Put 6 bundles of shingles, 2 squares in the bed. That is approximately 480 lbs. It is an extremely cheap solution and it works.

 

DON'T BUY THE SHOCKS, I HAVE THE RANCHO'S AND THEY DIDN'T HELP. FOR SURE DON'T BUY THE LEVEL KIT, IT MAKES THE BOUNCE WORSE. AFTER WORKING W/ SUSPENSION ON FORD LIGHTNINGS (ALOT IS AVAILABLE COMPARED TO THESE TRUCKS) I WOULD SAY THE SPRING IS OVERPOWERING THE SHOCKS, THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THIS IS TO ADD 1 MORE SHOCK TO DAMPEN COMPRESSION/REBOUND. I HAVE YET TO SEE THIS KIT AVAILABLE TO THE GUYS W/ STOCK OR 2" LEVEL KITS???? HELP AFTERMARKET GODS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SORRY FOR YELLIN'

 

This is what you need. But they don't make them for 03-04 yet hopefuly soon. I need them in a bad way also. I Have drw's and the thing hops all over the place. The only thing i can do right now is set the back tires to 25 psi. But you Can' t pull anything ant that pressure. But it rides smooth.

Velvet ride springs remove the Hop, Skip and Jump of light Trucks and Vans.. These vehicles are designed to give a smooth ride fully loaded. But when lightly loaded it doesn't take much to make it "vibrate, hop, skip and jump". That's because the leaf springs overcompensate for a heavy load that's not there. These springs are not effected by your normal or heavy loads. Hopper Stoppers are a popular item in Texas, California, New York and in the southern states with concrete freeways. http://www.drivetrain.com/velvetride.html

Just found this on that page.

**Note: Shackles may lower vehicle 3".

That's no good

 

No velvet rides for 03's and above...won't work with AM axles.

Ron W.

 

I found my best soloution.. When i am just using my truck for a daily driver i throw my rincon in the back.. around 650 lbs and smooth as glass. I would never use Rancho shocks again had them on my jeep, they lasted 8600 km's leaking oil.. so next will be the procomps and see how that helps.

 

4-wheel parts says they can order velvet ride shackles for the 03 but they are made by another company. I can't remember the details. I talked to the one in Riverside CA about 3 months ago. Give them a call 1-909-555-1212 is 411 for people out of the area.

GT

 

I had the Rancho 9000s for a year. They do not last! Got my money back and bought the Bilstein. Neither shock helped the freeway expansion joint bounce at all.

 

Ditto, Dr K. I put them on my PSD and they didn't really ride all that much better. On the high setting, I got less porpoising with the 5er attached. They didn't do anything for the fwy joints.

FWIW, my Dodge SWB 4x4 3500 is smoother over those joints than the 2wd LWB Ford.

Neil

 

One of the current 4x4 magazines has an article on remote reservoir shocks for diesel trucks, and one on batteries. As I recall the Bilsteins, doubled up, provided the best road handling, worked well up front, but the rear didn't help the SoCal freeway hop. The Ranchos did the best on smoothing out the freeway hop but also had the least inspired road handling. One advantage with the Ranchos is that only one was used at each corner. The Edelbrocks seemed to offer the best compromise between smooth ride and handling on the road. Maybe Bilsteins up front and Ranchos or Eldelbrocks in the rear are a decent compromise.

 

My 2500 rides smoother than my Ford F-150 FX did. Without a load I use the recommended tire pressure of 50 in front and 40 in back. That helps. I have the SWB so maybe they are different. If I remember there were a lot of expansion joints in Souther Cal.

Pete