How do I make my 2007 Tahoe 4x4 ride better on washboard roads?

I have a 2007 Tahoe LT 4x4. I just got it and got a great deal on it, but I'm very disappointed with the ride quality. I could deal with it if I spent all my time on pavement, but the problem is that I work in real estate in an area with a lot of dirt roads and spend a lot of time driving on washboard and just generally bumpy roads, often with clients in the vehicle. Right now I have to go pretty slow to avoid a very uncomfortable experience for the passengers. A lot of the problem seems to be in the back. For example, when I hit a speed hump at 40 mph (the speed at which my old Honda Accord goes over that same hump quite nicely) the front handles it fine but the back end pops up in the air pretty hard.

What can I do to improve the ride quality on these roads? I have searched the Internet for hours but can't find much useful information. I have thought of a lot of possibilities and would like opinions.

1. just change the shocks... to what?

2. change the rear springs... to what? Does anybody make a softer spring that could be supplemented with an air bag system? Would Z71 springs be better or worse?

3. Can the GM autoride system or auto-leveling system be easily retrofitted to my vehicle? Would a vehicle thus-equipped handle these rough roads better?

4. I intend to level the vehicle and swap larger tires at some point in the future. Icon Vehicle Dynamics, King, etc. offer front coilover replacement units (that can be paired with their shocks for the back) that are pretty expensive... does anybody know if they are worth the money? I can't find any reviews of these products. The marketing always mentions "great ride" but that could mean anything. If they are designed from a desert racing perspective (take big hard hits well) then I'm not sure if they would satisfy my need to go reasonably fast down a regularly graded road that is littered with pothole-size holes... or would they?

Any thoughts are appreciated! I'm very perplexed at the absence of people with the same need as me... or do I just need to go 10 pages into Google results to find them?

You do realize you are in a 4x4 truck, not a Honda, right? The truck is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. You make no mention of miles on your '07 which may or may not explain why the rebound is so dramatic in the rear. I would replace the rear shocks with something like Monroe, whichever model gives the most comfortable ride. Other brands could work too, but I suspect that most of them are intended for a much stiffer ride where you want comfort above performance.

amtronic1 said:

You do realize you are in a 4x4 truck, not a Honda, right?

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My understanding of why "trucks ride like trucks" is that the manufacturers are forced to compromise between ride quality and load capacity with their suspension design. They have to compete for trailer weight ratings, GVWR ratings, etc. but the higher the load capacity the stiffer the spring. That's why most pickup trucks bounce horribly in the rear when driven empty.

(side note--it's good to see that Dodge is leading the way in improving this problem. All their trucks for 2014 have air bag-supplemented suspensions as an option.)

I want to modify/tune the suspension to ride comfortably when mostly empty (1-2 passengers most of the time) and then add something (probably air bags) that can be used to stiffen the spring rate when I need to hook up a trailer and carry more weight in the back.

What I'm not clear about is if my problem is finding the right shocks, or if I need to address the spring rate as well.

I'm also very curious about the "desert racing" themed modifications out there. I haven't found anybody who has tried these coil-overs from Icon, King, etc. on the Internet so far, and my local 4x4 shop doesn't have a clue beyond putting lift kits on SuperDuty trucks.