Stock Latest Gen. Replacement Shocks - Rancho Adjustable

[General Clortho]

I am not a fan of Bilstein dampers and the stock PW shocks are no exception. I ran 5100's on two lifted Jeeps (old Grand Cherokee and my current Wrangler) and was not impressed. I swapped the GC's out with Old Man Emu shocks, and it was a big improvement. On the Wrangler, I swapped to Rancho RS9000XL adjustable shocks for its 3" lift, and it was a night and day improvement. Despite the relatively low cost of the shock and a lot of hate being thrown at Rancho, I have found their products to be an excellent value. They are not the best out there, but they are not priced like it either.

Anyway, because the stock Bilsteins ride like crap, I went to Rancho to see if I could find replacement 9000's. I don't really plan on modifying the suspension much from stock other than this. No dice. I got in touch with them directly and worked with one of there tech's to come up with a solution for shocks that come from one of there HD RAM lift kits.

From what I have researched, these are basically the compressed and extended length requirements for the stock PW suspension. This is open for discussion but appears to be a pretty good starting point for hunting down shocks.
Rear: 19.375" x 26.875"
Front: 17" x 24.75"

Secondly, I wanted to make sure the valve body was large enough for an HD truck and the gas engine. However, our PW's have an extra 100lbs+ in the front for the winch and mounting plate that need to be thought about.

Front and Rear are the same shock and cover the compressed and extended length requirements. I though that was odd and he did too, but he double verified it. These only run a little more than $100 each.

RS999048 9-way adjustable shock
Compressed Length: 16.92"
Extended Length: 26.54"
Travel Length: 9.62"

My main concern is the front shock, having about 1.75" more extension, could unseat the front springs with the swaybars disconnected. Is this an actual concern?

Has anyone out there taken the plunge on this setup?

 

[General Clortho]

The guys at Shock Surplus put together this kit for the 9000s and had over 4k miles of testing on them and did a video review. They confirmed the following:

Part Number	RS999044
Extended Length	24.600"
Compressed Length	15.950"
Travel	8.650"
Bottom Mount	EYELET/SLEEVE
Gas Charged	Yes

 

[62Blazer]

Good information. I did a lot of research looking at compressed and extended numbers and considered the Rancho adjustable. In the end I got the Thuren Fox in the front but still have the stock rear shocks. I would consider getting the adjustable Rancho in the back (I know, the OCD side says the shocks wouldn't match color, but you could paint the Ranchos and you can't hardly see the rears anyway).
For the concern about unseating the front spring, I wouldn't be overly concerned. When I swapped in Thuren front springs disconneting the shocks and the swaybar still wasn't enough and eventually had to also disconnect the track bar to get the axle to droop enough.

 

[olyelr]

Here is a video a guy put together showing what replacement bilstein shocks he used on the stock power wagon springs…

2019 Power Wagon Suspension Shocks Upgrade

Power Wagon shock upgrade to Bilstein B8 5160 reservoir shocks, incredible performance at a very reasonable price. Quick installation with direct replacement...

m.youtube.com

 

[Sidh]

Have you had any issues with the Rancho 9000's so far? I installed the adjustable ones in 2019 and lately I have had a severe vibration on the D/S rear end on the highway at 60-70mph. I've had my tires balanced and rotated, had the alignment checked a few times but I still get it every so often (not a constant issue). It's violent enough to cause damage so I'd like to isolate the issue before it breaks my truck.