I have recently become hypersensitive to every bump in the road due to a medical condition and my f150 extended cab has become intolerable for anything but short trips. I need a cadillac ride but I don't want to give up my truck. Any suggestions for aftermarket suspension to improve ride quality? Air? Adjustable shocks? ??? I don't need off-road but I do pull a hefty trailer on trips 4-5 times a year.

Phil

 

Hello Pdupler, welcome to what is probably the best F150 site on the globe.

I have a 97 extended cab F150 with 255/70/16 tires and to me the ride is pretty cushy compared to trucks I have owned in the past. Not many people here have expressed a desire to make their trucks ride like luxury cars but from my own experience I can make a few suggestions.

First off, you can experiment with tire air pressure as lower pressure usually equates to a softer ride. Make sure to stay within the range of the Mfgrs reccomendations though. You will trade off on handling and mileage but that might be a fair trade to a person with a condition like yours.

Tire size and type will also make a difference. Tires with taller sidewalls absorb more of the bumps in the road as opposed those little low profile tires you may have seen. In addition, many online tire vendors offer customer reviews and ratings for the ride quality of the individual tires. Obviously an all season highway tire will offer a smoother ride over an offroad mud tire.

Another thing I've noticed is that my truck rides much smoother when I have between 300 to 500 pounds of weight in the bed. This also will impact mileage and handling but will eliminate what most have come to call the empty bed syndrome.

Certain shock absorbers are probably notorious for their softer ride qualities when compred to others too but I cant personally recommend which are which.

Lastly, a seat cushion of some kind can also help take some of the jolt out of your ride. I have noticed that cabbies and long haul truckers are particularly fond of these cushions so they most likely do help.

This is all I can think of right now and I will contribute more if I can recall something else. I hope these ideas ca be of some help to you. If worse comes to worse, you may decide to trade in for a Lincoln or Caddie.

Good luck and I hope you get better.

 

Velvet Ride Shackles Link These look like they may help.
Link to an actual install and post ride comments.Link ]

The other option is to air-bag it.

 

From some past posts on this subject, several guys swear by the velvet shackels in the back. That will take care of the rear but what about the front? In addition to shocks, is there a better spring setup compared to the stock springs to smooth out the ride up front?

 

LE PEW has some good ideas.
Adding to that I could tell you the load rating of the tires will be a significant factor in how your truck rides.
Take a look at the load rating on a car in which you feel the ride is comfortable and compare that to the rating of your current tires.
I think you'll find passenger car tires are mostly rated "B" and truck tires are "C", "D", "E".
If you change to a lower rated tire your load carrying capacity will go down, but it will ride better. How much load rating do you really need?
Also removing the bottom leaf from the rear spring pack and adding air shocks may let you keep some load capacity with some air in the shocks while having a soft ride with less air. I have done this myself, on a truck other than my ford, and it worked well.
Good luck.

 

Thanks guys. I'm also researching seats but these things have to happen together. What I most object to is that I seem to still be bouncing around in the spongy seat long after the truck has stopped bouncing. I would change to some custom seats that are firm and supportive like a sports car. But with a hard seat bottom, I would need to soften the ride. The velvet shackles look like a relatively easy modification. For tires, I've still got the original Goodyear Wrangler APs but I don't see any load rating letter code on the sidewall - only says "Standard Load". I will check the Tirerack website for info on tires. Also I've read about the Rancho 9000 shox that are adjustable. When dialed down, are these softer than the stock on typically potholed urban pavement? I'm only familiar with adjustables on sports cars that are about like stock on the lowest setting and dial up from there for autocross or road racing. Lastly, all the air systems that I've found info online seem to be one of either two types "helper" systems for load leveling or setups for "slamming". Neither seem to be engineered specifically for ride quality under normal conditions, tho lowering the center of gravity an inch or two seems like an idea that might reduce the side to side rocking motion over uneven pavement. Any air systems out there that are setup just to simply do a better job than the stock springs? Any comments or links?

Phil

 

Tires make a big difference. The 4x4 rides like a 4x4 due to the tires more than anything else. The tires on the Lincoln Blackwood F-150 come highly recommended for a smoth ride. They are the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV. They are designed for a 4x2.

What tire are you running now?

I have put the 255/70/16 General Grabber AWs from a 4x2 on my 4x4 for a week and the ride was much softer. I liked the way the 4x2 rode with the Generals. The 26570/17 RTSs made the 4x2 ride stiff like a 4x4.

Goodyear has a new tire to marked to your very comfort ride needs, with no loss to load capacity. You will give up some off road and snow traction. I have ordered a set for my 4x4, so I can tell you more when I get them mounded and drive a few miles.

 

Try a set of Edelbrock shocks... They made an unbelieveable difference in the ride of my 4x2 over stock.

 

Any opinion on changing out the front springs?