Yep that's my idea. figure a little more spring rate won't hurt.
Trust me no conventional shock will make it to even 1k miles giving them the same abuse I've put the truck so far especially with the extra weight. Been there done that. Only way to make them last is to slow the heck down
In all fairness the fronts are still ok and not exhibiting the same builtup as the rears. It's funny because you read all the time around here things like BDS for example doesn't put 2.5 body shocks in their performance kit rear because in theory the rear doesn't see the same abuse as the fronts and a lot of people seem to invest only in the fronts because of that reason. No idea what kind of seals they put on the generic shocks that last 50k-100k miles, but i doubt the material used in race shocks will be inferior. i think the main difference is that race seals are supposed to wishstand tons more heat, so how that affects them long term i don't know. sure cheapy shocks can last 100k miles or more on a vehicle that only see streets but that doesn't mean they're absorbing bumps the same as when they were new. Change your conventional shocks every 50k miles and you'll feel the difference right away.
Performance shocks should be rebuilt
every 50k miles on road only
10k-30k with combination onroad/offroad
1k-3k offroad only
all depending on driving conditions and environment of course. I was changing my Jeep conventional shocks every 50k miles to keep them fresh doing offroad, but rock crawling and/or driving at 10-20mph to get to the rocks is way different that driving through rutted out dirt roads with washes and and hoops at 40-70mph.
You can see all the components inside a King 2.5 shock in this video of a basic rebuilt. This is what i wanted to do myself before the King guy told me to let them do it for $120 each. Oil jug is $40, the tool to open the shock cap underneath is $55 though i would guess i could try something from harbor freight, (it's called face pin spanner i believe, the trick will be finding something that can fit the holes). The tool to get the IFP from the reservoir is $45, seal pack i believe is $20 each and i'll need 4 of them. the tool to open the valve steem i think is like $20. Well worth if you can DYI. I feel i could do it but at the same time this is one of those times of the year where my hands are full between the office and the kids activities over the weekend. I missed 2 games yesterday from one of my kids and today is raining, more likely it'll take a month before i can put my performance chit back
The rear shocks doesn't look as bad as i thought, there is a little buildup outside the seal
2020-03-01_10-24-55 by
RAM RSM, on Flickr
i don't think i should see this marks when compressing the shock by hand after cleaning the shaft.
2020-03-01_10-25-18 by
RAM RSM, on Flickr