Is anyone using the Rancho 5000 shocks on a Ram 2500? What do you think about them? I pull a Travel trailer about 6000lbs loaded maybe a little more wondering if these will give more stability do not want the adjustables just because I don't want to be having to adjust them unless it totally necessary and I do not see that it is most old folks like me do not need to have to mush to remember

 

Go to the 3rd gen section and there is a thread on this right now.

Short answer is Bilstein 5100's.

 

LOL...long answer is ALSO Bilstein 5100's.

 

Rancho is a good name but unfortunately just like any manufacture you have to know what product they offer is their cheaper version. Rancho 5000's are not the best choice for these trucks because the Ram Cummins is HEAVY, especially up front. That said, I have Rancho 9000's and they've served me very well and I love the fact that they're adjustable. I run them semi firm in the front and soft in the back unless I'm towing, then I'll run them firm in the back as well. Bilstein is a good company too and it seems that people like them on these trucks.

 

Rancho's were the most frequently replaced shocks under warranty here by Offroad Warehouse. They dropped them years ago.

 

I cant agree or disagree but simply offer my experience. Rancho was a top brand years ago but maybe they're cutting corners on quality. Not sure.

When I decided to replace my worn out OEM shocks I went looking around and one of the local places carried KYB. I've had KYB's on other cars before and they seemed to work good so I thought they'd be fine for my truck. The model they had for my truck was the KYB Monomax's which were designed as replicas of the Bilstein HD yellow shocks. They had a life time warranty too so I gave them a try.

Installing them proved to be somewhat difficult since they have a gas pressurized preload which meant having to hold them in place while getting bolts in holes or getting threads to start was a pain. After installing them I found the truck to ride nice in the front but CRAZY stiff in the rear. VERY jarring as the rear suspension didn't seem to move very much at all. Matter of fact, I noticed that my dog (who loves riding around in the truck bed) soon began to deny going with me. Clearly he felt it was too uncomfortable..... Even the rear springs began to squeak from lack of movement. A 1000 miles of this and I was done so I took them off and traded them in for the Rancho 9000's. The difference in ride between the Rancho's and Monomax's was immense. The dog changed his mind and after a day of driving around the springs even stopped squeaking too.

As I mentioned, the front suspension felt great with the Monomax's. But the rear was stupid hard when unloaded. With a load they felt great too but since I couldnt tune down the harshness, there was no way I could tolerate the unloaded ride.

So with all that said, as much as everyone likes the Bilsteins I'm leery on how they'd ride too since if you look up the spec's Bilstein is pressurized to 360 psi and the KYB Monomax's are pressurized to 280 psi. Not sure but thats just my personal experience.