Definitely wasn't Baja-ing mine at all but that wasn't the point of this thread so I wont get into it. I've made a thread on my experiences with them if you'd like to search.

The rears I agree are better than stock over expansion joints etc like you said, no doubt. The Ranchos were even better than that.
The fox 2.5s make them both feel far inferior, they're just so so so much more plush.

As I said the Rancho stuff is much beefier than the 5100 stuff, and way heavier and overall just looks and feels a lot more solid IMO

 

That's what they all say, I did a ton of research before I got mine and most pics showed a beat up chassis and you could tell the gist was heavy off-roading when. Sorry you had a bad experience and yours could have a had a defect but from my personal research it showed people wanted to off-road the crap out of them then got put when they rolled or snapped at the eye. There's thousands and thousands of pairs on the road with just a small portion of failures.

The Fox stuff is nice and it all depends on price point and what the truck is intended for. Looks only to fit bigger tires (pavement queen) Bilsteins, Ranchos. Mild off-roading F150lifts.com Boss set up, Fox or Icons, more aggressive off-roading then Kings, Fox 2.5, or even a lift at this point.

 

My stock suspension didn't buckle going down the exact same sand fire lanes.... my truck on rancho quicklifts didn't buckle... my moms Tahoe on street tires suspension didn't buckle... my aunts CRV suspension didn't buckle... and countless other vehicles we've taken down the same roads since I was a kid never buckled...
Whatever you say dude

 

I know so ALL Bilsteins suck and are crappy?

My point is that they are great and like every other mass produced product either had defect or was driven too hard

Just because an engine fails in one truck out of hundreds of thousands on the roads doesn't mean that truck brand is junk. Crap happens and I remember your heavily complaint thread and posts now.

Either way, I have thousands of miles on mine and have been in harder off-road situations than the fire road you describe and mine have been great!

When I worked in the bicycle industry we had these funny situations when people brought broken bikes or parts back in, their stories were always started with "I was just riding along when" my bike exploded, it's a piece of crap and I want my money back. We would usually get it out of them that they were actually jumping sharks and came up short and were just mad.

 

jumping sharks, haha!! That got a laugh. Some ppl get jaded when a mass produced product fails on them. I think it's understandable to feel that way, as long as it isn't due to neglect or abuse. But it's also fair to realize that NOTHING has 100% success rate. There are going to be failures. There are far more positive reviews on billstiens than negative. Safe to assume that all things being equal he got a bad one.

 

Thanks for the info, my truck is pavement most of the time but with roads we have in Louisiana some might consider them to be mild off road. Haha. Just not looking to get a rough ride after doing all that work. Hunting season sees me on alot of washboard gravel roads and some mild off road trails.

 

You may want to look at some fox or F159lifts.com Boss shocks. The Bilsteins give a more firm ride than stock. It's hard to explain but it's in a good way but with bigger tires in load range D I felt more little imperfections but the bigger stuff was handled better.

 

Never said that. Just sharing my experience with the all shocks I've had.

I would pick the Ranchos over the 5100s, hands down. Not even taking the bent mount into consideration, the Ranchos just flat out ride better then the 5100s.
Yes, my first post seems to bash the 5100's but I've had 3 other sets to compare them to (stock, ranchos, and fox 2.5s). Do they ride better than stock, yes. Are they worth it? I would go Rancho for a few bucks more...

Stock < 5100s < Ranchos < Fox 2.5s

I wouldnt risk a bent shock again either if I was doing it all over when there are better riding options close to that price point (Ranchos)

 

The only thing about the ranchos is the adjustment which honestly how ten do you crawl under to change the damping? Also there are many reports of the plastic ***** snapping off so they are stuck on whatever adjustment they were set on.

I'd just skip over the Ranchos and head to the next price point if I were going to spend a bit more than Bilsteins.

Icon also has some nice stuff at the Fox price points.

I agree with you, if my shock bent I would be leery of that company no doubt.

 

did your suspension ride very rough prior to this? My XLT rides very rough compared to my father-in-law's platinum. No visible leaks but feel like one or both fronts might be blown.

definitely want the ranchos to replace them either way.