I wouldn't worry too much about the sales tax in Washington. At least you, like me here in Texas, don't pay State income tax like most!!! And in Texas, sales tax is only 6.25%!!

Brian

 

between state and city income tax us folks down in houston pay 8.25%. yeehaw.

 

I live in Houston and I've never heard of city income tax.... unless you're talking about property tax. And nowhere in Texas has a state income tax.

 

Let me ask you gusy a question, since your crapping all over Rancho. If they are so bad then why are they the biggest sponsor in professional truck Pre-runners!? All the pre-runner trucks use them (65%)!! They are just built to be used off-road, so why would they be bad in that aspect. Also Rancho is a huge ($) upgrade in all Lift-kits!!!!

SO could you guys please share how you think that Racho's are crap!!

P.S. I once ran a set of 8 Ranco Shocks (quad shock up-front) for over 50,000 miles. That is with regular towing of a 10,000 pound trailer and once a week extreme off-road!!!

 

WhileI do not doubt that Rancho is a big sponsor and they are used by the big boys, I just did not like them.
Maybe if I was using them for strictly hardcore stuff they would have been fine, but for a daily driver, towing and occasional trails, they were just too stiff.
I do not believe I crapped on them at all. Merely stated that they got taken off within a month. Not saying they are bad shocks, just saying they were not right for me, and may not be right for his intended application.

 

income tax was a typo, meant sales tax.

i have RS5000's all the way around on mine, and i like the ride and handling they give me both on the road and off.

one thing thats interesting though is that monroe makes shocks for almost all the big names out there - superlift, rancho, explorer pro comp, etc. theyre all the same shock with extremely minor differences. they even come out of the same factory...they just get a different stamp on the way out.

 

I was in the same "shock" quandry last year. The 10 yr. old Monroe Magnums on my Bronco were totally wasted when I bought it, and I didn't want to spend "alot" of money on shocks before I got my lift. I ended up buying 6 ES 9000's from Summit Racing for about $38 each. I've had Rancho 5000's before on other trucks, and I do think the ES shocks are "softer", but still alot firmer than the Monroes. I've had these for about 9-10 months, and one shock already has bad bushings. I never broke any Ranchos, but did wear out the bushings. I am going with the Rancho's on my 4" lift in 2-3 weeks - I like the firmer ride!!!! I think I can use the larger-front ES shocks as the auxillaries or smaller-front with the lift, so I only need 4 new shocks instead of 6. I'm also putting poly bushings in ALL shocks this time!

 

I wasn't trying to step on anyone's toes. Its just my opinion. However, you can ask anyone in the top ten of any series desert racing series what kind of shocks they would rather run, and not one of them will say Rancho. Resevoir shocks such as Fox, King, Bilstein, and more are the wave of the present. #1, they are rebuildable, and #2 they last ten times as long as a standard gas or air shock. Which means that in races such as Baja and other 300+ mile desert races, they do not need to change shocks at every pit stop. Rancho 9000s in the past would blow up from heat in the desert racing series after the first 100 miles from the friction. They simply overheat and leak fluid and therefore no longer work the way they should. But at the time they were really all that was out there. There is no way that Rancho sponsors 65% of the guys in todays off road racing market. Maybe ten years ago, but technology has come WAY too far these days.

I compete in CRCA(California Rock Crawling Association), And used to race in the 1700 series of SCORE and MDA in the Jeepspeed Cherokee division and can tell you that there aren't a lot of guys running Ranchos anymore. Actually, I can't think of one anymore off the top of my head. Rancho doesn't even make a shock long enough to consider running them in serious competition. They 9012s are the longest ones they make in the 9000 series, and they only have a 13" throw. They now make a 9000X, which is supposed to be better, but its still a non-resevoir shock.

For running on the street, the 9000s are great, but for the money, there are better shocks on the market.

I'm very curious what type of extreme 4wheeling you do. Seriously! I'm always interested in finding other people in the extreme off road racing/wheeling/crawling stuff.

 

Well I currently own a 1990 Ford Bronco, it has a 6" lift 35" tires, high flow 3" exhaust system including headers, 351W bored .10 over, high flow water/oil pump, extra capacity tans. cooler, 35" BFG Mud Terrain tires, Enkei wheels, and of course 8 RS 5000's all the way around!!!!

This truck is used primarily for off-road use.(I don't have a drivers license yet) Don't think that just because it's used off-road it's a piecer. It looks brand new!! So far I've put over $18,000 into it. I do all sorts of off-road anywhere from mud to Class 5 trails!!! My truck is un-beatable.

P.S. I'm not trying to be a stuck up punk and brag about my truck I'm just saying what it is!!!

 

What Class 5 trails do you run?

 

I live in arizona. So far I have ran, The coves at Sajuaro, Mud springs, Crown King, El Camino Diablo, Burro Creek, Sheep Crossing. Most of the time I just cruise around my local desert area and find my own trails that have not been rated because it's not a dsignated trail by any means. These are extremely rough and challenging not only on the truck but on the driver, the places I go most people would poop there pants. When I bring a friend along I always tell them to bring an extra set of under wear!!

P.S. The truck I stated in the previous post that had 50,000 on one set of shocks was not mine it was my best friends!!

 

Well, if you ever feel like doing these let me know:
http://offroadmarketing.com/pics/webhammer2-1/

 

Now how can that be fun ? Would take you several hours to crawl through that 100yd section!!!!!!!!!!!

(wake me when you're done)

 

Its real fun when your in this:

 

Each to his own........... I don't have the patience to "crawl" I'd break tons of crap and roll over 10 times on 1 trip LOL........ Nice looking ride...... for a Jeep