Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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Joined: 05/06/2013
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Lwiddis wrote:Installing new shocks is important IMO. The make of the shocks (if a quality manufacturer) isn’t important.
Except most shocks won’t last as long as Bilsteins. Dunno why they are so tough, but only other shock, OE or aftermarket that wasn’t shot after x number of miles is Bilsteins.
(Curiously except for the red colored shocks that came on a 01 Dodge Ram off road model. Those were actually still good at 130k miles. Only OE shock ever that I had last very long)
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
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srschang
Western NY
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Joined: 08/23/2005
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I had a bit of porpoising with my 2022 Ram 3500 (4500 miles) crewcab longbed dually and a 4800# camper. Switched to Bilstein 4600's, it made a significant difference.
2022 Ram 3500 Dually Crewcab Longbed Cummins, 2019 Northstar 12 STC
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Hemi Joel
Minnesota
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Joined: 07/24/2014
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Rancho 9000 is the way to go. They are fully adjustible from mush like a Bilstein 4600 all the way to extra firm. Turn a knob, get the ride that makes you happy regardless of what you are or are not hauling.
2018 Eagle Cap 1163 triple slide, 400W solar, MPPT, on a 93 Dodge D350 Cummins, DTT 89 torque converter, big turbo, 3 extra main leafs, Rancho 9000s rear, Monroe gas magnums front, upper overloads removed, home made stableloads, bags.
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Geo*Boy
Unknown
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Joined: 04/27/2020
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Bilstein 4600’s work great, out of the box. No climbing under your truck and turning a knob to try to tune for the conditions. Conditions constantly change. Buy Bilstein’s.
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PButler96
Midwest
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Joined: 06/13/2022
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Buy Bilstein at your own risk and thats coming from a previous Bilstein fan.. Bought a set in Feb, noticed them leaking in Mar. Removed, returned, and when I opened up 2 of the replacements they were already leaking. Got 4 more in from the distributor, looked fine and installed in Apr, all 4 were leaking by June 1. Just swapped them out with Ranchos last week.
I have a burn barrel in my yard.
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bigfootgrey
Connecticut
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Joined: 04/15/2011
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I installed Rancho 9000’s on my truck 10 years ago. I removed the setting adjustment knob and coated the piston with marine grease. The shocks have been flawless. Starting to show some surface rust but no leaking. Being able to soften the ride of my dually unloaded is a big plus. I run 3 on the front and 1 rear unloaded and 9 all around with the camper on.
2011 Ford F-350 PSD SC DRW
2008 Bigfoot 25C-10.4E
Firestone airbags - torklift stable-loads,fastguns,Talons Rancho rs 9000XL’s.
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TxGearhead
Texas
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JimK-NY wrote:Why do you assume you need new shocks? With any luck they will last for several more years.
Are you having ride issues?
Yeah the ride is beating me to death. I've got the rear tires down to 42psi.
2018 Ram 3500 CC LB DRW 4X4 Cummins Aisin Laramie Pearl White
2018 Landmark Oshkosh
2008 Bigfoot 25C9.4
2014 NauticStar 21 ShallowBay 150HP Yamaha
2016 GoDevil 18X44 35HP Surface Drive
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towpro
Compass PA
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I had a conversation with Ranch and ended up putting 9000's on the back and 5000's on the front of a 2015 Ram dually (exact same suspension you are using).
IT WAS A MESS. I could hit dips in the road at 45mph that would start the rear of the truck osculating and only thing that would stop it was to slow down.
Rancho sent me new 9000's which did nothing to stop the problem. Ended up sending all 4 socks back to Rancho (they have this test drive problem) and going with Biletein 4300's.
Later I got the 2018 which I left stock.
If you were loaded all the time I would suggest going to FOX shocks and have them valved for the weight. I put a set on my Sprinter MH that were valved by Agile Offroad (who also owned a Sprinter MH) and it made a world of difference in both ride AND body sway.
2022 Ford F150
Sold: 2016 Arctic Fox 990, 2018 Ram 3500, 2011 Open Range
Sold Forest River Forester 2401R Mercedes Benz. when campsites went from $90 to $190 per night.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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PButler96 wrote:Buy Bilstein at your own risk and thats coming from a previous Bilstein fan.. Bought a set in Feb, noticed them leaking in Mar. Removed, returned, and when I opened up 2 of the replacements they were already leaking. Got 4 more in from the distributor, looked fine and installed in Apr, all 4 were leaking by June 1. Just swapped them out with Ranchos last week.
That's not good!
Considering I have 5 new Bilsteins to go on my old GMC....Another issue. They are listed as direct fit for the model and height of lift kit and NONE of them are right. In fact only the 2 front shocks actually bolt up, but they're too short and only allow 1.5" of extension or axle droop before max extension.
Rears are too short to even bolt up and the steering stabilizer doesn't have the right size bushings.
Not real happy with Bilstein myself right now, but didn't suspect their quality is going downhill.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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TxGearhead wrote:JimK-NY wrote:Why do you assume you need new shocks? With any luck they will last for several more years.
Are you having ride issues?
Yeah the ride is beating me to death. I've got the rear tires down to 42psi.
Unloaded? Keep going down in pressure. Even at 40psi, that's still over double the necessary load capacity. Akin to running 80psi in a srw.
You'll never get a dually to ride real soft, but in the past, I'd run duallys with little 215 size tires at 30psi in the rear tires. Bout the best you can do without getting too low on pressure.
That said, sacked out shocks will make a stiff ride more abrupt, so new shocks could help for sure.
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