truck makes my wife sick

Add some weight? It'll drag the mileage down, but if you find the right amount,you may find a happy medium between MPG and ride quality. For ballast, you can use kitty litter sacks, 5-7 gallon water jugs (a favorite of small airplane drivers), bags of landscaping stones, etc... Don't forget to properly secure the load. I wouldn't use fuel cans full of water, as they'd probably get stolen by someone who thinks they're full of fuel.

If you're traveling with luggage, etc... sometimes redistributing the load can change the ride.

An extra woman might be just the right amount. ;^)

Get her some motion sickness products.

I had a hunting dog that got sick every time I took her in a vehicle. My family doctor being a hunter himself told me to try motion sickness pills on the dog and by God they worked!

I always take the pills myself before going deep sea fishing and they work well for me also :)

Rich

There are suspension kits that can change the ride considerably. Tire inflation, and tire selection, can also make a difference. Tires should be inflated above the recommended amount in most cases, especially with 15" wheels. I'm guessing this is a regular cab? Short wheelbases can be a bear, ride-wise. My double-cab with TRD suspension rides like a dream.

I have the extended cab, with BFG AT's inflated to around 32psi on 16in rims. I had my tires overinflated once and I could feel every crack in the road.

As for the replies on motion sickness pills, did you try Gravol or something else.

I did put a 90lb patio block in the back and I do find it better on the bumps.

Thanks for the replies.

As the driver, you can try to be more fluid with yout operation of the controls -- gas, brakes, steering.

If you are in the habit of pressing the pedals and frequently changing the pedal settings, and your steering is jerky, then all of htis can add up to a very uncomfortable passenger. As the vehicle's suspension increases in stiffness, the discomfort of the passenger(s) also increases. For example, she is able to tolerate the way you drive the family car or minivan, but these have a reasonably pliant suspension system, and the activity you place on the pedals and steering wheel are absorbed by the suspension. But, you you stab at the gas and brake and yank the wheel in your truck, all of this motion finds its way back to your passengers.

I once -- well, it was four or five times then I couldn't take it anymore -- carpooled with a guy that would press the gas pedal very abruptly and speed up to the cars ahead, then just as abruptly release the gas and slow down, only to repeat this several times per mile. IT WAS HORRIBLE. I have a high tolerance for vehicle travel, but I was physically nautious by the end of the commute. And that is just the way he worked the gas pedal. The brakes and steering changes were made in a similar manner. His car was constantly jerking fore and aft and left and right. And, he was oblivious to what he was doing.

Make a conscious effort to roll onto the gas, and roll off of it, as your need for speed changes. Maintain a 3 to 4 second following distance, and watch the car two cars or more in front to see what the traffic is doing. If you see brake lights, slightly roll off of the gas instead of waiting for the car directly in front to apply his brakes before you make an abrupt change in speed. Obviously, abrupt speed changes are needed on occasion and you need to be constantly at the ready to make them. But, if you can adjust your speed by lifting off the gas then rolling back into it, and create conditions where your changes are smooth and calculated instead of sudden and swift, maybe this will solve the trouble your wife is having. My guess is that it isn't just your wife, but since she is with you the most, you see (or hear) her comfort level going down.

I'm in no position to be judging your driving style, but my own experience with car sickness is that I get sick in cars that are constantly jerking me about. You might not even be aware that you are jerking until you practice not jerking. Drive as though you have a fish bowl filled to the top, and you have to get somewhere with spilling any water. If you can master this -- and you are not already a master -- then your wife will be far more comfortable.

I'm an easy going driver, I ease to stops and ease to start to help gas mileage. I know the feeling about jerky drivers...a good friend of mine is bad with gas-brake-gas-brake, sort of matches his personality as someone who is hyper all the time lol

Time to get rid of one of them, whats the truck like?

Okay, you know the feeling and the habits. Just make sure your wife isn't knowing them as well ...

If your truck is bouncing along the freeway as the concrete panels connect to one another, then there's not much you can do. but if you increase your speed to 75ish then let your truck slow to 65ish then mash the gas to get back to 75ish, that will make your passengers car sick in very short order.

My '85, regular cab, short bed pickup had exactly the right wheelbase to develop the perfect rhythm at highway speeds across the panels in my area.

I was so happy when the roads got recovered with asphalt.

It's possibly the height of the truck that's partly to blame, if she's not used to it. Using the motion-sickness pills might help to ease the transition in the short term.

Let her drive.

There's more merit to that suggestion than many will give it!

Get a new wife.

-CB

I know that routine... I also tell them to bring an Ipod or CD player, which I can inject into their headset, creating a little personal comfort zone.

After lots of flying, my wife still won't touch the controls. She also gets goofed out by the rudder pedal movement during low speed maneuvering and initial throttle changes to start a descent. I'm smart enough to not do non-precision, "pop and drop" instrument approaches with her aboard, even if it means going somewhere else for a glide scope. I've always hoped to slowly and quietly get her flying, at least on course and level, but she will not touch the yoke!

Cover it in Vasoline and warm it up, she may want to hold it longer next time. ;o)

Of course, why didn't I think of that....

Back on a serious note, my truck is a standard and she can't drive a standard. We had a highway trip Saturday and she took Gravol and it seemed to work but they recently repaved some bad stretched of highway so it may have been the real smooth drive that helped.

I usually average 100kph on the highway with little fluctuation. I am all about easing on the gas to help milage.

But Mythbusters did a segment on sea-sickness and found that ginger pills can help.

Thanks for the replies...was an interesting thread.

have her ride in the back (bed).