Best rear shocks for tow pig?

My much loved '08 Ram 1500 has come out of boat towing retirement to become a camper tow vehicle.

It's got the hemi, notice my avatar, and tow package.

It's also got the OE rear shocks and 80K on the clock. Might be time for some new dampers.

Up front, Monroe Gas Magnums, that I've never been happy with, honestly.

We were just up in the UP, pulling our ~7000# camper nearly 1100 miles.

Only complaint, Wisconsin roads are a bit whoop-tee-doo-ish. A few times, we'd be down to under 50 mph on a 70 mph road, due to a harmonic bounce.

We have a WDH and sway control. Good roads, no issues. I'm thinking a bit more spring wouldn't hurt and a whole lot more shock would be awesome!

What sayeth the hive?

TIA!

You are probably undampened for the load, but sometimes slowing down or speeding up is the only thing that works. 

I would probably look into a set of Bilsteins. 

Toyman! said:

You are probably undampened for the load, but sometimes slowing down or speeding up is the only thing that works. 

I would probably look into a set of Bilsteins. 

 

Bilsteins were the first to come to mind.

Any particular flavor better than another? I haven't looked any up yet.

I have read many times that Bilstine 4600 and the slightly more expensive 5100 are valved exactly the same - the 5100 are just designed as a longer shock, made for lifted trucks. To keep the travel average in the middle of shock travel, where ideal valving is. 
You'll still read that some people prefer the 5100 in the 0-2" lift spec. I guess they assume if it cost more it must be better, and their butt dyno has to agree!

I've run cheap shocks, and middle of the road ones with good reviews... my butt dyno has never felt the difference!!! But mine is known to be way inaccurate. 
I've never sprung (ha) for the Bilstines, only complaint I've ever hear from some is they make the empty ride too harsh. For a tow pig, I could live with that!

Airbags. And probably some bilsteins or whatever the Koni hd dampers are.

On my 2015 Ram 1500 quad cab, I installed airbags inside the rear springs and they did an AWESOME job when the bed was loaded. I used to regularly put 2500-3000# pallets of fieldstone in the bed with no issues. I drove from PA to FL with over 2000# of tools/supplies in the bed and with the bags inflated, the truck drove as if nothing was back there. The shocks were stock with 100,000+ miles on them. 

I did KYBs on my van, mostly because Bilstein didn't offer anything at the time.  The KYBs do a very nice job, but (at least in my application) the compression valving is pretty soft while the extension valving is super tight.  Ride is great, and they tow nice, but anytime you have a drop in the pavement, the van just drops like a rock.  I would say they're fantastic with that one exception.  I would prefer if the extension valving were one step quicker and the compression valving was one step stiffer.

I used to have a customer who owned a parking lot sweeping company with several trucks. We went through the monroes, the entire rancho range and finally landed on the 5100 bilsteins for a shock that would actually dampen and last any decent amount of time.

In reply to iansane :

Just for reference, why the 5100 series lifted shocks, instead of the 4600? Also , what kind of trucks? I'm needing shocks for my F350, one day - the FX4 Rancho (gimmick) stockers are just housings with rods moving, at this point. 

In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :

From his dicription, I think he might be needing more dampening, even when not towing. More spring, helper springs of any design, or air bags (best!) will help him some, and worth it. But better shocks is probably needed more, in his case, I think. 

03Panther said:

In reply to iansane :

Just for reference, why the 5100 series lifted shocks, instead of the 4600? Also , what kind of trucks? I'm needing shocks for my F350, one day - the FX4 Rancho (gimmick) stockers are just housings with rods moving, at this point. 

We went with the 5100's as kind of a "fine, throw the kitchen sink at it" since he had gone through so many before. The 5100s are supposedly valved firmer than the 4600's and this being on f350's and 3500 chevs we err'd to the side over overkill. (the best kind of kill...)

In reply to iansane :

I've read both ways on the valving... including both ways from different bilstine documents! 
Never spent the money on either, so don't know yet. 

While in there put some heavier rear springs in it too.  My tow pig is a chevy, did the bilsteins right away and a year later put 2500 pound rear springs in too.  Painful when empty on rough roads but a joy when pulling the trailer. Don't even need the WDH bars most of the time.

I'm not having much luck finding the Bilsteins for my ap, '08 1500 SWB Reg cab 2wd. Not the best choice for towing the camper, but it's what I've got.

Haven't given up yet, lot's more places to check.

Great input everyone! Much appreciated.

In reply to porschenut :

I personally like a bit less spring, although I prefer starting with a 2500 (or larger) in the first place. 
The WD hitch does have some benefits, even when ya have enough spring (or helpers, or air bags) to not sag, so if I'm using it anyway, less spring while empty is a plus!

In reply to SaltyDog :

That truck ain't bad for towing. Sure, a heavier duty truck is always a benifit while towing, as a longer wheelbase would be, but what you have backs nice, and is nicer when not towing!

In reply to SaltyDog :

For feedback, I'd love to hear your results of just the Bilstines, and then add air bags, afterwards  just to let us know how ya like it

Note: air bags, with WD hitch, does require the correct order of setup for towing. Can cause some problems IF done incorrectly. 
Also, I had one wagon with the air bags inside the springs. Not as versatile as the bags between axle and frame. (I Assume the dodge is leaf springs, so moot point)

I found the WDH bars kept the rig level but the pogo stick action was worse than bigger leaf springs.  And the durn things are noisy in tight turns.  My trailer amplifies issues, a single axle trailer weighing just over 4000 pounds.  

After getting over the price I followed Keith's recommendation and put a set of Fox 2.0 Performance Series shocks on my 3500 and they're great.  Air bags are a good option for getting the rear of the truck up when towing but you need good shock regardless.

In reply to 03Panther :

Correct on the leaf springs.

I was able to find and order the Bilsteins, so hopefully I'll be able to provide some sort of review. We have 2 more short trips planned before we put the camper away for the winter.

I ordered from Shock Warehouse without checking reviews first. Hopefully I'll be one of the lucky ones, the reviews weren't confidence inspiring.

I have gotten notification that my order has been fulfilled, still waiting on shipping info.

Fingers crossed!

The shocks have shipped, and are now in the clutches of FredEx.

I should see them sometime between tomorrow and never.

I haven't had a chance to check on bags yet. I have a set of coil overloads that I believe were intended for a C3500. I used them on a Dakota.

I could put ANYTHING in that truck and it wouldn't squat!

I'm late to this party but spend a couple hours yesterday installing shocks on my buddies 2018 3500 Dodge with a slide in bed camper that weighs 3,800 lbs.  Rancho 9000 models and he said that he could tell a HUGE difference in how well the truck was controlled over bumps.

We also did brake pads because the ones on it squealed like a stuck sow.  Jeeze those are big brakes!

They're getting closer...

My shocks showed up today.

One is leaking in the box...

I went online to start the return. Shock Warehouse has a live chat via text option.

Anthony replied back almost immediately. Within a few text messages, a replacement is on the way as well as a return label.

The wait begins again, but so far so good with SW.

I just put a set of the extreme performance (or something like that) KYBs into our H2. So far no complaints. I don't remember where I got them from. At the time (about a year ago) they were the only ones available.  The H2 gets driven so little I forgot I ordered them. I found them in the back of the truck about a month ago and thought I should probably get them installed.  I also replaced broken sway bar links that I did not know were broken. The truck drives much nicer now.