Which shocks are you running? I am running the basic BDS/Fox 2.0's.
Just so you don't think I am a grandpa either; I am an dirt bike racer, motorcycle racer, car modding, off road enthusiast.

Dislikes:
Extremely stiff ride, making the truck very unpleasant to drive compared to the stock setup. I noticed it immediately, and my wife made a comment on our first ride together.

Noisier than stock. I can't explain exactly what the noise is, but it sounds like when the shock fully expands it is banging. Not very noticeable at all but I notice it. Almost as if it's rebounding too quickly because it is too stiff. The stock shocks rebound much more slowly which has its positives and negatives. My stock shocks have 3K miles on them FYI so the ride quality hasn't decreased as much as if I were changing them at 40K miles like I would normally do.

Likes:

The truck feels tight and doesn't roll or lean when turning. Shocks seem to handle large impacts better (which on road is far and few between).

Trust me, this is the last outcome I was hoping for. I have $1000 in shocks sitting in my garage. The one set ordered at the advice of the Fox rep only to find out BDS valves a Fox shock specifically for the 17'. I have a friend who was going to buy those Fox shocks for the 16' and below but I can't in good faith recommend them to him when I am removing the BDS Fox shocks from my truck after 2 days.

What would I recommend? It is hard to say at this point. I liked the Bilstein 5100's on my 2013. I noticed immediate enhanced ride qualities on my 2013... mind you I changed to the Bilsteins after 40K miles on my original shocks.

 

What's the temperature outside? Would you rather have winter valved shocks, they're softer in the summer? Maybe an adjustable King coilover setup would be better for you. You can swap springs and settings easy.

Keep in mind, we don't have much travel to play with. Trying to damp bumps with only 3" of travel, and 2000# of weight, is pretty tough to do. An extra 2" from a level kit can go a long way. When travel is limited, we can use firm shocks to damp everything well, and have a stiffer ride. Or we can go for a soft limo ride, but blow through all of the travel too quickly, and bottom out on large bumps. We can use a bypass around the center of the shock for both, but I doubt there's room for that on little OEM travel SD's.

Check out Filthymotorsports.com's shock videos on youtube for better explanations.

Since I'm not going taller than 2" more than OEM, I'm pleased to hear that the Fox shocks are good and stiff. That's what I want. More capability. Without riding along, I can't tell if they are just wrong, and too stiff. I was under the impression that the BDS/Fox 2.0's were softer than Bil 5100's? I was even planning on running the Fox 2.0's AND a King coilover up front.

 

This isn't good! I had the 5100's on my last truck and they were a little stiffer than I liked. The Fox's seemed to be a bit softer based on what I read.


What tire pressures are you running? Is it a diesel? 20 inch wheels?

 

I think you nailed it with the outside temperature! My first two initial test rides were shorter rides 15 mins or less. The outside temperature was in the mid 20's F. Today, I took the truck for a good hour long ride and to my surprise the shocks were performing much better. They are still stiff but more compliant. And the noise I was hearing was reduced by 80%. Also, while turning and going over a speed bump I used to get jostled from side to side on stock shocks. This is completely gone now!
So, back to your statement about temperature. It is obvious that cold shock oil was having a negative impact on ride quality. After things warmed up a little there was a noticeable improvement. I don't know if oil temp vs performance is discussed anywhere else on the forum but I want to go back and edit my initial posts. I do not want to sway someone away from these shocks based on my initial observations in cold climates. That being said, in my opinion they do ride like that until warmed up!

 

I feel so much better now

 

LaxPlaya.. any chance they just needed to be "broken in" and needed to get up to temp to do it? It'd be interesting to hear how they perform after sitting overnight again in our nice arctic blast we've got going on right now...

 

Good deal! i enjoy my 2.0's over the stock rancho's for sure

 

Temperature makes a huge difference in shocks! I live in Central MN and I do not have Fox shocks but I had Skyjacker shocks installed when the leveling kit was installed, the truck rides way better than stock but it is a totally different animal at 20 below zero than it is at 20 above! At -20 driving on a rough road the truck will try to bounce the teeth out of my mouth! At 20 above it has a firmer ride than stock, not nearly as bouncy as the stock shocks were. Luckily it’s only cold here about 8 months out of the year...

 

I think this topic has been thoroughly beaten to death but I'll give my brief input.

Stock Rancho shocks (fx4 package) are horrible and anything is a drastic improvement which is why we hear so many claims about improved ride quality.

Standard shocks are a pretty decent ride and much much better than the rancho as far as ride quality.

I heard such great things about the Fox shocks that I ordered a set (verified correct for '17s) and replaced my standard factory shocks. I was very disappointed and noticed basically zero improvement in on-road driving or driving through pot holes and speed bumps. Tire pressure is the biggest factor to adjust. BTW I have a 2017 f350 with 35" ridge grapplers and now BDS fox shocks for the last 5k miles.

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Definitely temperature is playing a big role. Sitting overnight with temps in the mid 20's F in the morning the truck is drives rock hard and noisy again. I am going to leave them on even though I am not 100% satisfied, mainly because I can't return them regardless. I am thinking they will ride a lot better as winter closes out!

 

So I too have been reading all the input about replacing the Ranchos with the "correct for '17s fox shocks and now I am mostly just confused! My truck is purely a pavement plow and never leaves the road (except to back down the boat ramp).

In your opinion will I be wasting my money if I change out the Ranchos to the fox 2.0?

 

In my opinion, (which seems to be in the minority) I wouldn't buy these shocks again. I would either step up to the higher end shocks or I would save a few bucks and go with the Bilsteins. I am still considering taking them off and going back to stock to see how that feels again. I like the shocks, but don't love them. They are noisy, and the ride is more stiff. The ones I have definitely do not like colder weather. The truck does hold the road better, and is less floaty. When I say floaty, I mean the truck seems to settle down quicker after an impact which is nice. But the truck still hasn't passed the wife 'ride quality test' using the 2.0's, and the truck did stock.

 

Have you given BDS a shout? Seeing as how you're thoughts seem out-of-line with the vast majority on this site.. any chance that you've got a bad shock in there.. or something else that's not quite right.. they may be interested to hear from you.

 

I contacted Stage 3, where I purchased them from. When he says I am the only one who has not been completely satisfied it makes me wonder.

Does anyone else on here have an increase in noise? And although I am not completely satisfied I am not unhappy. There seems to be (in my opinion) positives and negatives to these. I am replacing my stock ranchos with 3,000 miles on them. Generally I would change my shocks after they are long past due so any replacement is going to be a huge improvement.

 

So I gave BDS a call and they confirmed the shocks are noisier, they don't like the cold, and they take some time to warm up and break in. He said the aluminum body is definitely different than the steel body on the stock shocks.

I feel better now knowing that I am not crazy... just OCD.