2003 Ram 3500 SRW 2WD. I'm looking at replacing my shocks and wondered if y'all had any recommendations from personal or friend's experience. I'm hoping for a better/smoother ride and certainly nothing less so. I actually hardly ever pull our camper anywhere and never load the bed down with weight so I'm actually looking for something that fits an unladen truck better. Give me some ideas with your experiences and of course, the more similar the truck, the better. Oh, I forgot. Also let me know how easy or difficult this might be to tackle myself.

All work until the seals give out and the leak.

Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.

SidecarFlip wrote:All work until the seals give out and the leak.drsteve wrote:Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.I agree Bilstein's, I have 5100's on a non lifted truck. To SidecarFlips statment, when I put on the Bil's on my 2001 Ram about 5 years ago at 255K this is what I found that was on the truck. The reason was that I would bounced two to three cycles on a bad transition, they were working just not very well!! Then I found out why!

drsteve wrote:Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.I agree, and I got a good price on the entire set from shockwarehouse.com

I don't. I run Monroe's and they work fine. Like I said, when they leak, replace them and eventually, they all leak.Avoiding potholes is good too.

Shock recommendations | Good Sam Community

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Nov 12, 2018
All work until the seals give out and the leak.
drsteve
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Nov 12, 2018
SidecarFlip wrote:
All work until the seals give out and the leak.

drsteve wrote:
Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.

I agree Bilstein's, I have 5100's on a non lifted truck. To SidecarFlips statment, when I put on the Bil's on my 2001 Ram about 5 years ago at 255K this is what I found that was on the truck. The reason was that I would bounced two to three cycles on a bad transition, they were working just not very well!! Then I found out why!
Chrisatthebeach
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
drsteve wrote:
Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.

I agree, and I got a good price on the entire set from shockwarehouse.com
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Nov 12, 2018
I don't. I run Monroe's and they work fine. Like I said, when they leak, replace them and eventually, they all leak.

Avoiding potholes is good too.
eubank
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
If you are going to do the job yourself, the hardest part is, as needed, to squeeze the new shocks down just a bit to get the mounting bolts to align. I found the perfect inexpensive Harbor Freight tool:

https://www.harborfreight.com/36-inch-bar-clamp-96208.html

:)
Lynn
albow
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
SidecarFlip wrote:
All work until the seals give out and the leak.
Well, yes, but not as well as they did new.
albow
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
eubank wrote:
If you are going to do the job yourself, the hardest part is, as needed, to squeeze the new shocks down just a bit to get the mounting bolts to align. I found the perfect inexpensive Harbor Freight tool:

https://www.harborfreight.com/36-inch-bar-clamp-96208.html

:)
Lynn
Thanks. I watched a few videos after I posted this and they all made it look easy, but none of the trucks were above 1/2 ton. I wondered about needing to compress something.
albow
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
rhagfo wrote:
SidecarFlip wrote:
All work until the seals give out and the leak.

drsteve wrote:
Bilsteins. Better than stock, reasonably priced.

I agree Bilstein's, I have 5100's on a non lifted truck. To SidecarFlips statment, when I put on the Bil's on my 2001 Ram about 5 years ago at 255K this is what I found that was on the truck. The reason was that I would bounced two to three cycles on a bad transition, they were working just not very well!! Then I found out why!

Not sure of your point here. THey seem intact. Is it because of the made in Brazil engraving?
albow
Explorer
Nov 12, 2018
Which Bilstein's? The 5100's that Rhagfo is using?

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