how do i know if i need new shocks
 

ok sorry for asking this old question, but my computer is slow and can't search through the topics.
how do i know if i need new shocks? on my ranger i could bounce on the back bumper and tell when they were bad, but a fullsize f150 with camper top, well that is taking more than i can do to tell. but it does seem "bouncier" than it should.
any ideas or suggestions for new shocks, if i change them myself.?

How old are the current ones, how many miles and years. What type are the current ones ie. factory, etc.

Depends on your application. If you off road much I would recommend Blistein. I do not recommend Rancho although I consider them in the mid range of performance. I have seen them break and do not like their performance for the price.

In the mid range of performance I like the pro-comps they are priced about same as Rancho and the shaft is larger. For strickly highway use Monroe, pro comps, or anything comparable.

If you feel the ride is different then I would say you need new ones, based on your post.

i bought the truck in 2007 with 34,000 miles on it. according to all the service records they have never been changed, so they might be stock, and 10 years old.
it is only a 2 wheel drive, and right now has 66,000 miles.

I would change them out but if you just do highway with it I would not spend a ton of money on shocks. Factory replacements or equivelent is what I would do.

I would go with the Monroes if you're just on the highway/light off road. But if you have a heavy camper shell on constantly, I'd go with something stiffer...KYBs or equivalent. I'm surprised at 66,000 miles you already need replacements. I just replaced mine for the first time with 130,000 miles on it. The ride was horrible with the old ones, that's how I knew. I first put some off road shocks on it that were meant for hard core off roading...the truck bounced like crazy on highway. So I sacrificed the harder off roading so it'd be smooth on the highway and used the Monroe's. They were fairly cheap too.