Rough Road Advice

[dagoof]

Put a rock through my tire, so it's time to quit putting this off.

I live on a long country road that is extremely bumpy. It's fully paved, but not really flat, and the four miles to and from my house are kinda brutal. My truck isn't a daily driver - more of a weekend truck. When I'm not rattling my brains on the road to and from my house, I split time between a little highway driving and backcountry camping roads. I tow a small camper on occasion. (only 4,000 lbs)

Planning to put new tires on my 2017 Ram 1500 4X4 5.7 Crew Cab. I'm also thinking about replacing or upgrading my shocks while I'm at it.

I'd love some good advice.

Been thinking about going with something like a Nitto Ridge Grappler and maybe the Bilstein 6112 struts / shocks.

I'll probably level the front end 1.5" and use a 33-34" tire.

Would a smaller wheel help any? Will the upgrades struts make a noticeable difference? Should I be considering a specific type or load rating tire to help with the ride?

I'd like to be more comfortable on my own road as well as do good on washboard gravel roads.

 

[Nerveex]

I have a 2inch level in the front and currently am running 33x12.5x20 nitto ridge grapplers and have no complaints other than the fact I picked up a sheet rock screw in one of the tires. But I understand **** happens, I’ve had them for about 6 weeks and love them, I ended up having to use balancing beads to get them balanced, but that was more cause of the shop that did them sucked.

 

[kurek]

17" wheels and load range C (or D) tires, or P-rated tires will make a difference. 285/70R17 is a 33" tire - lots of choices - or 285/75R17 is a 34" tire, fewer load range C options there.

I haven't used the 6112 struts but every Bilstein I've used including the 5100s on my Ram are valved digressive which makes them feel sporty but they sure do send every small bump into the cab. Some folks have said the 6112's are "better" but it's really hard to quantify ride characteristics.

 

[Travelin Ram]

What @kurek said. More sidewall is a good thing. Heavier ply tires will resist damage but give a harsh ride. I’d look to Fox or their competitors for a smoother ride. Bilstein are good for handling and durability but you feel every crack in the road.

 

[dagoof]

I haven't used the 6112 struts but every Bilstein I've used including the 5100s on my Ram are valved digressive which makes them feel sporty but they sure do send every small bump into the cab. Some folks have said the 6112's are "better" but it's really hard to quantify ride characteristics.

I had understood that "digressive" meant that they'd be softer.

Have I got it backwards.

 

[kurek]

I had understood that "digressive" meant that they'd be softer.

Have I got it backwards.

Digressive means as impact velocity increases, damping increases at a lower rate. They reach a (relative) plateau of damping force early and that produces a firmer ride on rough surfaces, sets into corners earlier for sportier handling, regains composure quickly after a bump or dip. Impact velocity and damping rate-of-increase diverge from each other.

Progressive means as impact velocity increases so does damping increase. That usually means the initial damping rate is low and results in a smoother ride on rough road textures, washboards and expansion joints but will feel less crisp on braking and cornering and can "wallow" or experience hysteresis (carry-over) when there's a repeated feature on the road... like segmented surfaces on bridges that have the same bump every 20 feet for example.

Shocks can be linear too of course... and shocks with external bypasses can have multiple profiles. I think those trick Bilsteins in the 2022 Bronco are both digressive and progressive because they have a floating valve near the end of travel.. since it's passive it doesn't require electronic integration with the vehicle so I can't wait till they decide to sell those for other vehicles too... like our Rams

What's not helpful is that manufacturers don't seem to want to share this important information with their customers and it's not exactly easy to try on a set of shocks and decide if you like them. You have to go by hearsay and personal experience. I know from my own experience every Bilstein I've ever bought has been decidedly digressive - that's fine by me since I like the responsive feel but if I had to drive rough roads on a daily/occupational basis I might take the trade-off and find a more comfort oriented shock.

 

[dagoof]

I'm strongly considering some Fuel 17x9 wheels with some 285/70 R 17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers with a "C" load rating.

My hesitations are:

- Am I ignoring my current rock puncture problem?

- Will a "C" rating be too limiting for a work truck?

- Will the 17" wheels clear everything?

 

[Burla]

Complain, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Even take them to small claims if you have too, spend the money on dyi repair. You pay taxes, they need to fix the road. Sometimes it is just a matter of complaining, we have a crew on pothole repair, they usually show up in a day. But, here we are the pot hole capitol of the world, so politically they have solved the problem because out politicians literally run on fixing potholes, lol.

 

[Burla]

I'm strongly considering some Fuel 17x9 wheels with some 285/70 R 17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers with a "C" load rating.

My hesitations are:

- Am I ignoring my current rock puncture problem?

- Will a "C" rating be too limiting for a work truck?

- Will the 17" wheels clear everything?

For having a larger sidewall to work, you have to come down in pressures, and then it will work. However, the tires that provide the best protection as in load E, don't like low pressures. In fact, Load E and up can have a high minimum pressure then load c's max. Bottom line, if you are gonna fix it with a tire, you have no real choice but load C or close.

The issue with having low pressure, you can break a rim. We had a pot hole and a kid went threw it and cracked his rim, as I was helping him fix his rim (change his tire), a dude with 22's and a tiny sidewall and a chevy drove over it and cracked his rim, I **** you not. The best practice is literally crawl over those potholes for that 4 miles, slower speeds is the real answer.

 

[huntergreen]

I don’t think there is much you can do to overcome your crappy road.

 

[dagoof]

I'm not talking about potholes specifically. I'm just talking about rough, uneven, bumpy country roads.

In the country, our roads aren't paved perfectly - they're tarred and chipped every couple of years instead. Plus I also do a fair amount of gravel road driving when I go camping.

 

[Gr8bawana]

You didn't say what psi you run in your tires so that may be part of the problem.
I have E load rated tires on my 2500. If I inflate them to the 80psi it shows on the sidewall it rides like a buckboard wagon.
So many people set their tires at max psi for no reason whatso ever.
I set my psi to 55 rear and 60 front and it rides nice and smooth for a 2500.

 

[dagoof]

I'll be replacing the Goodyear Advantage A/T tires currently on the truck. (275/60 R20 115T) I think they're the original factory tires.

They're set at 40 psi, and it's just tough enough on my road to be annoying after a while.

I'm at 45K miles. Seems early for shocks to be shot.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Anything C or D rated will still give you plenty of sidewall/rock puncture resistance. My KO2 315/70/17 C have a 3 ply sidewall, just like my other set of KO2 315/70/17 E rated. The C version is not as soft as other C rated tires though and they feel more like their E counterparts. I like it though as the truck sees a lot of rough/off roads on most weekends as well as desert washes and washboards so for me tire sidewall and tire toughness is part of what i seek to have in my truck. but in general C or D will feel better than E rated tires when it comes to absorbing bumps and what not. I run 36 psi in my 315/70/17 C rated KO2's.

As far as suspension goes the Combo with 6112/5160 or the Fox 2.0 CO/Fox 2.0 rear shocks are similarly priced and will help soak up the road bumps and washboards around you. I prefer the Fox 2.0 cause they can be rebuild and serviced. If you don't mind the price, absolute best will be King 2.5 or Fox 2.5 or Icon 2.5 or Radflo 2.5 performance CO/shocks. Ultimate piece of mind on washboards/rough on/off roads at any speed and a lot better performance. Bad thing about them right now there is a 6-8 months waiting list so try to have fun while you wait for them should you choose to go that route. They're well worth their price. you can't beat these shocks with anything else out there unless you go even better with a long travel setup in which case King or Fox top that list

Have fun.

 

[dagoof]

You didn't say what psi you run in your tires so that may be part of the problem.

I'm only at 40 psi