Ford vs Chevy - No, it's not about your favorite brand...

[LD1]

What's wrong with Torsion bars?

Seem to work well on some pretty heavy stuff.

I don't have any problems with the torsion bars:thumbsup:

I have plowed snow for 5 seasons now with a 1500 and torsion bar front end.

And a lot of guys I plow with use chevy 2500's with torsion bars.

And dodge also uses them on the 1500's.

 

[Ryan03]

I don't have any problems with the torsion bars:thumbsup:

I have plowed snow for 5 seasons now with a 1500 and torsion bar front end.

And a lot of guys I plow with use chevy 2500's with torsion bars.

And dodge also uses them on the 1500's.

I have seen overall good service out of these suspensions in our fleet. While not as rugged as the monobeam Ford and Dodge offerings, we generaly get 70-100k out of our supervisor 3/4 ton plow trucks before major front end work is needed. The life we see out of the Fords is about the same, although both the Ford and GM's have their own little quirks.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I just prefer a solid axle for a 3/4 ton truck and up. Especially one with a plow. Look at Meyers, Western, Boss, ect. They only make front end fix items for plow installations for GM torsion bar trucks.

Chris

 

[Dmace]

I prefer the higher rear end, when I load my trucks with a decent payload (1,500 lbs +), it should sit level. My old Ford's would squat like a dog dropping a duece with half that weight in it.

My 03 RAM 1500 with 50x40lb bags (2000lbs total) of wood pellets in the back sits nice and level.

 

[Runner]

I don't know if it's like this on the Chevy, but on my 2004 F350, the snowplow package raised the front end a couple of inches. Because the one tons normally sit high in the rear, this made the truck sit approximately level.

I ordered mine with this suspension specifically for that purpose because I think it looks better sitting level. See example pics below. Blue truck is regular front end. White truck is mine with plow package. Still has a little rake, but not much.

 

[94BULLITT]

The 2500 and 3500 chevys frame is real low. I cannot get under them on a creeper to change the oil with out jacking them up but I can on a 2wd ranger. The reason a truck sits high in the rear is so when you have a load on them it is level. I saw a new chevy with 33's and the still did not fill up the rear wheel wells.

 

[timswi]

The 2500 and 3500 chevys frame is real low. I cannot get under them on a creeper to change the oil with out jacking them up but I can on a 2wd ranger. The reason a truck sits high in the rear is so when you have a load on them it is level. I saw a new chevy with 33's and the still did not fill up the rear wheel wells.

I slide under my half-ton GM's on a creeper with no problem. The frame does hang down a bit, but it never stopped me.

 

[timswi]

I prefer the higher rear end, when I load my trucks with a decent payload (1,500 lbs +), it should sit level. My old Ford's would squat like a dog dropping a duece with half that weight in it.

My 03 RAM 1500 with 50x40lb bags (2000lbs total) of wood pellets in the back sits nice and level.

I also haul 2000# of pellets on the pallet using my GMC 1/2 ton...It really doesn't sag much. Other than the Cadillac like ride, I can't tell it's there

 

[94BULLITT]

I slide under my half-ton GM's on a creeper with no problem. The frame does hang down a bit, but it never stopped me.

I can on the 1/2 ton but not the 3/4 ton. Next time you see 3/4 ton look at how low the frame is.

 

[timswi]

I can on the 1/2 ton but not the 3/4 ton. Next time you see 3/4 ton look at how low the frame is.

I'll eyeball that...I looked at a 1 ton DMAX when I bought the current GMC...But really didn't pay attention to the frame orientation.