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Curious what others think, I do not ant hill descent control but as of late I'm figuring if I am going to lift the truck there is no point in having this package.
I dont need to pay 700$ for AT tires, ranch shocks, and skid plates.
When I ordered my current truck I decided to just order the skid plates and e-locker as stand alone options. Here's why:
The "Rancho" shocks are just rebranded Ford shocks and aren't worth extra money.
I live in fairly flat terrain and have no need for Hill decent
I didn't like any of the factory tire options and was planning on replacing them anyway with a slightly larger size so no need to pay extra for tires I was getting rid of.
Dealer will be removing the sticker for me. On my build it was $295 extra and after deducting the $100 for skid plates, for less than $200 I got the Rancho shocks and Hill descent. No need for me to lift it because $85 snow package makes it ride level anyway and it's already tall enough. So, it got it for all the reasons above.
Dealer will be removing the sticker for me. On my build it was $295 extra and after deducting the $100 for skid plates, for less than $200 I got the Rancho shocks and Hill descent. No need for me to lift it because $85 snow package makes it ride level anyway and it's already tall enough. So, it got it for all the reasons above.
Wow, you got it because of the Rancho "branded" shocks??? They are arguably the worst shocks Ford has ever put on any truck and are not made by Rancho. They are made by the same parent company as Rancho called Tenneco. Tenneco makes the Ford standard shocks as well as Monroe. They also manufacture Rancho's products. So, while they can certainly make a decent product, each is built to the specs put forward by the individual brand. Unfortunately, what Ford specs for the Rancho branded shocks is not good. Do a search on FTE and you'll find a lot of complaints. Anyways, the bottom line is, Ford just pays for the right to paint them Rancho colors and slap a Rancho sticker on them but they are not a "real" Rancho shock. They are also the reason many skip the FX4 package...
Rodney is right (again), the shocks are awful. The skid plates can be had as a stand alone option for 1/3 the cost of the FX4 package and the only things you don't get are bad shocks (some people say they are terrible, some say they aren't bad, but I haven't heard anyone say they are good), hill descent control which from my understanding only works off road (under 20mph) and is not useful for driving through mountainous areas, and box side decals which, in my opinion, aren't necessary on the '17 as I like the standard 4x4 decal a LOT more than the one on the '11 - '16 trucks. See below for ugly 4x4 sticker.
Righto on the HDC. I had the FX4 on my last truck just to get the skids as they weren't a stand alone on the 11-16's. Never used HDC in 5 years of ownership and had 3 of 4 of my Rancho branded shocks blow at around 900 miles after my first tow. Went to Bilstein 5100's after that and all was well. On the box sticker thing, I'm not a fan of either. I left the FX4 sticker on my 12 but pulled the 4X4 sticker from my 17 when I got it home. They come off very easily when new. I agree, they do look better than the previous gen but I wanted to be completely sticker free on this truck. Now that they are off, I much prefer the look...
I went with it 350 DRW 6.7 with the Fx4 package. Here is why. Personal experience. I currently own 2 other 4x4's and just traded in my 01 350 4x4. All have scraped up and dented skid plates. The 350's fuel tank plate took the biggest hit. I have been in 4 wheel drive clubs, events , etc. My 350's haul a cab over camper and I dry camp a bunch (off road). This also made hill decent the primary reason for picking the package. Because using the brakes down hill can become a bad thing. I could care less about the rancho shocks even though they are on my Jeep and Bronco. I didn't know the shock detail from earlier in the post, but it is no surprise. Hate the decals. Wish the DRW had the E lock. My Jeep has lockers and man are they nice. I live in Arizona and we have all kinds of terrain and rocks, man do we have rocks. I don't like the dinky 4x4 ****, I want a shifter, that caused me to special order my last 350 so I could get a transfer case shifter and manual locking hubs, so I guess I am old school.
All that said, if your not going off road (dirt roads don't count) where there are steep grades, need for 4 low or rocks, don't waste the money on any of it.
If you do 4 wheel your truck click the box.
I went with it 350 DRW 6.7 with the Fx4 package. Here is why. Personal experience. I currently own 2 other 4x4's and just traded in my 01 350 4x4. All have scraped up and dented skid plates. The 350's fuel tank plate took the biggest hit. I have been in 4 wheel drive clubs, events , etc. My 350's haul a cab over camper and I dry camp a bunch (off road). This also made hill decent the primary reason for picking the package. Because using the brakes down hill can become a bad thing. I could care less about the rancho shocks even though they are on my Jeep and Bronco. I didn't know the shock detail from earlier in the post, but it is no surprise. Hate the decals. Wish the DRW had the E lock. My Jeep has lockers and man are they nice. I live in Arizona and we have all kinds of terrain and rocks, man do we have rocks. I don't like the dinky 4x4 ****, I want a shifter, that caused me to special order my last 350 so I could get a transfer case shifter and manual locking hubs, so I guess I am old school.
All that said, if your not going off road (dirt roads don't count) where there are steep grades, need for 4 low or rocks, don't waste the money on any of it.
If you do 4 wheel your truck click the box.
Wait, the hill decent control isn't available on the DRW so I'm not following here?
Huh, must be new for 17. In the past the DRW's couldn't have HDC. Thanks for the info. I just found it as a new feature listed as "for the first time on a DRW." I should have googled before posting LOL.
So how long has Ford been using the Rancho branded shocks that apparently fall apart if you look at them wrong, must be a lot of class action suits on this, or....a couple of people saying it repeatedly.
So how long has Ford been using the Rancho branded shocks that apparently fall apart if you look at them wrong, must be a lot of class action suits on this, or....a couple of people saying it repeatedly.
No one said they fall apart. People say they perform poorly and blow out early. It certainly isn't just a few folks repeating it. Search FTE. It's been a theme as long as the FX4 package has been utilizing them. You don't have class action law suits for poorly performing OE bolt ons. You have known upgrades and solutions for them. Some, foolishly in my opinion, take their truck back over and over and let the dealer replace them under warranty on principal. I'd rather fix it right the first time myself. Others are blissfully ignorant that they could have a much better product as they have no point of reference to compare the difference.
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