He should maybe consider adding air bags to his set up. How old is his Dakota? I had a 2003 Quad Cab with all the bells and whistles the well and tire package, towing package HD eveything etc.... My Dakota drove and handled and felt like a 1990's Mustang 5.0 in terms of how it drove. It did not drive like a truck at all. It had very little sway and no bounce to mention. It was just the opposite of my 1986 Toyota 4Runner. I am woundering if his shocks are bad they normaly only last for about 30,000-70,000 from the OEM. Premium onces last a lot longer. Like KYB,Koni and BIlistein shocks last a lot longer then the cheaper OEM ones.
The only thing Ihated about my Dakota was the stock brakes and the fact that once a month I had to take it in for either a recall or for warranty work. By the time I traded it in I had abut 36,000 miles on it and everything under the hood that bolts to the engine had been replaced under warranty. IN terms of how it handled though it was great for daily driver. My 1986 $runner would get it alieve off road but it also did not handle as well as my Dakota on the road so their is good in bad in all. I think if he has a modern Dakota say 2001 and newer he is not going to find anything that rides much better. He can try replacing his shock's and he can try useing tires with less side wall flex as these will be less bouncy. Air Bags might help as well.
If he trys to run with no shock's not only will his braking be bad but handleing will be so bad he will probably kill someone and probably not himself. If he want to see what it will feel like just ahve him take a ride in a horse and buggy with leaf spring only setup!
