Getting pissed with my new truck

Sierra Dan · June 28, 2019

Here is how the factory twin tube Rancho behaves on rebound.

Why? because typically the gas or oil escapes leaving a pogo stick spring to provide rebound. This failure can occur early on or with few miles.

Read the Comment on the video by Robert. He upgraded to a Rancho 5000x monotube and had a ride "10 times better" than the Factory Rancho on his '14 Silverado

Can anyone see my point now regarding the factory Rancho on the 14-19 (including T1 models (minus Trail Boss & AT4) ? ? ?

Cpl_Punishment · June 28, 2019

6 minutes ago, Sierra Dan said:

Here is how the factory twin tube Rancho behaves on rebound.

Why? because typically the gas or oil escapes leaving a pogo stick spring to provide rebound. This failure can occur early on or with few miles.

Read the Comment on the video by Robert. He upgraded to a Rancho 5000x monotube and had a ride "10 times better" than the Factory Rancho on his '14 Silverado

Can anyone see my point now regarding the factory Rancho on the 14-19 (including T1 models (minus Trail Boss & AT4) ? ? ?

Do you have a video showing a twin tube that isn't broken or a monotube so we can see how the shocks are supposed to behave in that scenario?

Sierra Dan · June 28, 2019

There are plenty of videos out there explaining monotube vs twin tube.

The factory Rancho's I took off the rear of my sierra behaved identical to the video above.

This should some it up. Notice he states when the twin tube fades it results in a " Bouncy and Uncontrollable Ride "

Yes again this is a Bilstein video but well explained. Go with your Monotube of choice.

econometrics · June 28, 2019

Adding weight to the back with the Ranchos would help, as many have noted here.

I have the same truck as Wiggums does, and have experienced the same thing. Not as severe, as I haven't been on a gravel road with my Z71 RST yet. It's done this on the interstate going 75mph for me, though. (which is a LOT of fun... ) I dropped the rear tire PSI to 34, and that helped a little.

But it's not just the rear springs being tuned to carry over 1500# of payload, IMO. My front Ranchos are equally as bad, but they just have more weight to keep them planted on the road.

Whenever I hit the same stutter-bumps on the highway, I can feel the front end shock recovery fail in the ride of the truck.

I'm going to swamp my crap Ranchos out as soon as Bilstein releases a replacement for the T1. I'll do the rear first, see how it rides, then possibly the front as well... waiting on that since it's more expensive.

Donstar · June 28, 2019

25 minutes ago, econometrics said:

Adding weight to the back with the Ranchos would help, as many have noted here.

I have the same truck as Wiggums does, and have experienced the same thing. Not as severe, as I haven't been on a gravel road with my Z71 RST yet. It's done this on the interstate going 75mph for me, though. (which is a LOT of fun... ) I dropped the rear tire PSI to 34, and that helped a little.

But it's not just the rear springs being tuned to carry over 1500# of payload, IMO. My front Ranchos are equally as bad, but they just have more weight to keep them planted on the road.

Whenever I hit the same stutter-bumps on the highway, I can feel the front end shock recovery fail in the ride of the truck.

I'm going to swamp my crap Ranchos out as soon as Bilstein releases a replacement for the T1. I'll do the rear first, see how it rides, then possibly the front as well... waiting on that since it's more expensive.

If your new truck has unsafe driving characteristics at Interstate speeds, then get it checked out under warranty. I drive this speed + on a regular basis and would have my truck back at the dealer immediately if I had anything less than a smooth cruise! "Crap Ranchos" is a fun discussion topic on this forum but I suspect they receive the blame for far more irregularities than they deserve.

econometrics · June 28, 2019

10 minutes ago, Donstar said:

If your new truck has unsafe driving characteristics at Interstate speeds, then get it checked out under warranty. I drive this speed + on a regular basis and would have my truck back at the dealer immediately if I had anything less than a smooth cruise! "Crap Ranchos" is a fun discussion topic on this forum but I suspect they receive the blame for far more irregularities than they deserve.

No, they deserve the blame they receive.

There's nothing categorically wrong with my truck until I go over an angled bridge or road seam at 75mph. Bad shocks are essentially the only culprit here. And my hypothesis gains credibility whenever I drive over an angled concrete driveway approach, too, as the truck floats side-to-side like a boat enduring a big, rolling wake.

Edited June 28, 2019 by econometrics

Donstar · June 28, 2019

1 minute ago, econometrics said:

No, they deserve the blame they receive.

There's nothing categorically wrong with my truck until I go over an angled bridge or road seam at 75mph. Bad shocks are essentially the only culprit here. And my hypothesis gains credibility whenever I drove over an angled concrete driveway approach, too, as the truck floats side-to-side like a boat enduring a big, rolling wake.

If my new shocks on my new truck caused my truck to feel unsafe or uncomfortable at 75 mph, I'd take it in for warranty repair. It is fine with me if you want to blame the shocks but I strongly suggest you get it checked out.

econometrics · June 28, 2019

Just now, Donstar said:

If my new shocks on my new truck caused my truck to feel unsafe or uncomfortable at 75 mph, I'd take it in for warranty repair. It is fine with me if you want to blame the shocks but I strongly suggest you get it checked out.

It was over two bumps, twice. (the rear-end feeling out of control, not the other lackluster performances) This is not an every day occurrence. It's comical to me how many on this forum have a hard time believing that GM would put a junk shock absorber on one of their vehicles.

And if you think I'm going to waste my time taking it to the dealer just to have them tell me "that's just how these shocks perform", you fail to comprehend my value of time.

Wiggums · June 28, 2019

2 hours ago, Sierra Dan said:

I grew up racing motocross.

This is why I refer to "Pogo Stick" often in the threads about shocks.

Dialing in the suspension on a motocross bike or even a Nascar is key to having the edge over your competition.

Not enough compression leads to bottoming out.

Too much rebound leads to flying over the handlebars or being bucked off the wild bull in whoop sections.

The Twin Tube Rancho has a decent amount of compression but the rebound is way off allowing the leaf springs of the truck to react quicker than the shock itself.

To prove my point just remove your rear shocks and take a short drive. Without the absorber all you have is an uncontrolled spring.

Those who have the Rancho 9000 adjustables can mimic this by placing them on the highest setting.

I had a set of these on my 94 Silverado after the factory Bilstein 4600s finally gave out.

The lowest setting translates into a very soft and slow rebound and makes the truck feel like a 1978 Lincoln. Tons of body roll but not good for towing/hauling.

The highest setting of the 9000 provides a very quick rebound. This seems to be how the factory twin tube Rancho is valved.

Rancho does make a monotube RS7000 that should be far better than the factory twin tube and that i suspect is on par with the 4600 and 5100 and other good monotubes out there.

Anyone bored yet?

Ha ha, when you said pogo sticks, nobody could have described it better! Some said that Z71's had mono tubes, no way it had twin. Some questioned my driving skills. Believe me, I have driven 4x4's and done serious off-roading but.. this was a dirt road and I would have never expected that. Not bored, I appreciate your input!

Edited June 28, 2019 by Wiggums

Wiggums · June 28, 2019

40 minutes ago, Donstar said:

If your new truck has unsafe driving characteristics at Interstate speeds, then get it checked out under warranty. I drive this speed + on a regular basis and would have my truck back at the dealer immediately if I had anything less than a smooth cruise! "Crap Ranchos" is a fun discussion topic on this forum but I suspect they receive the blame for far more irregularities than they deserve.

I've mentioned it's unsafe but it doesn't do that on regular roads, just dirt roads and my concern is that GM would dismiss it as "normal behavior" or claim that it's doing what it's designed to do. It just has to be that perfect storm and I am encountering that a lot because I drive on dirt roads in Mexico and California. I don't think it's happened on gravel though, it just has to be hard with 5 or 6 ripples in it then the back end goes wild and sways to one side. A lot of hard dirt roads are like that. I expected it to handle better than that, the wobbles, I'm okay, but not this. The first time I experienced that, the truck had only 100 miles and it shocked me it was that bad.

Wiggums · June 28, 2019

24 minutes ago, econometrics said:

It was over two bumps, twice. (the rear-end feeling out of control, not the other lackluster performances) This is not an every day occurrence. It's comical to me how many on this forum have a hard time believing that GM would put a junk shock absorber on one of their vehicles.

And if you think I'm going to waste my time taking it to the dealer just to have them tell me "that's just how these shocks perform", you fail to comprehend my value of time.

I'm the same way. "It's designed to do that." It just pisses me off. Right, at least 3 or 4 bumps, all evenly spaced. And it's not every often you come across that unless you're on dirt roads a lot.

I am disappointed with the junk on my Z71. I read about K2 owners having that and replacing shocks with Bilsteins. Did they also have the twin tubes?

Wiggums · June 28, 2019

If I was going 75 miles an hour and the rear end did that, I would suppose it wouldn't be as severe since the Interstate is all concrete and the hard concrete would allow the rear tires to stay more planted. You don't encounter a lot of ripples too.

Now, if you're on a dirt road going 35 and hit ripples, the ground would also be a lot more loose than concrete, allowing the back end to sway a lot more than concrete, creating a safety risk. But, like some and I have said, "It's designed to do that."

Which outcome do you prefer? Road is straight with dirt on top of it. Hint: the one in the middle is a potential liability issue. No braking, no accelerating, on a straight road. C'mon. Easy to answer this. For the record, I am not exaggerating here, it was off by 45 degrees after about five seconds on a straight road. I had to really swerve.

flyingfool · June 28, 2019

problem is with the 4x4 rear lockers they use are cheap shit Gov-Loc rear diffs. They are very dangerous when they engage. had it on my 1990 suburban and wow, look out when it hooks up. the rear end will come around so fast and outta control its stupid. get real locker, or make it a pegg legger, better yet buy a Toyota TUndra TRD

Edited June 28, 2019 by flyingfool

Cpl_Punishment · June 29, 2019

The Tundra is several thousand more expensive and doesn't have any kind of locking differential, good or otherwise.

Wiggums · June 29, 2019

1 hour ago, flyingfool said:

problem is with the 4x4 rear lockers they use are cheap shit Gov-Loc rear diffs. They are very dangerous when they engage. had it on my 1990 suburban and wow, look out when it hooks up. the rear end will come around so fast and outta control its stupid. get real locker, or make it a pegg legger, better yet buy a Toyota TUndra TRD

I don't even think it had a reason to hook up, could it still hook up based on the terrain? The rear end came around so fast even if the road was straight. It was mind-boggling and I could never imagine this happening to any 4x4, I was at 45 degrees, it wasn't a trivial issue, it's nothing to scoff at, it will even catch an experienced off roader off guard. It was not an exaggeration, it happened quickly and I was alert when it happened. If I wasn't, I could have killed somebody with that truck especially since a lot of the roads are not paved near the ranch.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Wiggums