Tow Vehicle Shock Absorbers

I have a GMC 2500HD towing a 28RK Cat. The ride when towing is rough - washboards, bad freeways, ruts. I want to replace the shocks with either Bilsteins or Rancho RS9000's to improve the ride. Any ideas would be appreciated. Also any other ideas - air ride pin box, etc. would be helpful.

I have TrailAir pin box and you sure can see it move up and down when going down the road. It has two air bags under it and sure helps with the ride. Just a little costly. I found mine used and save major $.

Ribbs,

You don't say how many miles you have on your present set of shocks, but if it's time to change them, I can recommend the Rancho's. I just put them on my Ram 2500 and the improvement in the ride was tremendous. Also, there have been many posts on this forum with the same comments on the Bilsteins. I think either choise would be good.

See ya down the road somewhere.

Same here. I have the Rancho 9000's and have used them on several trucks. I like them and their customer service is pretty good. They (or the dealer if you get a good one) will replace any shock that fails. I had a front on fail and they sent me a new pair; didn't even ask for the old ones. Same for a Rancho steering stabilizer on my work truck.

I have also heard that the Bilstiens are excellent, but have never tried them.

I have the Bilsteins, and as soon as I can afford to replace them, I'm going to. They're a fantastic shock, but way too stiff for our F250 when running empty. Monroe is supposed to have a gas shock that gives a better ride empty. I've also heard good things about Rancho's.

TC

Thanks for all the replys. I have a relatively new set of Monroe SensaTracs on the PU now. Nice ride with no trailer but they are way too soft when towing. Would an airride pinbox or a Demco glide make a big difference? Considering the cost.

Added air bags on the F350 takes alot of the problems out of the wash board effect. Makes it much smoother keeps the weight under control. Still lookin at a 5th airborne hitch for trailor.

Does anyone have info or used the MorRyde pin box?

I had Rancho 9000's on my old truck, they were good - I just got to lazy to crawl under to adjust them (I was too cheap to buy the In-Cab set-up). I replaced the oem GM shocks with Bilsteins (bought from ebay) and couldn't be any happier.

Ribbs,

Your shocks are not what's causing the chucking on rough roads. That's due to other factors such as weight distribution in the RV, pin weight over your hitch, axle location on RV, etc., etc., etc.

And, if you have a short box on your truck, the rough ride when loaded can be increased exponentially if not corrected!

If you're getting a comfortable ride when empty with your current shocks, then I would focus more on keeping your truck nice and level when loaded by adding air bags - and - adding an aftermarket pin box such as the Demco or similar. The pin box is what's going to make the biggest difference on uneven surfaces.

I've even seen where people have added shocks to their RVs to help dampen the bumbs some.

TC