The bad ride comes from driving a truck empty when the truck was designed to be driven loaded. You can improve the ride by adding weight to the rear of the truck.
I once drove a bone stock '52 3100 100 miles with a full pallet of fertilizer in the bed. I do not know how much it weighed, but I am sure that it exceeded what that truck is rated for. It was the smoothest ride I ever had in that truck.