Hey ya'll I am looking to replace my 5 yr old shocks on my 2001 F-250(4x4 stock height). 95% of my driving is highway and on-road. I don't have a huge budget for this and I have found the Rancho RS5000 shocks for about $40 each. Has anybody used these, what are the reviews on them? Anything better for about that kind of money? I really like Rancho reputation and their looks.
Thanks in Advance
Steve

 

There is a lot of discussion on shocks here. If you search you will find... In my experience the Rancho 9000's were not that good. I wonder if the rebound dampening is also reduced when you turn them to a lower number??? I had the snow plow leafs on the front of my 99 F-250 SD with Ranchos and they were not nearly as good as the Bilstein 5100's I put up front. Now I switched to the stock leafs with a 2" hanger kit - the Bilsteins are now valved a bit too soft on compression with the lower cap. leafs. The stock bilsteins would probably suit me better now in the front. In the back I had some Monroe, which were better than the wore out facotry ones, now I have Edlebrocks which are even better than the Monroe - and I don't think the Monroe were wore out yet.

Edlebrocks have the best finish on them IMHO. The 5100's zinc was gross once salt hit it and the Ranchos barely had enough white paint on them to cover them.

 

Look into the 9000 series, they are adjustable and if memory serves me correct, they are not much more. I have the stock ranchos on my 05 350sd and am looking to switch to the 9000's.

 

Go with the Bilstines if you have the funds, I sware by them for my rock buggy. As for your truck you could go with the cheaper ranchos if you have the dual set up up front. In your case I also recommend the 9000s which will allow you to make your front end stiffer when running bigger tires. I recommend the fourth or fifth setting for 37s or larger because if you do not have enough shock you will develop bald spots on your tires.

 

Good discussion on shocks here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...or-rancho.html

Might answer some of your questions while raising more.

 

spend some more coin, get the bilsteins... I did and am very happy

 

I have a 1990 Ford F-250 4x4

I use it for hauling firewood, landscapeing, plowing and daily driveing on roads, dirt roads and highways. I need new shocks and I am confused on what kind of shocks I should buy for my truck. A friend of mine suggested that I should buy Monroe Reflex shocks. I have been reserching Monroe reflex, Edlebrocks, Bilstein shocks 5100's, Rancho RSX Self-Adjusting Shocks, RS9000X Adjustible Rancho Shocks, and RS9000 RCX Rancho Remote Control Damping System.

I do not want to have adjust a shock manually. So if I were to go with a Adjustible shock, it would have to be the RS9000 RCX Rancho Remote Control Damping System.

I prefer a self adjusting shock, it would have to preform well with hauling a cord of firewood, plowing snow and cruising down the freeway at 80 MH and always give me a comfortable and safe ride.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

old post here
Anyway, off-road use, and heavy loads have much in common, one is the brutal impact it has on shocks. Most of the above mentioned will be too small for the extra loads you are anticipating.
All things being considered,you are looking for adjustability,(in cab only) and a shock that can adjust to the demands of empty, and hauling. None of the above fit the mold.
The only one up to the task without going to a super high end rebuildable shock would be the Rancho Rs9000XL (for heavy duty trucks0 with the RCDS. The 2.75" diameter shock body, is larger than the above smaller bidied shock, and should take the abuse of the bigger truck, with the heavier load demands.
Good luck with your decision.

 

rancho 9000

pros:

1. lifetime warrantee. good cuz they replaced my older 9000's when the shock bushings wore out after about 50k (factory pressed bushings thus they sent new shocks).

2. compared to stock, the ride, once dialed in, is much better.

3. adjustable to "easily" fine tune your ride (also a con, see below). this is important if you plan to mostly run empty, then load a 3k lb camper in the back. re-adjusting for loads in between becomes a hassle and most will just leave it at one setting.

4. price relative to coil-overs (kinda apples to oranges comparison though)



cons:

1. quality control. when i received my replacement shocks, one was dented (and it was prob not due to shipping as the box was undamaged and they were well packaged).

2. adjustability. yes a con for 3 reasons: 1.because once you find a setting you typ will not change it (would be better to use the adjustable to find the setting then get a non-adjustable shock valved that way). 2. the numbers on the adjustment **** are darn hard to see what number you are on. also, the "click" between settings is more of a tiny turn to a weak "kinda think thats a setting". 3. once when i got my truck aligned, the tech messed w/ my settings and they were set to diff numbers (its a funky ride when that happens).

3. poor overall fit and finish. very thin/poorly-applied paint, lousy plastic *****, bushings that wear much faster than oem rubber.

4. on the frt, the shocks tend to twist and the **** may be shorn off by the shock/coil mount (dep on your make/model.. this was a prob on my 99 f150).


========

all in all, i would rather get a good set of duel-rate coil-overs and spend some time choosing springs/revalving to get the exact ride i want.
if you load up occasionally, maybe a set of air bags will compensate for the lack of empty/loaded shock adjustment. (or valve it firm when unloaded). i am still experimenting w/ this so i have no definate feedback.

hope this helps

 

saltamontes:
The above was mentioned for an F250 truck. Gonna be kinda hard to go coilover with an existing leaf spring set up.
Trying to re valave a shock to natch another is as close to impossible as it gets without a shock dyno. Even with one, it is difficult. It is impossible to do on a shock that is not re-buildable. It was stated that this is a dailt driven truck,so a customshock that is re-buildable would be overkill for this application. It was also stated that in cab valving changes was desireable,so the **** damage is no longer an issue.(the line maybe another story). And the quality could happen to any of the manufacturers. If one purchases them at a local off-road shop, they can be inspected before purchase.
Bags will also not assist in dampening. a given shock is only capable of dampening to what it is valved to do. This is what makes the adjustable shock desireable. The Rancho Rs9000XL is the only one available over the counter that is this large,(designed for fullsize trucks), and will meets the criteria of the above mentioned wants, and needs.

 

ok, ok. right i did not catch the 2001 yr. apologies.
i suppose my coil-over tangent was more applicable to my own experimentation... but it was just that, a post script tangent to my pro/con list.

re the revalving of say a RS 5000, ys, what i would like to see is the factory selling those shocks in 5? diff unmodifyable settings. you goto a rancho dealer, get the RS9000 for a week, find the settings you like and come back to exchange for RS5000 valved as you discovered was optimal.
seems the best of both worlds. you get to customize your ride w/out paying for adjustability that you do not need or settling for non-adjustable shocks that are too firm/soft. also you get a more bullit proof shock w/out all the adjustable stuff that breaks or gets set incorrectly or mismatched.
since i have my RS9000's set diff frt/rear (as most i know do), a commonly valved set of RS5000 would not provide the optimal ride.
i would like to see all manufacturers provide this. heck, they can even use the RS9000 as the loaners if they do not have a externally adjustable shock.

now this all sounds like a lot of work. dealer/loaners/fine-tune/exchange. not to mention the hassle the factory would go through to make the RS5000 in various valvings.
however, the shock is so important to ride quality i believe its all worth it.
i like the final ride i have archieved w/ my RS9000's, just that once i achieved that ride i do not need the adjustability.

anyway.. since we are on the topic of feedback not directly applicable to the orig post.. you wrote:
"It was also stated that in cab valving changes was desireable,so the **** damage is no longer an issue"
wheras i see not that requirement in the orig post nor in any followup by
CHRISTIANMAN316

there are some other externally adjustable shocks (adjustable w/out revalving) by the way:
procomp and walker evans to name 2, but these are more pricey and i am not sure their range of sizes. they are not "large" as a ZooRad, but they are larger than a bilstein.

 

I hear you there.I was simply responding to the most recent post since the original was from last year.
I am not fond of the bilstein product, especially in the higher end units. I dislike the seal, and the contact area that the piston rides on. It wears out prematurely and makes for a useless body.
My preferances are shocks with a hard anodized internal, so the seal has something to ride on without direct aluminum contact. It keeps the oil cleaner, and prevents wear.
My little version of ranting ther.
I can appreciate the concept of multiple valving configurations for non adjustable shocks, but from a logistics point of view, would be a nightmare. If you investigate a little further, rear application shocks are valvled differently that front shocks. I feel that most of the manufacturers do a pretty good job for what they provide. I mean really,a shock for only $30.00 to $75.00 is pretty cheap.
The thing that makes the adjustable shacks so pleasant,is the ability to compensate for additional loads, when a truck is being used as a truck.
Race vehicles have the advantage of having a fairly consistent weight, plus or minus fuel. Even these have plenty of adjustments, high speed rebound, and compression, low speed, rebound, and compression, intermediate speed adjustability, and that is not even a bypass shock.
Hard to incorperate all of these goodies in a vehicle that goes to work one day, and tows a fifth wheel the next, ya know?