Duratracs I run 45 front and 50 back and only air them up if I tow or add a lot of weight. Much better ride than the door sticker 65 pounds.

 

[LarryM13]

I have the Laramie gas 2500 in 2021 with no air suspension and the Offroad package as well as the snowplow package. If you use your truck in cold weather do yourself a BIG favour and skip the air. I find the ride of this truck VERY nice, but it is a longbox and that helps smooth stuff out a lot.

I test drove a Power Wagon when I was looking. I did not like the ride of them either. I found it over soft, jiggley on paved roads and down right squirrely on rutted gravel.

Like DR said, tire pressure makes a big difference. With the Duratracs I run 45 front and 50 back and only air them up if I tow or add a lot of weight. Much better ride than the door sticker 65 pounds.

The jiggly on paved roads is what bothered me the most
I’m hoping to test drive another PW soon
Hoping a 2500 Rebel isn’t jiggly

 

[Nickx86]

When it comes to ride quality, go for the smaller rims and larger profile tires. My old 2016 ram truck has 275/60/20 and I had to air down the tires to 50 psi to make it ride decently, my 2022 ram has 275/70/18 with 70psi and it rides so much better than my 16.

 

[jejb]

If you use your truck in cold weather do yourself a BIG favour and skip the air.

I don't believe this is an issue on the HD's. It's the 1500's with their 4 corner air suspension that have so much trouble in the snow belt. I've been driving 2500 Ram's with air suspension for about 3 years now, so have paid a lot of attention to this issue. Pretty unusual to read about a problem with it in the HD's.

 

[Scottly]

Buy a 3500 with rear leafs off a Peterbilt. Be a man....

 

[KKBB]

When it comes to ride quality, go for the smaller rims and larger profile tires. My old 2016 ram truck has 275/60/20 and I had to air down the tires to 50 psi to make it ride decently, my 2022 ram has 275/70/18 with 70psi and it rides so much better than my 16.

That's largely due to the major changes in suspension from the 2016 to the 2022.

 

[LarryM13]

Buy a 3500 with rear leafs off a Peterbilt. Be a man....

Lol I was thinking about a 1500 Rebel but the payload concerns me as I’d like the ability to tow a C7 Z06 in a 28’ish enclosed trailer and that’s getting close to the payload capacity after Ram box, the other goodies and a passenger

I may still go the 1500 Rebel route for nearly double the fuel mileage, but the $4k price difference makes me think the 2500 is a better value and possibly resale down the road

Also thought about a Grand Wagoneer L, but damn are they overpriced

 

[Dean2]

I don't believe this is an issue on the HD's. It's the 1500's with their 4 corner air suspension that have so much trouble in the snow belt. I've been driving 2500 Ram's with air suspension for about 3 years now, so have paid a lot of attention to this issue. Pretty unusual to read about a problem with it in the HD's.

The HDs are definitley better than the 1500s, and the Grand Cherokee have less issues than the 1500, so I agree with you on that. Problem is, up here where it can get to -55, before the windchill, any air ride that doesn't have a dryer, filter and liquid drain system, and the abiltiy to park indoors where you can thaw it out and drain the water, is going to give you issues. Any place where it stays below 32F will start to show these issues if it stays cold long enough without being able to thaw and dry them out.

That admitteldly ins't a huge part of the population, California has more people in it that all of Canada, but for us it is a definite consideration.

 

[Nickx86]

That's largely due to the major changes in suspension from the 2016 to the 2022.

Im running factory 4600 series off road bilsteins w front spacers in the 2022. My 2016 I was running thuren front coils and bilsteins 5100 all 4 corners