2017 F250 FX4 with Camper package. 6.7 ft bed.

The original shocks are pretty rusty (got the truck from a dealer in Buffalo)

Occasionally tow 15k pound trailer on a bumper hitch..

Do I stick with Rancho or go with something like Heavy Duty Bilstein? What experience do you guys have?
I do NOT want to jack it up. Just stock height again.
Thanks,
MB

Like these? https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index...ducts_id=55911

 

Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!! Did you even attempt a search?!?!?!?!?!? WTF????!?!?!?!?
Ha! Just kidding, I couldn't resist.


I've had good luck with Bilstein in the past ON DIFFERENT TRUCKS. TBH... I liked the Motorcraft better, but again... different truck. The quality of the Bilsteins was top notch though. I wouldn't hesitate to try them again. Good luck.

 

I am on my third truck with the Rancho rs9000xl.. I like them for the adjust-ability and the ride... they don't break the bank either...

check out shock surplus for some articles on brand vs brand also where I found best price as a set of 4.... and university of YOUTUBE has a bunch of vids.

I just received a set of the rancho's today... They are good right out of the box... or some guys { like me} , I set the dials to 1 and remove the dial assembly and fill it with waterproof grease re assemble, and work **** through the 9 settings and back, then clean up the shocks, I tape off the rod ends, the red ****,as to not get paint in any where it might hurt seals or get on the rods and I clear coat them. I find it helps with preventing tiny rust spot showing up from road rash hits. They come with Rancho decals you can put on or leave off, it any are wrinkled up in the box, rancho will send you new ones. They also come with a red shock boot and zip tie.

This time I am actually going to paint them a Yellow ,apply the decals and then clear coat them. I cleared all of this with the Rancho rep Matt.
If you have any issues I have found Rancho to be responsive and helpful.

I have had the Procomp brand( Bilstein 5100 copy) which I was told is a 5100 with different labeling, but that was on a 6" lift with 37's,, kinda a different animal and not what you are looking to do.

hope this helps

 

I had Bilstein 5100’s on my previous ‘17 350 FX4 and really liked them. they were way better than the stock Ford “Rancho” junk. When i took them off, at less than 10k miles, I could compress them by hand. I also replaced the stock steering damper with a Fox, and that was a big improvement too.

 

That is awesome. I didn't realize it was you when I read it at first. You had me at "WTF" LMAO.
Copy on the Bilstiens...

 

I plan to use Bilstein when the time comes

 

Truckie, there is no way I am the guy to put that much effort into shocks on my truck, but I respect you for doing it. Thanks for the input. Slapshot, you are the second now to say Bilsteins are a solid brand so that makes two of you......thanks for the advice.

 

Fox 2.0, Bilstein, Rancho 7500 or 9000.

Do the steering stabilizer too.

 

I put Bilstein 5100 on the rear and Ranco 7000's on front (you cannot tell them apart. Look Identical.)
Ride is very controlled, stable and without any rear end hop or front end hop as when you are motoring around a corner and come across a manhole cover....you know what I mean, that back end likes to jump over with the stock Ford/ranco shocks. Not anymore with new ranco and Bilstein. Don't expect "softness" from them, they are smooth in a controlled way, not soft.
I love how they respond compared to stock. (I mixed the two brands because I'm cheap. Lol. That's the truth but after reading reviews on each they were rated the same and Rancho did not have shocks for rear and the front 7000's were around twenty bucks less per shock than Bil.w 5100's so I got them. No regrets.

 

I went back and forth about shocks on my 2017 F-450. I have Rancho RS9000s on my old f-150 and like them well enough I was going to get the same. However I read a few reviews that they didn't last particularly long on the front ends of the 450s.

Bilsteins are valved digressively so they are stiff at slow shaft speeds and provide less resistance as those speeds go up. This is good for controlling body roll and "waves" in the road. They should do well at absorbing small chatter that can be jarring as that is high speed shaft movement and the low resistance valving there will allow more wheel movement. The problem with that type of valving is that if you hit a big, sharp bump it's more likely to blow through the travel right to the bump stop. This seems like a good option for daily street driving.

I had the opportunity to talk to a Fox tech on the phone. Since I rebuild my own shocks in my garage I liked the idea of being able to do that with their 2.0s. He explained it takes a special nitrogen filling tool specific to that shock to do that, and Fox charges $110/shock for a rebuild. Not really cost effective when new ones retail for $160. When you get into their off-road tailored shocks with reservoirs they are easier to rebuild. He said they use a progressive (gets stiffer as shaft speed increases) valve stack philosophy, but put a fair amount of float in there to still absorb the pavement cracks and small chop. He said they also put a significantly stiffer rebound valve stack in their truck shocks to control the very stiff springs that HD trucks have. They are normally tuned 90/10 for street/off-road use. They have aluminum bodies so they won't rust, but they can still get corrosion over time. They don't come with any sort of shaft protection.

I ended up going with the Fox 2.0 option. I liked what I heard from Fox and agree with their valving philosophy. I don't drive my 450 daily and if I have a load on it I want the extra damping capacity. Especially with the very limited travel the front end has. The nitrogen charge pressure in these is much higher than any other over the counter shock I've seen installed, and you will need a floor jack to push them up into place after you cut the straps. I do not recommend trying to stick the bolt through as it's extending. Good way to lose a piece of skin on the rear in the line-up process and they put the hardware on the front pin tops under the strap. I had some extra Rancho boots lying around that I put on my shocks to protect the shafts from the chloride they put down on the winter roads around here. Bought my rears from CJC Offroad for $150/set and found my fronts on Amazon for $120/set. My stock FX4 Ranchos were toast so I can't compare to much, but so far I like the Fox ride. No more blowing through the travel, ok on asphalt cracks, no more excessive rear end hop on uneven road surfaces (bridge edges, changes from asphalt to concrete). Still need to test with a heavy loaded trailer. Snowmobile in the back and small enclosed trailer is all it's seen so far.

 

I think most of the time now that I am putting my car transport biz into mothballs, it will be mostly just street driving yet I want the shocks to be able to handle the heavy loaded trailer every now and then when I transport my own cars or boat/

Because the older OEM Rancho's even seem to be doing ok in my first test drive with the trailer, I think the Bilstein's should do the trick,
I appreciate the input. I am learning more about shocks from this thread than I ever thought I would. Thanks.

 

I'd second the Rancho 9000's. I had them on my 2018 and bought another set for the replacement 2019 when the old truck got wrecked. Cheapest price I could find was UnlimitedTruck, I think they were $360 shipped. I did take off the dials and grease the area behind it because I live in the salt belt. In a few years, I'm sure I'll have to take them off and refinish them also. I was in a toss up between Fox shocks and the Ranchos and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. The salt up here will eventually eat up either shock so I went with the one with the less expensive option since the reviews were still good. I have played with the adjusters a bit and it does seem like my well-calibrated backside can notice a difference between the high and low end settings, I'm not sure I notice much with individual clicks.

I keep seeing posts like this and I can appreciate the intent however, just because you can compress a shock by hand doesn't necessarily mean they're a crap shock, it just means they're not a pressurized shock. You can compress the Rancho 9000 XLs by hand when they're brand new, right out of the box but you can't with the 5100's, it's just the way the shocks are made. Shocks are just meant to dampen the ride, they've obviously gotten much better over the years but for the longest time, they were just a dampening rod slowing the flow of oil from one part of the shock to the other, no resistance at all, if you stood them up, they'd compress on their own.

 

I put the RS9000XL on my F-350 within a year of it being new. Even my wife noticed the difference. That says volumes. Now if I can just remember to change the setting when going between towing and unloaded.

 

Come to the Dark Side Pugga

 

Another vote for Bilstein, put the 5100’s on my 2012 F250 with 3000 miles, the FX4 ranches were terrible from day one. Traded the truck with 80k, still felt great, hadn’t corroded at all, no leaks, rode great. Unlifted truck, street use, tow a 10k boat trailer, usually 1500 miles each time.

new 2020 F350, also FX4, but no ranch branded anymore, changed to Bilstein 5100 at 1500 miles based on past experience. I will say the stock shocks in the 20 were much better than the 2012, don’t notice as big a difference but down here in Florida where roads are flat and smooth, I will be back up in the north East this summer, and on those roads expect the Bilstein will be much better, as they really control axle movement on the rebound, so don’t get the chatter.