Monroe Gas Magnum TDT 4×4 shock absorbers

We have a Ford Ranger and find it a rough ride even on main roads. Trying to soften it and wonder has anyone retro fitted gas shock absorbers. We have read an article on an Aussie web site and the guy is really pleased with the results. What has been your experience and approximate cost?

Dont expect to much improvement it is the springs that control the harshness of the ride.

depends a bit on why its rough ride and what your comparing it to.
decent shocks can help but only to a degree.
what also can make a difference is tires. many of them have fancy rims and low profile tires which will make the ride harsh.

we have a ranger at work and it rides fine. but its no car, its a leaf spring ute its never going to be as nice as a car.

Shocks generally just do damping (although some gas charged shocks do add to the spring rate). As such I wouldn't pick swapping out the shocks will solve your problem. I think shocks are a big deal in aussie as they deal with a lot of corrugations in hot weather. Stock shocks can get so hot they stop working, hence retrofits for gas shocks are common.

The underlying issue with these ute's will be that the suspension has been set up to handle the maximum rated payload (typically around 1000kg) without bottoming out too much. Without expensive adjustable (air / hydraulic) suspension, the main way to do this is stiffer springs. I think most of the utes use cheaper non progressive springs too. Also things like the live rear axle, means more unsprung weight than you would get in a car.

I think most of the utes will be similar. The Hilux I spent time in had a harsh ride when empty, but rode quite nicely with a few hundred Kg's of cargo on board.

Ideally you would change to softer springs. King springs makes a Tapered wire progressive rate comfort spring at standard ride height.

https://kingsprings.com.au/catalogue/vehicle/215/ford-ranger-px-px-ii-4wd-2011-6-2018 You could also consider having a suspension workshop remove a leaf from the rear spring pack.
Parabolic leaf springs seem like they offer better comfort than normal leaf springs, but they only seem to be made for the off road touring market offering 40mm lift, and being designed to carry substantial permanent load in the back of the vehicle.

https://www.terraintamer.com/en/4wd-products/suspension/leaf-spring-catalogue/parabolic-springs

All comes down to how much money you are willing to spend and if you are willing to give up payload.

Eaistist way to resolve the issue would be to sell the ute and buy car / suv with a comfortable suspension setup. The SUV version of the ranger has a coil sprung rear that should provide greater comfort.

Cheapist way would be to add some dead weight to the vehicle - A few sandbags at the front of the tray or rear footwell etc. Of course this costs performance and economy.

Next cheapest (assuming your wheels are 18" or bigger) would be to swap out for 17" wheels. 17" ranger wheels are dirt cheap on here - pretty much just pay for the tires mounted on them. Greater sidewall will mean that the tires soak up more bumps in the road.

Next up from this is spending reasonable money on suspension work. Might be best to consult with an installer for specialized advice.

Most expensive option would be to trade for a ranger raptor. It ditches the rear leaf spring for a soft, progressive long travel coil sprung setup. (at the expense of payload)

Have you checked the tyre pressures,have a look on the chart on the drivers door frame for pressure.

no. like most utes they are usually on the soft side and most people who carry 1000kg regularly upgrade to stiffer springs, which is what we have.
very few utes have springs set up for max load.

shocks do actually help a bit. a poorly dampened spring bounces back and forth, which makes vibration to start with ie one bump feals like many. but also that if you hit a 2nd bump at the wrong time when the wheel is being pushed down by the spring the impact is much greater.

Thanks Scott for making the effort to help. Yes we have decided the shocks are not going to do the job. We are going tomorrow to test drive a Ranger fitted with Old Man Emu suspension. We have spoken with a member of a group we belong to and he had it fitted and was pleased with the result. When we spoke with an installer today he offered us to test drive their work Ranger that has it. We have considered changing to a car, but we carry stuff on the back that probably wouldn't fit in a car.

Note how I said handle the payload without bottoming out too much. Tail will still sagging badly, and will hit the bump stops now and then, so there is good reason to put stiffer suspension in utes that spend a lot of time near max payload.

Particularly with double cab utes, in the real world the load often ends up more rearwards than the maunfactures intended. Roughly half of a double cabs payload is intended to be in the cab. Especially with a trailer with a big ball load stock rear suspension can easily be overloaded.

yes i noticed but the point is that utes already come with soft springs.
the more common problem is rough ride due to springs that have sagged (due to heavy loads) and are hitting the bump stops when hitting potholes etc, with no load on.

the other option here is to fit lifted springs but factory load spec. this simply gives more travel and less likely to hit the bump stops.

one problem with trying to use softer rear leafs is the springs will wrap under decent acceleration and eventually stuff the springs. thats the downside of using springs as locating arms.