The road to Chaco Canyon Vs. Bilstien 5100's

RZAR66 wrote:
I finally got a call back from Bilstien after leaving a 2 messages 2 days ago. I explained what happened and under what conditions and basically they said it is not covered under warranty. The reason because I was going too slow (8 to 12 mph) over a wash boarded road which caused the over heating and meltdown of the front shocks. She even stated that they have seen it happen before. The 5100 series shocks I have are for trucks with 0 to 2 inches of lift. My truck is not lifted so I have the correct shocks for my truck. So not all 5100 bilstiens are for lifted trucks. She also said that I would need to talk to a tech at bilstein to get the correct shock for my application. I then asked her should I not trust the people that sell your products? She then told me I would have to take it up with the people that I bought them from. I think I know where that's going to lead. I think I will just cut my losses and try another brand of shock.

Wow! I'm really surprised that's what they told you. I still think you wouldn't have had this problem with the Bilstein 4600s. JMHO.

...we've done 12 MPH to 15 MPH on the road to Chaco (over brutal washboard) for long distances with OEM Chevy 2500HD truck shocks, with absolutely no issues with camper aboard, under incredible desert heat. In fact, 6 years later, we still have the same OEM Chevy shocks on our truck (with camper aboard full-time) and they are working flawlessly, after an additional 300+ post Chaco miles on washboard roads (!!)

Are there other Bilstein 5100 users out there that you can contact with the same "melt-down" issues ? This doesn't sound right (the horrible performance of your apparently specialized shocks!).

I finally got a call back from Bilstien after leaving a 2 messages 2 days ago. I explained what happened and under what conditions and basically they said it is not covered under warranty. The reason because I was going too slow (8 to 12 mph) over a wash boarded road which caused the over heating and meltdown of the front shocks. She even stated that they have seen it happen before. The 5100 series shocks I have are for trucks with 0 to 2 inches of lift. My truck is not lifted so I have the correct shocks for my truck. So not all 5100 bilstiens are for lifted trucks. She also said that I would need to talk to a tech at bilstein to get the correct shock for my application. I then asked her should I not trust the people that sell your products? She then told me I would have to take it up with the people that I bought them from. I think I know where that's going to lead. I think I will just cut my losses and try another brand of shock.

It looks like the shocks reached the end of travel. Another way to motate over washboard roads is to lower the pressure in the tires. On your rig it looks like taking them down to 30 pounds as a start. I've had my super singles down to 20 pounds and my front 305x70R16's down to 22 pounds as a last resort on the dunes. ymmv.

the pressure reduction comes from my jeeping dayz when we'd fiddle with the pressure on different surfaces.
jefe

Garry&Gayle wrote:
Show the pics to Bilstein they are right there in San Diego, see how good there lifetime warranty is. Inquiring minds would like to know

X2

Nemo667 wrote:

jimh425 wrote:

ticki2 wrote:
That's interesting , can you post that thread ? I have the 4600's and have driven a considerable amount of washboard road and not had a problem , about 30k on the shocks .

Here you go 5100 and 4600 thread

Thanks for the link Jim. That's good stuff.

Now to the OP...where is the trip report on Chaco Canyon that goes with this post on shocks???:B

Good idea. Gotta sort through some pictures and I will post a TR. We toured the 4 corners last week. It was awesome!

Also going to swap out the 5100's for the 4600's.

jimh425 wrote:

ticki2 wrote:
That's interesting , can you post that thread ? I have the 4600's and have driven a considerable amount of washboard road and not had a problem , about 30k on the shocks .

Here you go 5100 and 4600 thread

Thanks for the link Jim. That's good stuff.

Now to the OP...where is the trip report on Chaco Canyon that goes with this post on shocks???:B

Been to Chaco several times. Two times with the current truck and camper. Have the 4600 Bilstien's, never have had a problem.
Truck is stock height. These shocks now have about 50K miles on them.

Jim

ticki2 wrote:
That's interesting , can you post that thread ? I have the 4600's and have driven a considerable amount of washboard road and not had a problem , about 30k on the shocks .

Here you go 5100 and 4600 thread

The 5100's were recommend to me because my truck is equipped with the snow plow package. It actually makes my truck front end sit a little higher than one without it. But maybe not high enough. Going to look into the 4600's or maybe a set of Rancho's.