FordTrax

I had ordered a set of KYB Monomax shocks for my 1999 2500 CTD Ram however the order appears to be screwed up. I general like KYBs and these are monotubes. KYB recommended them over their gas adjusts.

A couple days ago, a friend pointed out there were rebates on the Ranchero RS5000s and suggested that I order them in lieu of reordering the Monomaxs. I don't know much about Ranchero - I think they are owned by the same folks that own Monroe.

I like Bilstein but they are almost double per shock and cannot justify this for a truck that I drive 2,500 miles a year. I don't max the truck out - usually just a couple hundred pounds of cargo and my wife and I. I don't think it has ever hauled much more that 1,000 pounds of cargo.

Thanks

dubc2323

I have the rancho rs9000x's and I like them.

KATOOM

I can offer some personal experience..... About 5 years ago or so I needed to replace the OEM shocks. KYB was running a deal and I walked out with a set of red Monomax's. I was also told that they were the exact design as the Bilsteins too so they should work great.

Well after installing them which proved to be a pain because they're pressurized and want to fully extend all the time.....I got them on. What I found was that the front end worked nice. They handled the 1000+ pounds of the Cummins engine very nicely but.....the rear of the truck was a completely different story. EXTREMELY stiff is the best way to describe them but given that I just spent almost $400 for shocks I thought I'd give them some time to work in but really I just ended up disliking them more and more everyday, to the point of hating them because the ride was so jarring. Matter of fact, no joke, my dog actually started NOT wanting to ride with me. I can only attest that he too felt like the stiff ride wasnt worth it. Then the rear springs started squeeking from lack of movement. Clearly these red shocks had to go.....

So I took them back and turned them in since they had a lifetime guarantee and part of that guarantee was satisfaction. Given the claim that they were the same as the Bilsteins I feared the same results so I got the Rancho 9000's. After installing those I was amazed and surprised to find how nice the truck rode. After some fine tuning with the adjustable dials I have the fronts pretty stiff and the rears I leave soft until I'm towing and then I tighten them up too. Fantastic ride and if I ever need to replace them I'll be putting the same Rancho 9000's back on.

Now in defense of all Bilstein owners, I never did try them so I really have no true comparison nor do I know what the Bilsteins feel like which means I'm not claiming that the Bilsteins arent a good product. Lot of people like them so they must be good. I just like what I have and thats all I can offer. In saying that, I can say that I've run Rancho 5000's on other trucks and you will find that they are too soft for your Dodge Cummins. If you research this too you'll find threads out there with people saying the same thing. The Rancho 5000's are not strong enough.

FordTrax

Katoom a lot of good info in there. I will either stay with the Monos or look at the price of the 9000s - expect they will be more $. Good to know about the 5000s being to weak for the heavy truck.

KATOOM

I cant speak about the price difference now but when I got them the price between the two brands was negligible. And check around the internet too because sometimes you can find the "buy three get one free" deals.