My experience exactly. Riding in this truck is still rougher than a night in jail, but now it's more controlled.

And also my new tires softened up the ride a lot, so just like you say the combo of the shocks and tires made the ride much better overall.

 

haven’t really driven enough to give you a proper answer….yet

 

I have a 2020 dually and replaced the stock shocks at 64,000 miles with Rancho 9000’s. This is the third Ford truck I have put these on. I also just put them on my Excursion to replace Bilstein 5100’s. The ride in both vehicles is greatly improved. The ride is much softer than the stock shocks in the dually and they did fine towing my 13k fifth wheel. I haven’t put a ton of miles on any of the sets but haven’t had one leak or fail on me yet. The Bilsteins are a pretty firm shock (at least on the Excursion).

 

Thanks, they are definitely NOT what I need then. My 2020 F-250 with the Fx4 package and original Goodyear Wranglers is anything but a "rolling" feeling. It is VERY planted and stiff and the hardest riding Light Duty truck I have ever rode in.The Wrangler's contribute some but I suspect the FX4 shocks are the culprit. I need something softer not stiffer.

 

Have you tried running lower air pressure?

 

I swapped to Fox because of this analysis and I did notice a difference. Nothing against Bilsteins, plenty of happy customers.

 

I will admit, I wasn't really displeased with the way my truck drove from the factory. Like mentioned earlier, it's a big heavy truck, and it is going to ride that way to an extent. When I swapped over to the Bilsteins at around 9k or 10k miles, I wanted a shock that wouldn't break the bank, required little to no maintenance but was still suited towards towing. The 5100's provided exactly that, plus I found that I was also a little surprised at the improvement in ride from the stock shock. Then, for another 20k miles I drove with the 5100's and my Wranglers. When I switched to a new tire though, things surprised me more than I thought they would! And to be fair, these new tires are a little bigger, so a little more sidewall to help cushion the ride, and they are wider. I'm kind of glad I didn't drive a truck with this type of setup when my truck was new because I really wanted to get a decent amount of miles on the Wrangler tires before swapping them out. And I did. But now that I have swapped them out, I am very happy about the way it rides now! Every day I drive it I get excited about how much better it drives and rides. And as much as I like my particular set up, I would imagine that any of the shocks mentioned here would be an improvement over any of the factory shocks, and the same for a good set of tires.

 

are you usually driving it empty with over 70psi in the tires? When I have my tire pressure adjusted to the axle weights, and especially with a few hundred pounds of tools and stuff in the bed, these things soak up bumps, expansion joints, and decent sized potholes with little fanfare and borderline, well, nice. It's no Lincoln Town Car with the air suspension but certainly does not seem punishing to me. The stock 33s on 18 inch rims have a lot of sidewall to absorb things and the shocks that come with the FX4 don't seem outrageously bad to me.

 

You did remember to tighten, and torque that bottom shock nut?

 

Did you notice the loose nut?

 

I saw that and was about to ask the same thing.

 

I knew that was gonna come up after posting that pic, I’d expect nothing less ….

 

yes, I’m down around 55 lbs all four and it does help. It’s really the only complaint I have about the truck. It pulls and handles towing our 13,000 lb fifth wheel with ease.

 

Unloaded I'd run them lower than that if I didn’t like the ride at those pressures. Maybe 48 front and 45 rear.

That’s what I run but with Rancho RS7MT mono tube shocks and 295/70/18 Toyo M/T’s.

 

I'm running 50 to 55 PSI. Mine is not FX4 though.