Silverado Crew Cab Ride?

daviddsims · October 3, 2007

Well i think I am gonna sell my 05 silverado crewcab. It has 31000 miles on it and have not really been happy with it since the start. The ride has got to be the roughest ride of any truck I have ever been in. I have been back for the steering shaft issue four times, just got the temp control actuator on the driver side fixed also. I just got back from pulling a a loaded trailer for a few hundred miles with my brother in law with his new Tundra double cab and it rode much better loaded down with a trailer than mine does with nothing in it. It had so much more pulling power than my truck also. I dont know what truck I am going to get next but I am for sure going to test drive everything before I make my mind up this time. I have always been a GM man but doubt I will buy another.

redvett · October 3, 2007

#1 a loaded truck will ride better than an empty truck any time. Since we don't know what power-train combo you have v/s the Tojo we have no clue to be able to compare.

07-Z71 · October 4, 2007

Just like you, I also had an 05 Z71 Crew Cab, I also wasn't all that happy with it. Anyways, I traded mine at 33K and I just got the 07 NBS Crew Z71, the difference is night and day. The NBS is just solid, doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart. The rattles and noise are greatly reduced. The ride is a little better, although my last truck didn't ride all that bad.... it just felt like it was going to fall aprat off road.

The NBS also has many cool options that my old truck didn't have. My old truck was a LT, the new truck is an LTZ. I like the rainsense wipers, facotry remote start, and the improved OnStar with the turn by turn NAVI. Plus, there are many other "little" things that are much better.

VMax2007 · October 4, 2007

If/when you test drive the Tundra, don't just look at the power. Look at the build quality...or lack there-of. Look at the interior quality, cheap painted plastic, looks like it was built by Fisher Price. the get underneath and look at the cheap C-channel, riveted frame. Then look at the panel gaps, exposed bed bolts, lack of MANY features the new GMT900's offer. Then go over to TundraSolutions.com and read about all of the tranny, driveshaft, bed bounce and MANY other issues being discussed. All I am saying is look VERY closely and don't drink the Kool-Aid, and you will see the GMT900's are 10X better than the Tundra.

Good Luck!

daviddsims · October 4, 2007

I have the 5.3 motor with 323 gears in the rear. It is like my truck just has the most jarring hits when it hits the slightest bumps. It is like it wants to throw you off the road. Anyways I have not got to ride in the new gm trucks but I am hoping they made some improvements. My current truck does have the z85 towing package maybe that contributes to the rough ride also.

07-Z71 · October 4, 2007

my 05 was the same... the NBS is much much better... take a test drive.

2004GMC1500CC · October 4, 2007

I have the 5.3 motor with 323 gears in the rear. It is like my truck just has the most jarring hits when it hits the slightest bumps. It is like it wants to throw you off the road. Anyways I have not got to ride in the new gm trucks but I am hoping they made some improvements. My current truck does have the z85 towing package maybe that contributes to the rough ride also.

Those gears are a killer, and are expensive to change, so if the power issue is a huge one, your pretty much either stuck or will be spending some bucks.

The ride you should be able to work out, consider the wheel tire combo and maybe some new shocks. Much cheaper to experiment with your existing than to trade it in.

daviddsims · October 4, 2007

I just put some Michelin ltx m/s tires on it and have the stock aluminum wheels.

HighSierraZ-71 · October 4, 2007

I recently traded my 06 Sierra, Z-71 CrewCab for an 07 Silverado, GMT 900, CrewCab, Z-71. IMO its a totally different truck. Much more solid, better steering, power and just "feels" better. The ride is better too. My 06 had to go back to the dealer 3 times for it not shifting into 4x4, everything that had to do with the electronic shift system was replaced. It was working when I traded it to the same dealer who kept fixing it under warranty, but lost confidence in it. Test drove my new truck, while at the dealer, and I never took the 06 out of the shop!

topdj · October 4, 2007

I have the 5.3 motor with 323 gears in the rear. It is like my truck just has the most jarring hits when it hits the slightest bumps. It is like it wants to throw you off the road. Anyways I have not got to ride in the new gm trucks but I am hoping they made some improvements. My current truck does have the z85 towing package maybe that contributes to the rough ride also.

I noticed when I added my leveling kit it improved the ride Im guessing the extra lift in the front put some pressure on the rear springs,

wow you have 3.23's that will lower the tow ability your tow rating must be lower

ChrisNJ · October 4, 2007

I can't confirm this, but the 800 CC's with the 6' bed, not the short-short that they went to, had resonance or harmonic frequency problems. Granted your ride problems could simply be the Z85 suspension, and almost everyone looks at me like I'm a freak when I mention such ride issues. However, I'm a believer that gm, as does everybody building things, had a resonance issue with that particular frame combo. Could have been what you are/where feeling, it is kinda a double-jarring hit.

The new ones are great, gm even talked a lot about how they took resonance issues very seriously with the new trucks. Go drive them. The new CC's are hard to beat in any combo you need, 5.3/6.0/6.2.

cmoore74 · October 4, 2007

I have the 5.3 motor with 323 gears in the rear. It is like my truck just has the most jarring hits when it hits the slightest bumps. It is like it wants to throw you off the road. Anyways I have not got to ride in the new gm trucks but I am hoping they made some improvements. My current truck does have the z85 towing package maybe that contributes to the rough ride also.

I have an '06 Z71 CC with 5.3L and the 3.42's and even with 3.42 gears I regret it. I should have went for the 3.73's. It is my only regret with this truck. Problem was I test drove one with the 4.10 gears and wasn't crazy about how much I had to keep my foot on the peddle to cruise on the highway and I ended up going too far the other way. IMO 3.73 would be the perfect gear in these trucks if you only occasionaly tow and nothing too heavy (5k lbs or less). Those 3.23 gears are killing you for towing. If you tow closer to the tow rating and fairly often then 4.10 IMO are the way to go.

Since you have 3.23 gears in the crew cab I'm gonna assume it is a 2wd (I don't think you can get 3.23 gears in a 4x4). A gear swap wouldn't be that expensive on a 2WD (maybe $600-700). If you decide to swap gears I would go with the 3.73 gears personally.

As for the ride quality I have no complaints with mine in that department. Some say new shocks (Bilsteins seem to be popular at least for 4x4's) may help. Also watch the air pressure in the tires. Just a few psi makes quite a bit of difference in ride quality. When not loaded or towing I run 35 psia in the front and 33 psia in the rear. This seems to give the best ride.

Maybe the new tundra is different, but every toyota truck I have ever been in had terrible ride quality. Even among the big 3 (GM, Dodge, and Ford) GM IMO always gave the best ride.

I also second ride quality will be much better when towing or hauling. These turcks are designed to tow and haul. Ask your buddy with the tundra for a ride when he's not towing.

daviddsims · October 4, 2007

Yeah I regret going with the 3.23 gears in the rear. At the time it was my first full size truck and I had no idea that gears in the rear made a difference lol. I thought since I was getting the big 5.3 motor and the trailering package that I would be set. Now I realize how much the gearing matters. I guess I should go test drive a new silverado cc to see the differnce on the ride. Stopped by the local toyota dealer the other day and test drove a new Tundra crewmax. I really dont see it being that much bigger than my current Silverado Crew. Another thing I hate about all new trucks now is the way the seat material is made. I like the feel of the seats in my current silverado and I dont think they make that kind anymore.

2004GMC1500CC · October 4, 2007

Yeah I regret going with the 3.23 gears in the rear. At the time it was my first full size truck and I had no idea that gears in the rear made a difference lol. I thought since I was getting the big 5.3 motor and the trailering package that I would be set. Now I realize how much the gearing matters. I guess I should go test drive a new silverado cc to see the differnce on the ride. Stopped by the local toyota dealer the other day and test drove a new Tundra crewmax. I really dont see it being that much bigger than my current Silverado Crew. Another thing I hate about all new trucks now is the way the seat material is made. I like the feel of the seats in my current silverado and I dont think they make that kind anymore.

Try throwing a couple of hundred pounds of play sand in the back and see how that affects your ride quality.

cmoore74 · October 4, 2007

Yeah I regret going with the 3.23 gears in the rear. At the time it was my first full size truck and I had no idea that gears in the rear made a difference lol. I thought since I was getting the big 5.3 motor and the trailering package that I would be set. Now I realize how much the gearing matters. I guess I should go test drive a new silverado cc to see the differnce on the ride. Stopped by the local toyota dealer the other day and test drove a new Tundra crewmax. I really dont see it being that much bigger than my current Silverado Crew. Another thing I hate about all new trucks now is the way the seat material is made. I like the feel of the seats in my current silverado and I dont think they make that kind anymore.

Unless you have your mind set on a new truck, changing the air pressure in the tires is free and new shocks will only run $200-300 for front and rear. Why not see if you can get the ride to where you want it before dropping big $ on a new truck? If you get the ride quality to be acceptable then you drop another $600-700 on a new gears and you're done.

Maybe there's other things you don't like about the truck?