Will new shocks help?

[RWH]

I have an '05 Sierra, gas 6.0, 4X4, crewcab, Sb. Will new shocks (Ranchos, Bilstein) help remove the up and down motion I get when crossing uneven pavement or bridges? I use Reese W/D and sway control. My trailer is 30'w/ with 820lbs hitch weight and approx 6,900 loaded weight. We travel well within the trucks weight rating. The trucks rides great when not towing and the up /down motion is not a safety or control issue but I would like to improve the ride while we travel.

[RWH]

I have an '05 Sierra, gas 6.0, 4X4, crewcab, Sb. Will new shocks (Ranchos, Bilstein) help remove the up and down motion I get when crossing uneven pavement or bridges? I use Reese W/D and sway control. My trailer is 30'w/ with 820lbs hitch weight and approx 6,900 loaded weight. We travel well within the trucks weight rating. The trucks rides great when not towing and the up /down motion is not a safety or control issue but I would like to improve the ride while we travel.

[JimmyDee]

I have found the greatest help I got in towing came from adding shocks to the trailer.
Jim

[markclement]

I just installed a set of Rancho RX9000 shocks and they helped during trailering quite a bit. They are adjustable. Not up and down but ride quality. At #1 they act just like a Rancho rx5000= Normal ride. But while I am towing I just reach over to the bottom of the shock, turn the knob and change to #9. At number #9 it stiffins the ride which happens on ruff terain and takes some of the lean going around turns. There are other settings for situations inbetween.You might want to give them a look.

[RustyJC]

When we bought our current truck, it was almost unusable towing our 5th wheel. The rear shocks were far too soft for towing, resulting in a constant bobbing up and down over concrete expansion joints that had everyone in the truck carsick within 30 minutes.

I changed the truck's shocks over to the old 5-position Rancho 9000's. Running empty, settings of 3 front/2 rear made the truck ride much better than stock - softer, but still with adequate rebound control. When towing, settings of 4 front/5 rear snug everything down tightly - no bouncing. In our case, these shocks made the difference between miserable and pleasurable ride quality when towing.

YMMV.

Rusty

[RWH]

Thanks for the info, I think I'll change-out the shocks before next season.

[diandtom]

I changed the shocks on my 2500 HD Chevy with Bilstein and it is a lot better, but on bad roads it still gets bad in the cab. I got shocks on the trailer also. I was wondering if a air hitch would be better??
Tom

[SuperGewl]

Check your W/D hitch for proper setup and maybe add some water to the potable water tank or even remove some to help with ride. Depending on where it is located it will help the overeall load. You may also need to change the location or how much stuff you store in certain places. Shift some of the weight for and aft in the trailer and see what happens. It sounds as though yo are neutral fore and aft and need some weight up front.

[6bt]

Super Duty Air Lifts and Bilsteins are an excellent combination.