I’m pulling a Fountain 35 Lightning on a Myco weighing around 12,000 lbs and looking at replacing the old 3/4 ton with a 2019 GMC Denali 2500 HD Diesel. The GVWR on the Denali is 10,000 lbs vs my old truck at 8,600 lbs making it a bit stiffer in the ride when empty. My question is, what is the softest riding comparable truck? I haven’t tried a Ford or Ram yet, but want to take advantage of the promotions offered on left over ‘19s. Any opinions on your experience is greatly appreciated.

The Ram 2500 has coil springs on all 4 corners, so you will notice a difference in the ride quality compared to the other trucks with leaf springs in the rear.

The "issue: with the Ram 2500 though, is they don't put the big AISIN transmission in the Ram 2500, like they do the Ram 3500. They use the FCA built/designed 68RFE which is a little "lesser" of a transmission. Because of this, they hamstring the HP and TQ of the Cummins ONLY in the 68RFE transmission trucks. They knock about 15% of the power out of the Cummins with tuning.

Definitely go drive the Ram 2500 and 3500 though. I went through ALL of this back in 2017, and was convinced I was going to buy a GMC Denali and a Ford SuperDuty at different times. I test drove a Ram on a whim, and the Ram 3500 rode better than the F350; and was a better value than the Denali at the time. I ended up with a super high end edition 2018 Ram Laramie LongHorn SouthFork (1 year only edition), and the interior is nicer than any of the trucks out there.

I NEVER thought I'd own a FCA product, but I couldn't be happier. They all have their high points and low points. You have to balance those out.

Airing down tires to normal pressures when not loaded makes a huge difference in ride quality on many of these trucks.

Any issues with the Ram 3500?? Everyone seems to be warning about the new rams being gremlin nightmares that spend as much time in the shop as in the driveway (BUT these are also NOT the guys that actually own them)

I have a 2018, not a new style 2019. Truck has been nearly flawless, and I LOVE it.
I know the GM, the Service & Parts Manager, and their lead diesel tech who take fantastic care; and we chat whenever I stop in. They have had no big issues with the new trucks and are selling them like crazy. I was just in there today, and I think they are going to supply my race car tires for me now too; still checking on that.

Two small issues:
1) One reprogram to transmission for "garage parking parameter" whereas the solenoid that controls the torque converter lockup needed adjustment.
2) My truck is one of a 4 month bad run with defective plastic in the cab clearance lights; premature wear. I've had a couple replaced under warranty, but just bought an aftermarket set of smoke lenses.

At the time of my purchase, my dealer included a 10 yr/200K mile powertrain warranty for free, doubling the factory 5/100.
I have my truck lifted on 35" tires and they have no issues with my mods. It is NOT deleted, but they told me they'd have my back if I decided to.

MOST definitely.
I have one of these, which makes that task a fair bit easier. It's a great tool and I use it all the time in the garage and at the race track.

What kills me on the Ram is the "Made in Mexico" sticker on the door.............no bueno para me!

I have NO issue with my truck being made in Mexico. The people at those plants work HARD for their money; as they know they can be replaced in literally a heartbeat. FCA is moving production back to the US & Michigan even. But the demand for the Ram truck brand has been so great, they have had to keep the Mexico plants open longer than anticipated.

Keeping people employed in Mexico is better than them having to go elsewhere to find work, too. AND, have you taken a look at the general labor workforce pool in the US lately? Do you know how hard it is to find even DECENT talent that actually wants to work?

Give the inshoring in the automotive sector a little time to set up, iron out the bugs, and especially trim the fat on the workforce that shouldn't be there. Then I'll be excited about looking for a US built vehicle.

I road in a friends RAM dully with the air ride suspension and was very impressed. Not sure if they offer that in the SRW, but if so that would most likely ride the best.

When I look around it seems that between Ford and GM, GM gives up some rating on the SRW trucks for ride, for me I don't daily drive a truck so I don't really care. I kind of like the FORD over the GMC but really that's more of a personal preference. It also matters on options, man when you start looking there can be a TON of options that will affect the ride yet the trucks look the same side by side. (camper packages, off road etc).