Greetings all. I am new to the forum- wow! Certianly much more detailed than the one I use for my old 1948 Farmall Cub Tractor!!

Anyway, been spending some time trying to research shocks for my Ram. Certianly the info out there is more than I bargained for so this seemed like the place to get the scoop from people with the same truck. Here are the current facts:

• This will be the first set of replacement shocks for the truck since bought new. Not even going to say how many miles cause someone will kick me off the forum based on neglect.
• The truck is an 04 Ram SLT, 5.7 Hemi and has the off-road package.
• My use- nearly daily, and mainly paved surfaces and often many miles/day for work covering a three county area. But do a lot of hunting, fishing, camping etc in remote locations on very crappy 2-tracks and logging roads, etc. Yes, the ***-a-longs have been used on a few occasions. IN my work, I do drive on farm roads and paths, field edges etc.
• Firewood- haul a fair amount. I have a cap on the truck so I tend to haul more firewood than the 1500 should. But for short distances. It is an 8 foot bed and I do fill every inch up to the roof of the cap on occasion with wood. PLease don't hate me...

So when I looked at Monroes website, did the shock selector thing, it said the gas magnum shocks. The local place I am going to have put them on (and new tires at the same time- BF KO's) said to go with the Monroe Reflex. In Googling it, most stuff I saw sounded pretty good but I am concerned mainly about handling the weight of firewood. Most stuff I read seemed as though they could manage the off-road stuff that I do. Then of course I ran into all sorts of stuff concerning the Rancho RSX (more of the off-road Monroe), Bilsteins ($!), and others saying the gas magnum is for heavy loads. Bla bla bla.

Any thoughts anyone can share would be appreciated. My gut at this point is just to stick with the shops recomendation and get the Reflex but I am certianly open to thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks much.

 

Three best shocks there are IMO. The Monroe Reflex, Rancho's and Bilstein's. You can't go wrong with either of the three...

 

It's been a while since I have heard a compliant on Bilsteins. My personal preference has been Monroe/Rancho for about half the price on sale. I drive my vehicle until I leave a trail of metal on the road and Tennaco has always honored the lifetime warranty. On my last Truck, the rubber bushings rotted out. I called customer service stating that I did not know what I had for breakfast a day before, so a reciept would be out of the question. They sent me a proof of purchase that was honored at my local parts store.

The weight is more of a function of the springs. Off roading is where you need a quality shock. The shocks you mentioned should handle the described use, but serious off roading increases the heat build up, so you have to make sure your choice can handle the duty. The Reflex will not handle it, the Gas Magnum is close to the Rancho RS5000. The RSX is better than the RS series and Bilistens also have different grades.

 

Id suggest the bilstens as they are by far one of the best quality shocks out there. I can attest for them.


On a sidenote, Have you looked into helper springs, or an Air-bag support for all that weight of the firewood? If you plan on keeping the truck long, and dont want to keep murdering your rear suspension, thatd be the real way to go. No matter how good the shock is, or how many you have set up in the back, there not going to help the ride if the spring rate is over exceeded by al the extra weight...

Just my 2 cents!

 

I just can't believe you don't take the cap off if you do that much wood? Seems crazy to be bent over all the time?? Just my .02

I've got airbags in the back. Cost $225 shipped to my door off Ebay. Arnott Systems. 5,000lb rated. Goodyear bags

 

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'll give the Reflex shocks a try. I will look into the helper springs or airbags and should have done so long ago. It sounds as though air bags would be the preference over helper springs? Do I need a shop to install?

The cap is a critical piece of equipment for me with all of the hunting, fishing, camping and job stuff- need to keep stuff out of the weather and secure. Plus allow for the room, which a cover or box won't accommodate for. Although I burn firewood 24/7 in the winter, the hauling of wood is sporadic and opportunistic. The cap actually allows for more wood to fit than just an open bed (part of my weight problem I guess). I have 3 pieces of plywood cut to custum fit over the windows so the wood can be tossed in. Can be a pain for unloading but not bad since once I'm up in there I'm on my knees anyway, until I scrape my spine on the edge of cap getting in or out- damn that hurts. With several other advantages the cap provides, having the cap far outweighs the cons for me. With the only real con being stuff too tall to fit, which is still good since those requests often come from people wanting me to haul their stuff

Thanks