My truck is crooked

[SD Rebel]

Ok so I went to the dealer today. I was not able to talk to a mechanic but the service writer said maybe it was the gas tank. So he doesn’t know either. I measured about fifteen trucks and only one was level. Most off by .5” or so. Also remeasured my truck as their parking lot was dam close to level and my truck was only off by 2/8th of an inch. So I’m ok with that. I’ll attach a few pictures one is a tradesmen and the other a rebel and the last two are mine truck.

Cool man, sounds like you got the pick of the litter actually. Even if you measured Silverados and F150s I think you would have found the same result. That one that is level is probably recent build, it will settle after some time.

 

[Jeffjad]

Oh I wasn’t trolling. The face palm was in reference to everyone not believing that vehicles generally aren’t level side to side and that minor things add up and that it’s not a “problem”. See OPs latest post on the subject from his visit to the dealership.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saw it thanks....is this where im supposed to say "your were right"? Pilots seem to know it all .

 

[Jeffjad]

Ok so I went to the dealer today. I was not able to talk to a mechanic but the service writer said maybe it was the gas tank. So he doesn’t know either. I measured about fifteen trucks and only one was level. Most off by .5” or so. Also remeasured my truck as their parking lot was dam close to level and my truck was only off by 2/8th of an inch. So I’m ok with that. I’ll attach a few pictures one is a tradesmen and the other a rebel and the last two are mine truck.

Good to know.....

 

[ironking]

Saw it thanks....is this where im supposed to say "your were right"? Pilots seem to know it all .

Lmao don’t insult me like that!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cleave]

Sounds like the original Poster is satisfied with his findings. I was just going to chime in and say I noticed same thing (approx 1/2" diff on drivers side) on my Laramie a few months ago when I first put a 2" level on. I was pissed at myself for not measuring before the install, but suprised but what i was measuring after. Over the course of a few days, I was measuring it quickly every time i parked somewhere different that appeared to be "level" pavement. The measurements were slightly different every time. I guess the truck's body weight is constantly shifting as you drive down the road, turn, encounter inclines and such. I came to accept the suspsension is not perfect, nor is every truck coming off the assembly line identical. I suppose it was a little frustrating, but I could live with it.

 

[Big White RAM]

Sounds like the original Poster is satisfied with his findings. I was just going to chime in and say I noticed same thing (approx 1/2" diff on drivers side) on my Laramie a few months ago when I first put a 2" level on. I was pissed at myself for not measuring before the install, but suprised but what i was measuring after. Over the course of a few days, I was measuring it quickly every time i parked somewhere different that appeared to be "level" pavement. The measurements were slightly different every time. I guess the truck's body weight is constantly shifting as you drive down the road, turn, encounter inclines and such. I came to accept the suspsension is not perfect, nor is every truck coming off the assembly line identical. I suppose it was a little frustrating, but I could live with it.

Maybe it's possible that the lean on the drivers side is to compensate for the "crown" in the roads? If the road crowns to the right then the lean to the left on a vehicle would more or less give a "level" ride side to side. My 2019 Laramie Long Horn sits about .5" lower on the drivers side regardless if the gas tank is full or not.

 

[SD Rebel]

After this whole thread, I spoke with a suspension lift shop owner, he said 100% of the stock vehicles lean on the driver's due to the mechanical weight of the vehicle. The weight distribution is not the same from side to side or back to front. Most vehicles are 1/4 - 1/2" lower on the driver's side. Which matches exactly what I've seen and heard in the past.

If you have adjustable coil overs, you can adjust for this a bit, but that's pretty much the only way you can make your truck perfectly leveled from side to side.

 

[LaxDfns15]

After this whole thread, I spoke with a suspension lift shop owner, he said 100% of the stock vehicles lean on the driver's due to the mechanical weight of the vehicle. The weight distribution is not the same from side to side or back to front. Most vehicles are 1/4 - 1/2" lower on the driver's side. Which matches exactly what I've seen and heard in the past.

If you have adjustable coil overs, you can adjust for this a bit, but that's pretty much the only way you can make your truck perfectly leveled from side to side.

That is just not true. My last truck (Nissan Titan) was perfectly level side to side no adjustment. My dad's Frontier is level. My friend's Laramie ORP is level. My neighbor's Big Horn is level. My co-worker's Laramie 4x4 non-ORP is not level, but only by 1/4" compared to the 1/2" on mine (same gas amounts).

A lot of things can cause this discrepancy, including gas tanks, weight distribution, even a bolt hole being off 1/8" down the bed somewhere. On my truck, it sat level when I had the shocks out. It sat level with a lot of weight in the bed (1000+ pounds). Doesn't sit level unloaded with all suspension parts in it.

 

[Buz]

Maybe it's possible that the lean on the drivers side is to compensate for the "crown" in the roads? If the road crowns to the right then the lean to the left on a vehicle would more or less give a "level" ride side to side. My 2019 Laramie Long Horn sits about .5" lower on the drivers side regardless if the gas tank is full or not.

100% this. ^
Every truck I've ever had was lower on the drivers side. I seriously think it's done on purpose because roads are crowned much more than you would think.
If you walk on a two lane road you can appreciate how high they are in the middle and how they droop on both sides.
If it was because of the gas tank being on that side or the exhaust system or the battery, then the auto makers would move those things around to stop the lean.
Pretty sure it's done on purpose to keep the vehicle level for 75% of the driving experience.

 

[SD Rebel]

That is just not true. My last truck (Nissan Titan) was perfectly level side to side no adjustment. My dad's Frontier is level. My friend's Laramie ORP is level. My neighbor's Big Horn is level. My co-worker's Laramie 4x4 non-ORP is not level, but only by 1/4" compared to the 1/2" on mine (same gas amounts).

A lot of things can cause this discrepancy, including gas tanks, weight distribution, even a bolt hole being off 1/8" down the bed somewhere. On my truck, it sat level when I had the shocks out. It sat level with a lot of weight in the bed (1000+ pounds). Doesn't sit level unloaded with all suspension parts in it.

Yeah, not sure if you should be saying that's not true if you base it on just your experience. Have you read this thread? Pretty much most of the evidence supports what I said including the post just before this one and the one before my last one. There are many times more people who stated their trucks are lower on the driver's side than said their truck was perfectly level. In fact, you maybe the 2nd one in this whole thread to state that.

Maybe for you that's your experience, but that's not true for me or anyone else I know. Every single vehicle I've owned as been lower on the driver's side, I noticed this back in my sport compact days with my Integra. That was over 20 years ago. Go to the dealership and measure some trucks, any trucks or vehicles from any manufacturer and see if your opinion still holds true. The OP did that, and now he realized that's normal.

One of the very reasons for adjustable coil overs was the balance the ride height on all 4 corners due to natural weight variations. Your two trucks in the family could have had slightly higher tension springs on the driver's side and got lucky that resulted in a more level truck. That I agree could be a variation, but not a dominant one. Probably the vast majority of vehicles will list on one side, especially of the spring tension is the same.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Gas tank, battery etc are on the driver side, it's not uncommon to have a lean on the side that weights a little more. 4th gen RAM's lean towards the driver side by about 1/2" stock. Can be accentuated after lift, or those with the 33 gallon tanks, Eco Diesel etc. My Toyota Tacos had a lean, My Toyota FJ had a Lean, My Jeep Wranglers had a lean. It's normal and more likely could be accentuated after a lift sometimes. You can fix with one spacer in the front, or 2 (one front and one rear), adjustable rear sway bar links, etc. Multiple ways to address the issue depending where most of the lean is. In my case with the RAM i've always adjusted my King CO's one extra full turn more in the driver side compared to the passenger so my front driver has a little more preload in the CO to make that side a bit higher and level, which in turns tends to make the opposite corner (rear passenger a tiny bit lower). I still have about 1/4" difference but it's unnoticeable to the eye and i don't worry about it.

 

[LaxDfns15]

You agreed with, and said based on your experience, that 100% of vehicles lean, and it's on purpose. I told you, based on my experience, that that statement is not true. If 1 item out of 100 is different, then those 100 items are not the same.

Speaking of reading comprehension, I have read this whole thread. I've read other threads about this same topic, including a very long one I myself wrote about trying to correct what I deemed a problem. My truck sagged enough on the driver that I could see it from 20 feet away at the end of my driveway while it was parked. I spent several weeks working on it myself, and ended up with a 1/2" spacer on the driver side. "Problem" solved for $30 and 30 minutes of work once I decided on a course of action.

 

[SD Rebel]

You agreed with, and said based on your experience, that 100% of vehicles lean, and it's on purpose. I told you, based on my experience, that that statement is not true. If 1 item out of 100 is different, then those 100 items are not the same.

Speaking of reading comprehension, I have read this whole thread. I've read other threads about this same topic, including a very long one I myself wrote about trying to correct what I deemed a problem. My truck sagged enough on the driver that I could see it from 20 feet away at the end of my driveway while it was parked. I spent several weeks working on it myself, and ended up with a 1/2" spacer on the driver side. "Problem" solved for $30 and 30 minutes of work once I decided on a course of action.

Actually I didn't say it was on purpose. I said they lean due to the spring rates being the same and the weight being different, hence why they lean on the heavier side. However it's not enough to effect the vehicle dynamically for the manufacturers to bother balancing them, either with stiffer rate springs on the driver's side or spacers like you decided to do.

I said it's normal, not something that needs to be fixed. If you decided to level it yourself, that's great. It's one of the reasons why people get coil overs.

I also said that most vehicles will lean on the drivers side, the majority will, (mine is 100% of the vehicles I've owned) which experience and evidence supports than saying it's all variant. No, there is a definite majority to the driver's side. The 100% I quoted was from the owner of the biggest installation shop in my city, probably hyperbole, but you get the idea he means the majority.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Ok so I went to the dealer today. I was not able to talk to a mechanic but the service writer said maybe it was the gas tank. So he doesn’t know either. I measured about fifteen trucks and only one was level. Most off by .5” or so. Also remeasured my truck as their parking lot was dam close to level and my truck was only off by 2/8th of an inch. So I’m ok with that. I’ll attach a few pictures one is a tradesmen and the other a rebel and the last two are mine truck.

Whew, good thing it was only 2/8th of an inch. 1/4 of an inch would have put you over the limit!

But really, I never bothered to measure my vehicles that close. If you believe it might be the grade you are parking on, try taking a measurement and the turning around to face the opposite way in the same spot. If you get the same result, it is not the grade.

If it were my truck I could understand. I need to go on a diet....

 

[Jeeper]

Google "Jeep Lean". It's been an issue with Wranglers forever....just part of owning a Jeep.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Is not specific to Jeeps only, Google "Taco Lean" or "FJ Lean" or "RAM Lean" lol.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I had an old '77 military Dodge pickup once. After I owned it a while it had a pretty steep lean to the driver's side in the front. The back was the opposite. Of course I was young and watched a lot of Dukes of Hazzard. Probably one too many "Hold my beer and watch this!" kind of moments attributed to the twist.