73-87 C20 ride much different from newer 2500?

[HeavyD]

Seem to have read a lot about the overly stiff ride from older 3/4 tons, but when I last washed the company truck 2013 2500 HD I looked and it seemed to have a million leafs in the back..and it doesn't ride bad at all. It is a commuter with zero extra weight in the back too.

Considering my work truck is a 2wd, would a square body c20 2wd be that much worse for ride, and why? Am I missing something? See plenty of c20s being converted to c10s, but I assumed it was mostly for bolt pattern change??

[Jrgunn5150]

IDK, my 02 2500 HD rides like a truck, my older GMT400 rode the same, my earlier square, same. It's firm, you feel potholes, train tracks kinda suck. Maybe newer trucks are nicer, but I won't know for about ten more years until they are cheap like me lol.

[mongocanfly]

Compared to my 81 my 13 truck rides smooth...but it won't carry a load like my older truck..doesn't take much load to make it squat..

[Jrgunn5150]

My 02 is rated for 3100 lbs payload lol, and it feels like it. It's also rated for 100 lbs more fifth wheel load than the diesel

[50dan]

New stuff has fresh rubber, bushings, body mounts, insulation, weatherstrip, better riding springs, you name it. Wasn't much to an old 70s-80s truck. All these newer trucks are built like Cadillacs.

[Dead Parrot]

I think a lot of the ride improvement in newer trucks is the seat. Most new ones have bucket seats, which will ride a lot better in most cases then the bench seat that was standard in most squares. I know my 75's ride felt better after I installed some aftermarket bucket seats.

You can also improve the ride by replacing those 30-40 year old spring bushings and do a front steering/suspension overhaul. If your springs have enough sag in them, you might be out of the shock's best operating area.

Your cab mounts are probably fairly hard after 30+ years as compared to the fresh ones in the new truck.

Keep in mind that the squares were the last of the "Pickups are primarily work trucks" thinking and the new ones are designed to be long trip with family friendly.

[Mattchu60]

The newer trucks use the 64" leaf spring design. Our C20 would have a 56" spring in the rear, which gives more flex and better ride.

[rich weyand]

Not sure about the 3/4 ton, but I can say the 1/2 ton trucks ride much better.

My 1978 K10 has new aftermarket bucket seats, new cab mounts, and new Tuff Country EZ-Ride suspension, but it still rides hard empty, quite a bit better with a half-ton load, but still rides like a truck.

My 2017 K1500 Sierra Denali rides like a Cadillac, empty or with a half-ton load. I can't even tell the difference between empty and loaded. I'm sure the electromagnetic shocks are a big part of that. Whoever did the programming on those deserves a medal.

[D13]

In order of ride comfort:
1987 R10, nice seat, tired suspension, rides awesome, handling not so much.
1999 C2500 extended cab short bed. 300# in front of the tailgate really helped. A 2200# Bridgeport mill in the bed gave a great ride.
2017 1500 regular cab long bed 4wd. WAAY over shocked. Bounces around a lot. Thankful I didn't get a short bed.
1981 3/4 ton 2wd. Rode like an unsprung hay wagon. Best with about 1000# in the bed.

[Super_Dave]

My '74 C20 rides great. I installed new Bilsteins a couple years ago and it tightened up the ride some but didn't really change the ride from a comfort stand point.

[Texas Agman]

Originally Posted by Super_Dave

My '74 C20 rides great. I installed new Bilsteins a couple years ago and it tightened up the ride some but didn't really change the ride from a comfort stand point.

My 85 Silverado had a 6.2 diesel before I put a good crate motor in it and the front springs gave me a strong but rough ride. Put stock springs for a gas truck on it and it helped a lot. Put new KYB MonoMax shocks on it a couple of weeks ago after checking out the bushings and the ride is much better. The paved roads around here at the ranch are worse than the caliche roads. Now I've got a loud clunk in the driver's side door when I hit a big bump and need to check it out. Lined up the front end and it was real close to perfect. I think the ride that I've got is about the best that I can get and that is OK.

[Axle]

Originally Posted by HeavyD

Considering my work truck is a 2wd, would a square body c20 2wd be that much worse for ride, and why? Am I missing something? See plenty of c20s being converted to c10s, but I assumed it was mostly for bolt pattern change??

That depends. What leaf springs does it have on it now? Base springs ride smoother than heavy duty springs. C10 base springs are like riding in a boat but won't do you much good if you want to haul something. And it depends on you personally, gotta try it before you say one way or the other. I prefer the empty wagon bounce ride of my hd springs in the chevy, and find the base springs on the gmc to be too floaty. Having gotten into Ford passenger cars later in life as well, I find fords way too floaty and even with their HD springs are no where near as firm as GM regular springs. The guys who are diehard ford guys find the ford hd in some cases too firm, I'm like WTF? It still like riding a boat... So really, your own tolerance and definition of what is smooth or firm or harsh will be the deciding factor.

Alex.

[Desert1957]

I had an 1983 C20 2WD with 8600 GVW. I road like a "Dump Truck"

Now my 2004 Z71 you can fall asleep on long rides. Can't hall the same load but what a difference.