I have a 2005 Dak 4X4 with the 4.7L and from hauling a boat just near her upper limit it is time to replace the shocks and struts. (no good picture of the truck yet but one of the boat is attached as compensation)
I tow the boat quite a bit in the summer so I want something that will be better at handling the load. I have read a number of the older posts and it seems the Ranchos are they way to go for the front and I was considering the Monroe sensa-trac for the rear.
I am open to any different suggestions or comments so please let me know if there is a better way to go. Also, where do you guys find to have the best prices? Thanks

Mike

 

welcome to the forum! different places have different prices and you just have to hit one when they are having a sale to get the best price. If your going with ranshos on the front, I would go ranchos on the back as well, thats just me though. you might also look into rear helper springs or air bags.

 

Thanks for the reply, thats kind of what I was wondering whether to go ranchos all around or if mixing was ok.

 

can do w/e you want buy you might want to also look into Lift loader springs for the rear to help with the weight!

 

I agree with Keaton on this one... the bag def will help with a load like that. It will make her stable. My dad used them on his Ram when hauling his 5th Wheel... and besides the drag from the trailer, you really didnt feel it behind ya.

 

+1 on the airbags

The Dakota's rear springs are pretty soft - mine would get wallowy with a couple of motocross bikes in the back. I'm currently running airbags and Ranchos and the improvement is massive. The airbags are nice because you can crank them up when you need to, but still have the option of letting some air out for a softer ride when necessary. The Ranchos are much better than the stock shocks (I replaced mine when the truck had less than 7,000 miles on it, so the stockers weren't worn out), but in my opinion, the Ranchos could stand to be even stiffer, especially the fronts.

One final note on the airbags - increasing the air pressure raises the rear of the truck significantly. A rear-high truck puts extra load on the front and messes with the handling. I put lowering shackles on my truck along with airbags, so I have close to stock ride height with moderate pressure in the airbags.