I think we should make "skitter" the official name! I was considering the rancho's that you have. Did they make a noticeable difference worth the money?

 

Its the shocks! They are the cheapest rancho makes. Replaced my with bilstiens, it cut out 80% of the skitters (any quality shock should be a big improvement). Added a helwig rear sway bar and it is almost undetectable over the same ruts.

 

Yeah, I definitely think they did. I have mine set to "3" (softest=1, stiffest=9) and they work great, especially on really crappy city roads. The body of my truck definitely bounces a bit more, but that can be fixed by making it stiffer if you were loaded or hauling. I also went through a whole saga to find the right steering stabilizer, and found that the Bilstein 5100 makes the most difference in terms of being able to maintain control during "skitter" or bump steer.

 

I started off with mine set at 6 front and rear and haven't felt the need to change them yet. No more "skitter" for me either.

 

there is a section of road here where there is alot of heavy truck traffic and a stop light on a hill, this washboards the road terribly. go too fast and if its raining you could be just about sideways by the end of it. problem is same with this truck as with my old one. I can see how shocks could help but i have been through alot of miles and many different shocks and I have a little trouble graspping that a shock change will make my problem go away. maybe someone can convince me of which ones to put on the truck. only has 21000 miles and isn't due for shocks. there also is a certain harshness to the ride I wouldn't mind going away. However I do tow alot of big weight on the hitch and don't want to lose any control.

 

There are as many options for shocks as there are opinions. I can only speak of my personal experience and say that I was as skeptical as yourself, but decided to try it out anyway. I only had 12,000 miles on the factory shocks, but figured the worst that would happen is no change at all with new shocks, so I kept the old ones in my garage until forming an opinion about the new ones. 4 shocks cost me less than $350 total and I now consider it money well spent. I bought the Rancho 9000 xl's and like them. They are adjustable.

 

what year/model truck do you have?

many of us have put on Rancho adjustables, or Bilsteins

 

X2

New shocks, either 5100's or 9000's plus the Bilistein steering stabilizer and lets not forget Rancho 7000 series dual steering stabalizer system. That'll do it. Did it for me.

 

I have a 2012 f350 ccsb lariat. it is stock except for the 20" platinum wheels
and the new tires.

 

Like KR2012 I did Bilstein's for shocks and steering damper, plus a Hellwig Bigwig sway bar on the second hole. 2011 F350 CCSB at 80 psi and it's virtually skitter free now. Also passing semis with the Cyclone on the back can be handsfree.

 

Will do. That would be a good exercise.

Overall I'm thinking rear leaf springs and heavy axles are the root of the issue. (2014 and on Ram 2500 has rear coils.)

Not sure how much an 'issue' is really is though, thus the thread. The truck threatens to get sideways but mine never has. I've learned to go slower over certain areas. My F250s since 2011 have surprised me but not put me in danger, even when I found myself stupidly going 50-70 mph over patches of ice. Quite stable and forgiving, with fresh tires and stability "on".