About how long would one expect good quality shocks to last -- mostly highway driving, some off-road in NP and SP, but no aggressive off-road stuff any more.
And, how do you really tell if a shock is 'bad' - if it's not leaking fluid.
I've had my 'aftermarket' shocks for about 11 years now.. Still seem okay to me, but that's the thing... You get so used to the slow degradation of the shock, that you don't really notice a difference until you do change shocks, or ride in another similar vehicle with new shocks..
One tell for me, is when I go over speed bumps in a parking lot, if it's really hash on the compression and rebound, the shocks are losing their effectiveness. Or, if you continue to bounce several times after the rebound they are probably going bad.
You should also be able to hit the speed bump at a little faster speed and not get "jolted" out of your seat.. On mine, it's actually less of a bump to take a speed bump at speed than to crawl over it.. Of course you can't do this in parking lots with people around...
Just some observations I've made over the years with mine.. Your mileage may vary!
Mitch
*Anything I post is for entertainment purposes only and what usually works for me.. Your Mileage May Vary..
monkey44 wrote: About how long would one expect good quality shocks to last.
Beats me. My vehicles get new shocks or struts every 40K. Sometimes they're needed, sometimes not. Kind of like seeing a New York Broadway Show. Sometimes you kick yerself, sometimes you come out singing to yerself. It just makes me feel better to know the condition of my shocks.
Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!
USAF RETIRED. "EITHER LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUTTA THE WAY"!
PULL DOGS:
2006 GMC 3500 CC DRW D/A LBZ 4X4 SLT "THE SILVER FOX" PRIMARY
2000 DODGE 3500 QUAD CAB DRW CTD LARAMIE "THE ROAD TRAIN LOCOMOTIVE" BACK-UP
Most of the major mfg's offer a lifetime (not including labor) replacement. Monroe and KYB are 2 very popular shock companies that have applications for TV and RV's.
See ya out there!!
Hooliville member #128
Gary & Lynne.
'04 Dolphin 5320 WH-22 370W Solar
22' Mighty Mover Trailer, 60W. Solar.
Sand Sprite 4. 2.3L EFI sand buggy
'04 Polaris Predator
'84 Jeep CJ.
2011 Black Lab "Lucy" for both of us
Got me curious - mine are starting to 'bump' a little (180k miles), and more so with the camper on it. But, also have Timbrens, which jolt any time it hits a road bump due to the way it works and is mounted.
So, am wondering if some of that jolt is 'old shocks' and right on about the slow and less noticable wearing. Seems to me it hasn't changed much - but again, with the Timbrens, can't tell on speed bumps. It rides okay with the camper weight (3000 lbs) on it though, but that jolt is then taken up in the Timbren compress.
Don't mind spending the money - unless I get no improvement - then I just get annoyed because it's wasted spending.
And, it's always been pretty stiff ride - a 2500 not a 1500, so it's quite a bit heavier-duty to begin with.
Guess I'll just have to guess ... and buy them or not
With 180,000 miles on them, I'd say you'd be on the side that you'll notice a difference with a new set.. They aren't the OEM shocks are they? If so, they died and went to shock heaven a looong time ago..
Mine have that so called "Lifetime" warranty on them, but it's mainly for a out and out failure of the shocks.. I don't think I can prove they have 'worn out', as they still have pretty decent compression and rebound qualities...
I don't know if the ones on the old Eagle have ever been changed, likely not, odometer shows 120k miles. So I am getting new Bilsteins all the way around, man are those things expensive. It seemed to ride pretty good but on a bump it will bump pretty good so hoping this will help. Also I've read they give a good ride, guess we will find out.
had the oe shocks replaced on my 2000 model chevy 3/4ton pickup at 75K
the back two shocks were completely gone, you could push/pull them with no resistence at all.
so 75K mile was too long to go on oe gm shock.
the new heavy duty shock made the old truck drive and ride much better. like having a sport car, hard to believe there was so much difference.
my current truck 2005 dodge 3/4 ton has 60K, may look at changing shocks soon.
you can get too stiff of a shock and make the ride very rough.
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