2013+ Ram Highway Vibration?

[transferred]

Hi all,

First up, I'm a Cummins guy. It's my favorite of the big three diesels but I also really resect the Dmax/Ally and the new Super Dutys. Since pairing it w/ the Aisin, I'm only really looking at Rams. My 2016 was practically factory fresh when it was wrecked by a truck that forgot to use its parking brake. Had only towed city with it and it did great.

I was all set on ordering a new 2018 3500 Cummins/Aisin but it seems a lot of owners on other sites are reporting severe vibrations when the truck goes 65-75mph on concrete freeways.

There's no point test driving as apparently it varies truck to truck. so I'd need to order, wait three months and then test drive that one which I'm sure would get ugly with the dealer if I refuse delivery.

Basically, do any of you with 2013+ 3500s or even 2014+ 2500s have vibration issues on your Ram? Trying to see how common this purported issue is.

[hellfirehydra]

20k miles on my 16 2500. Smooth as can be. About 10k miles towing, including the rattletrap known as Birmingham. So much smoother than my Tundra while towing I can't even explain it.

Rides great for a HD truck. Still factory tires.

[Chiefcpo]

2017 Lariame with the rear air sup. 2,000 miles with a trip thru Birmingham, Al. on I65 where the concrete roadway is like a new washboard. happy with the way it handled the 16,000# RV. 11.5mpg over the 1400 mile trip about 900 towing.

Opinion can change over the next few years.

[Cummins12V98]

racer4 wrote:

Wild Card wrote:

racer4 wrote:
I ordered with a written condition on the sales order that allowed me to decline buying if I determined it had excessive vibration on a test drive when it arrived.

I talked with the dealer owner about this and he was OK with that provision. I test drove an in stock truck for a base line comparison.

Mine is fine. It does have Nexen tires.

I suspect the number of Ram 3500s with excessive vibration is a very small percentage.

I see you have the auto flex trailing arm air suspension. How long did you drive that truck before that went on?

About 4000 miles.

Vibration free before and after. It did make the ride much more comfortable on the road bumps.

Curious, what did that system cost? Is it front and rear or rear only?

[racer4]

Wild Card wrote:

racer4 wrote:
I ordered with a written condition on the sales order that allowed me to decline buying if I determined it had excessive vibration on a test drive when it arrived.

I talked with the dealer owner about this and he was OK with that provision. I test drove an in stock truck for a base line comparison.

Mine is fine. It does have Nexen tires.

I suspect the number of Ram 3500s with excessive vibration is a very small percentage.

I see you have the auto flex trailing arm air suspension. How long did you drive that truck before that went on?

About 4000 miles.

Vibration free before and after. It did make the ride much more comfortable on the road bumps.

[M_R_E_]

My 2016 Ram 2500 CTD with stock Firestones is smooth at 80 mph.

[transferred]

Some great insight and replies here. Appreciated, please keep it coming. It sounds like the % is very low of trucks with this malady. I'll be sure to arrange a thorough test drive on the freeway if I go through with this order. It's fro out of state though so will get checking if they use concrete joints there.

[Wild_Card]

racer4 wrote:
I ordered with a written condition on the sales order that allowed me to decline buying if I determined it had excessive vibration on a test drive when it arrived.

I talked with the dealer owner about this and he was OK with that provision. I test drove an in stock truck for a base line comparison.

Mine is fine. It does have Nexen tires.

I suspect the number of Ram 3500s with excessive vibration is a very small percentage.

I see you have the auto flex trailing arm air suspension. How long did you drive that truck before that went on?

[racer4]

I ordered with a written condition on the sales order that allowed me to decline buying if I determined it had excessive vibration on a test drive when it arrived.

I talked with the dealer owner about this and he was OK with that provision. I test drove an in stock truck for a base line comparison.

Mine is fine. It does have Nexen tires.

I suspect the number of Ram 3500s with excessive vibration is a very small percentage.

[Greene728]

My 2015 3500 SRW is downright dangerous at highway speeds. It rides and drives so smoothly that you will be running 80-85 mph and never know what happened! And the Cummins will just be purring at 1750-1800 rpm's. Gotta watch the speed and for troopers! Lol.

Seriously, mine is ridiculously smooth!

[jus2shy]

Mine vibrated with the stock Firestone ht tires. Now I have some Yokohama all terrain tires. Stable to 90mph.

[minnow]

I wouldn't be afraid of ordering one. Just tell the dealer that you need a provision written on the sales order sheet that you reserve the right to refuse to accept delivery after test drive and inspection. From what I read, the issue is predominantly on dual rear wheel trucks. Hard to say how widespread the issue is.

[IdaD]

I've never had any vibrations, with the stock junk Firestones on stock wheels or now with BFG AT KO2s on aftermarket alloys. Very smooth cruiser from highway speeds up to a sustained 83-85.

[Wild_Card]

Wild Card wrote:
I am familiar with the problem, and the other site with 100pages. At 1st mine was bad...cheap tires, Toyos now and its ok. Slight vibe in the 65mph range. Need to get tires re balanced.

These are heavy duty frames.

Ford and Chevy are not immune to this either. Ford came out with a big rubber isolator to take out the suspension reverberations.

I also have never owned a vehicle without some sort of un smoothness.

Take that thread on Cummins forum with a grain of salt.

[Wild_Card]

I am familiar with the problem, and the other site with 100pages. At 1st mine was bad...cheap tires, Toyos now and its ok. Slight vibe in the 65mph range. Need to get tires re balanced.