Thoughts on the '16 after 10k miles.

[waldo]

And comparing it to my '07.

On the plus side for the '16.

Fuel mileage
The 6.4 is a step up over the 5.7
Steering gear and geometry is better than the 3 gen.
Rides nice on the road.

That's it.

The '07 3 gen is pretty much a better off road truck than the 16 in most departments and it doesn't suffer from the horrible PCM trans programming of the new trucks.
I like the leaf rear springs better when off road. The coils actually don't ride any better when you get in some really rough and rocky terrain than the leafs.
The front end of the body of the 3 gen gives you a better view off road than that big, square front end on the '16.
4:56 gears
No CAD
No traction control
Hard to believe, but less wheel hop/axle wrap than the '16 in deep snow.


I was going to sell the 07, but after driving both I find myself looking forward to driving it more and more over the '16 and decided to put some money into it and keep it.

They "could" have made the new trucks so much better than the 3 gens, but they lost focus and went for street ride and a little bit of fuel economy.

I'll keep the '16 for driving back and forth to my cabin in WV, but I've lost interest in it for anything else.

[cruz]

Wow, very interesting ! With you owning and driving both, it sure makes for a unique perspective.

[Stickman]

Well they are like every other company they need to sell trucks, and more people are going to buy it for fuel mileage and better street ride on an off road package truck than more true off road performance. Sadly that's where everything is headed nowadays, cater to the masses.

[olyelr]

I really like my truck so far, but honestly, comparing it to my '06 Dodge 2500 (not a power wagon) on road it doesn't drive as good. It feels way bigger (although it is) and more sluggish. Doesnt seem to handle/corner as well going by my memory.

So, because of that, the whole concept of pussifiying the truck for better on road use just pisses me off even more because in my opinion it isnt even as good.

I still really like my truck, though.

[yooper68]

I have read more than once that those trucks seem to "wake up" significantly somewhere around 20,000 miles +/- and feel like they gain several additional HP. Hopefully you guys experience this before too long. You can always put in new gears if you really want it to come alive!

As far as the visibility in front (off road), these Power Wagons really need a front camera like the new Raptors get as standard. I have read about some that relocated their cargo view camera to the front for this purpose.

I can only go by what I have read and my 2 short test drives with 2014/2015 Power Wagons. I really thought the new coil spring suspension was far superior in the on-road ride (especially on rough pavement) as compared to my harsh leaf spring 2003 3/4 ton (not a PW). On rough woods roads my pickup has a very rough ride until it gets at least 800 pounds in the bed; then the ride starts to smooth out.

Keep posting about your experiences with the Power Wagons; I appreciate reading all & maybe some day I will get one. As of now, my wife keeps saying not to spend $50k (or more) on a new PW to go scratch up cutting firewood.

[Reloaderguy]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

[olyelr]

Or raise it on the axle end.

[olyelr]

Has anyone with a '14+ noticed an excesive amount of bumpsteer? Anytime i hit a good dip in the road at speed and the suspension cycles up/down quickly, the amount of bumpsteer i get is atrocious (for a factory designed suspension). I think the drag link and front track bar angles/lengths are off considerably.

[olyelr]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind.

No sand or snow wheeling yet i take it?

Or maybe the Thuren suspension reduces it drastically?

[usmc369]

Spent 2 days at outerbanks in sugary sand with no issues. I did air down to 30 which Im sure helped.

[DamageWagon]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

Have you seen Thurens test setup for this? He did a Trackbar riser on the axle side and made a new Trackbar with heims I think just to test it out. He said he was amazed at how much of a difference it made. I don't think anything is in production but you could get ahold of him, maybe he will make a one off.


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[Reloaderguy]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

Have you seen Thurens test setup for this? He did a Trackbar riser on the axle side and made a new Trackbar with heims I think just to test it out. He said he was amazed at how much of a difference it made. I don't think anything is in production but you could get ahold of him, maybe he will make a one off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thuren's new track bar uses cartridge joints. They look like this:

[loveracing1988]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

I just managed to get wheel hop in reverse trying to back a trailer up a hill on wet grass, that goes along with the wheel hop in snow. It is the design of the suspension because mine is just a standard 2500.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[RustyPW]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

Have you seen Thurens test setup for this? He did a Trackbar riser on the axle side and made a new Trackbar with heims I think just to test it out. He said he was amazed at how much of a difference it made. I don't think anything is in production but you could get ahold of him, maybe he will make a one off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thuren's new track bar uses cartridge joints. They look like this:

He is following Carli's lead on this. Carli's new track bar is about the same. They are both getting away from the bushings.

[DamageWagon]

I've never had wheel hop of any kind. That said, it's pretty easy to improve the suspension on either platform. I've mentioned it before; the 14+ wallow badly because of the rear track bar, you can feel the axle moving side to side in rolling off camber turns. The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle. Further, the rubber joints are effectively preloaded at ride height causing binding at any point in the ROM. I think factory Power Wagons should at a minimum have a track bar drop.

Have you seen Thurens test setup for this? He did a Trackbar riser on the axle side and made a new Trackbar with heims I think just to test it out. He said he was amazed at how much of a difference it made. I don't think anything is in production but you could get ahold of him, maybe he will make a one off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thuren's new track bar uses cartridge joints. They look like this:

My bad, I thought it was heims. Thanks!


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[Reloaderguy]

The problem is exaggerated in Power Wagons because FCA did nothing to lengthen the track bar or reduce the angle.

This turns out to be partially incorrect. The Power Wagon bracketry on the axle is different than a standard 2500 and gives about 1/4" of rise (reduced TB angle). I think there is still an issue with the trackbar but the ride, hop, and flex complaints probably stem from the rubber joints followed by the universal approach to geometry angles. The wheel hop complaints are legitimate but can be mitigated with lower tire pressure as well as different tires, springs, shocks, etc. I haven't had any hop but I did not drive my truck offroad with the stock wheels and tires. With 37's aired to 35/30 I haven't had any hop in snow or sand. However, that may not hold true for all trucks in all conditions (YMMV blah blah blah).

Hopefully Thuren will build front radius arms and rear control arms. Leaf springs are 100 year old technology, the new linked suspension should be better in every way but aren't in the current form.

[yellowranger1]

The side to side wobble wallowing is exaggerated with a good load in the bed. Feels just like a JK since the tbs fight each other. What I feel is an issue with the front end feeling like bump steer is so many big rubber joints that add up to a lot of potential for unwanted movement, TB, rad arms and articulink. If thuren/carli make a kit with rad arms, track bar etc I think the front end would feel a lot more solid and not feel as prone to bump steer.


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[California_RAM]

This thread has mentioned upgrading the radius arms for the newer PW (2014+). I have been looking at these from Carli.

http://www.carlisuspension.com/dodge-ra ... sarms.html

Wouldn't part # CS-DFRA-14 address any Power Wagon radius arm shortcomings?

[olyelr]

The side to side wobble wallowing is exaggerated with a good load in the bed. Feels just like a JK since the tbs fight each other. What I feel is an issue with the front end feeling like bump steer is so many big rubber joints that add up to a lot of potential for unwanted movement, TB, rad arms and articulink. If thuren/carli make a kit with rad arms, track bar etc I think the front end would feel a lot more solid and not feel as prone to bump steer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Man, I swear I feel quite a bit of bump steer in the front too. Just havnt proved it to myself yet. I suppose it may be partially from the rear cycling too. Most of the time it rides cery nice, but in certain scenarios/bumps/turns etc it feels like a very sloppy suspension.

[olyelr]

This thread has mentioned upgrading the radius arms for the newer PW (2014+). I have been looking at these from Carli.

http://www.carlisuspension.com/dodge-ra ... sarms.html

Wouldn't part # CS-DFRA-14 address any Power Wagon radius arm shortcomings?

Those will still utilize the 4 large bushings at the axle end. I have not seen anybody replace those, though.