I need shocks for the newly acquired towpig. I picked up a 2007 4wd Suburban 2500 that was a Florida DOT vehicle. It's a sparsely appointed vehicle that was ridden hard an put away wet. It needs shocks and I will probably put a 2" leveling kit lift on the front to level it out a bit and make room for a little more tire in the future. I can do stock length shocks with an extended shock mount up front or longer shocks. The rear will not be lifted now and probably not in the future either. The primary use will be hauling the family with occasional tows. Any suggestions on shocks from the hive?
In reply to MrJoshua :
My original shocks on my pickup lasted 371,000 miles and it was heavily /loaded overloaded very often. ( it hauled home every timber, board panel, stone, 
and whatever else it took to build my house. A 1/2 ton pickup hauling more than 4,000 pounds of stone. Or 6-7,000 pounds of timbers on a trailer. I didn't consider the truck loaded until it was on the bump stops and the tires were bulging )
Do not just assume the shocks wear out unless you're getting other indications such as leaks, broken, bouncing in normal driving, etc.
In reply to frenchyd :
It is amazingly crashy and rattly throughout the suspension. I just had a Left front A arm and both inner tie rods done on the front which tightened it up a bunch. They recommended shocks as well. I chose to tackle that myself and am trying to figure out if cheap will be good enough or if I should spend more. Now when hitting any moderate bump or road imperfection it feels like the the front wheel shakes its way back to smooth instead of just one solid thump. Of course the dash is cracked and every interior piece is poorly connected from them removing all the FDOT accessories so the shakes are amplified by rattly interior drama.
frenchyd said:
In reply to MrJoshua :
My original shocks on my pickup lasted 371,000 miles and it was heavily /loaded overloaded very often. ( it hauled home every timber, board panel, stone, and whatever else it took to build my house. A 1/2 ton pickup hauling more than 4,000 pounds of stone. Or 6-7,000 pounds of timbers on a trailer. I didn't consider the truck loaded until it was on the bump stops and the tires were bulging )
Do not just assume the shocks wear out unless you're getting other indications such as leaks, broken, bouncing in normal driving, etc.
Do you have tours of this eclectic estate of yours?
I have been happy with the KYBs on my van. They are whatever model was listed as "heavy duty" in the Rockauto catalog.
This may sound crazy, but last week I had a '00 K2500 with blown shocks (20,000 mile truck that lives in a field, they rusted out) and we got AC Delco shocks from the dealer.
Way way WAAAAAAAAY better than anything aftermarket I've ever experienced. Usually aftermarket shocks feel only slightly better than the worn out junk you're taking off.
So, I'd price out what ACD shocks would cost...
I've have rancho 9000 on my excursion. Also had Bilsteins on a F250. Like then both.
MrJoshua said:
In reply to frenchyd :
It is amazingly crashy and rattly throughout the suspension. I just had a Left front A arm and both inner tie rods done on the front which tightened it up a bunch. They recommended shocks as well. I chose to tackle that myself and am trying to figure out if cheap will be good enough or if I should spend more. Now when hitting any moderate bump or road imperfection it feels like the the front wheel shakes its way back to smooth instead of just one solid thump. Of course the dash is cracked and every interior piece is poorly connected from them removing all the FDOT accessories so the shakes are amplified by rattly interior drama.
You absolutely could need shocks. But the bouncing I think you're describing could also be loose bushings, tie rod ends,wheel bearings, etc. what condition are the tires?
Is there any sign of oil leakage on the shaft? Maybe oily mess on the housing? How are the bushings of the shocks looking? Shock replacement on trucks tend to be very easy job. And even good shocks are not that expensive but I would avoid the cheapest.
My Truck had the Z71 suspension option and instead of stock they were Bilstiens shocks qas which I tend to very highly of.
759NRNG (Forum Partidario) said:
frenchyd said:
In reply to MrJoshua :
My original shocks on my pickup lasted 371,000 miles and it was heavily /loaded overloaded very often. ( it hauled home every timber, board panel, stone, and whatever else it took to build my house. A 1/2 ton pickup hauling more than 4,000 pounds of stone. Or 6-7,000 pounds of timbers on a trailer. I didn't consider the truck loaded until it was on the bump stops and the tires were bulging )
Do not just assume the shocks wear out unless you're getting other indications such as leaks, broken, bouncing in normal driving, etc.
Do you have tours of this eclectic estate of yours?
Thank you! If you're around Lake Minnetonka and don't mind wearing a mask I'll be pleased to show you what a wacko I am.
Right now there is scaffolding surrounding it while it's being painted. But you can get a closer look at stuff if you don't mind climbing
Interested. I'm looking for shocks for my DD/tow pig and it seems that so many of them are focused on either handling or being overly heavy duty. I'm looking for cushy control. I want control for towing, but it's only ever towing about 3500 lbs. The rest of the time I'm trying to not get punished by a stiff riding truck. I don't care if I lean 45 degrees in a corner, I just get tired of spilling my coffee on every pothole.
In my head it seems like I want something that is cushy on compression but more damping on extension. Soft on bumps, but control for payload and towing? I don't know.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It really seems like you need air shocks. Leave them low when riding empty pump them up with a load.
My truck is a bit of a special use case, the twin I-beam system, including wheels and brakes is probably in the range of about 150 lbs of unsprung weight. Massive amount of mass to slow down for the shocks, so if they aren't up to it they get blown out in 20-30k.
That being said, after going through two or three sets of random shocks early in my ownership of the truck I found that Bilsteins are about the only ones that are designed to take that kind of abuse and give any sort of longevity. I rebuilt the entire front end and replaced the (still functioning decently, but starting to leak) Bilsteins and they had at least 70k on them
In reply to frenchyd :
It was checked at a shop and those guys love replacing parts so I was going under the assumption they caught everything. I haven't had it in the air to check anything.
frenchyd said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It really seems like you need air shocks. Leave them low when riding empty pump them up with a load.
That would be great, but two things prevent that: 1) that doesn't improve the shock valving, 2) they don't allow for running without air, so I would be fishing out the air compressor every other day.
The air adds capacity, but I already have plenty of that. If anything, I'd love to ditch all but one leaf, add slappers and air bags and some on-board air.... but that would further complicate the choice of valving.
My Dodge 2500 shocks were clearly toast at 60k, most of which was towing. I do have slightly higher standards than some when I comes to damping and have been known to point and laugh at F150 ads as the CGI trucks wobble to a stop.
Put in a set of remote reservoir Foxes and it made a big difference in body control and ride comfort. Overkill, perhaps. But it made the truck a better place to be.
I put Bilsteins in a work F350 truck that I'm pretty sure was jumped. No problems after that. It didn't ride harsh but the kind of firm that a well set up 90s sports car might have.
Hard to go wrong with Delco stuff too.
I bought my dad a set of Bilstein B6 4600 shocks for his 2000 F350 SRW. He tows a massive 35ft 5th wheel about a dozen times a year all over the state.
They were a massive improvement. I also got him a Timbren SES kit for the rear axle. It tows a lot better now.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
frenchyd said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It really seems like you need air shocks. Leave them low when riding empty pump them up with a load.
That would be great, but two things prevent that: 1) that doesn't improve the shock valving, 2) they don't allow for running without air, so I would be fishing out the air compressor every other day.
The air adds capacity, but I already have plenty of that. If anything, I'd love to ditch all but one leaf, add slappers and air bags and some on-board air.... but that would further complicate the choice of valving.
El Caminos had air shocks and I usually road around with 20psi unless I was pulling a trailer or carring a load. I had a cigarette plug in compressor and in a few minutes it would be back to level.
Ride wise it was pretty decent
They didn't leak down overnight or even in months.
I have Bilstein HD's on my Sequioa (used for towing and cargo hauling, plus whatever people go racing with us). They've held up nicely and are a bit firmer than stock but still comfortable. Also, cheap.
For my non-sporty rides, I usually do OEM, sometimes Bilstein.
I just installed bilstein 5100's on my titan. They were inexpensive and ride great so far.
In reply to MrJoshua :
Did it come with anything cool like working roof lights?
Sample...
In reply to frenchyd :
Nice looking place, my friend! You’d should do a “build” thread!!!
Don’t know if I will ever get the chance to go back to travelin’ again, but it would be awesome for a tour!
No Bilsteins for me if I can help it. Too fidgety. We have them on the Grand Cherokee and it jiggles just like sports cars on Bilsteins do. Feels sporty, but mostly annoying because it's unnecessary. Janel wants Foxes :)
