Those of you who have been following my build, know that I've been forced to tick with load E tires, as I'm running 16" Moab wheels and I love my Duratracs. For whatever reason, they don't make a Duratrac in a load C in 285/75/r16.
Anyhow, I keep them at 26 psi, and they aren't really all that bad to be honest. However, they do ride a little firmer than a load C. Let me start this by saying that I've run Fox 2.0 shocks, Bilstein 5100s, and OME Nitrochargers on a TJ.
I was a bit skeptical to get Rancho RS5000X shocks mostly because of how cheap they were. I figured anything this cheap couldn't be that good. Boy was I wrong...
I've only had them on for a few days now, but the difference is night-and-day, seriously! They ride so soft and smooth over bumps, they absorb almost everything, and they make it so you barely even notice there's a load E tire on there!
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these things ride better than any of the shocks I've had on my TJs previously. This leads me to believe that a gas charged monotube shock is simply not the right choice for a TJ. The Bilstein 5100, Fox 2.0, and most of the others are setup for a very heavy vehicle near as I can tell. The TJ may be heavy to us, but it's nowhere near as heavy as a full size truck or something, which would be much more suited to one of those gas charged monotube shocks.
Now I will admit that the way a vehicle rides is largely preference. Some people like firm, others like soft. If you like soft and plush, these Rancho RS5000X shocks beat the others by a long shot.
I would have to say my only gripe about them whatsoever, is that I wish Rancho made a version that was finished really nicely. One thing I really like about the Fox shocks is the aluminum body and the way they look. The Ranchos just have cheap white spray paint on them. Nothing to really complain about (especially for the price), I just wish maybe they offered a version that was a bit more appealing cosmetically. Still, I think you could just paint them black very easily and be good to go.
Anyhow, in my honest opinion, these are the best shocks out there for the TJ, period. They ride so damn well it's amazing!
I ended up buying mine here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079VF6JN8/?tag=wranglerorg-20
With the $50 rebate from Rancho, they ended up only costing me a hair over $150, and they took me maybe an hour and a half to install all of them.
My final thought is that if you're in the market for shocks for your TJ, these Ranchos are absolutely the way to go, no question about it. Not only do they ride better than the competition, but they're considerably cheaper as well. It's really a no brainer if you ask me! It's as if these shocks were designed specifically for the TJ.