Gabriel or Monroe Shocks which one?

I really like Gabriel Fleetline for economy shocks, they last me about 60-80k miles before i notice the dampening not as good.

Sachs.. OEM Volvo is about the same.

The Gabriel SLX gas have the best ride (on extra firm setting) but are very hard to get and last about the same as the Fleetline model before dampening starts to fade away.
I wish the SLX line lasted longer.

Monroe gas Magnum, ride is ok... Jury is still out on lifespan. I shunned Monroe for years and decided to give them another shot.

Heavy truck shocks are just cheaply built garbage. The selections are pretty crappy. I like a shock with very strong rebound dampening and most are well done before 100k miles.

I wanted to try the roadking but you can't rebuild them yourself... A major drawback.
I would've also liked to have been able to run a heavier oil in the shock too.... Price is just stupid on them for what they are....

 

I dont see why you couldn't rebuild them yourself. Just a matter of getting the seals/orings and oil. I'm planning on rebuilding mine myself when they go bad.

You mentioned rebound dampening. Every shock I've ever bought i had no problem collapsing by hand. Until i bought the road kings. I couldn't budget them, had to get a ratchet strap to collapse them in order to put them on the truck. That directly impacts how smooth a ride your truck gives. You know how the dot engineers can't line a bridge up with the road so every tonne you come up on a bridge its like hitting a pot hole and you brace for the impact? I don't even notice them anymore.

Only time will tell if they have a lifespan that offsets the costs, but so far im happy with them. 3 years would be the break even point but even if they only last two years it would be worth the extra money for the better ride. And if a guy chooses to pay for the labor two years would be break even.

 

Shocks? Hell just get yerself an old Hendrickson rubber block suspension an a coupla tubes of Preparation H..

Ha, shocks!

 

Or a camel back mack with solid mount cab

 

I tell ya what....I went with Monroes.....but just change them to whatever! It makes a big difference!

I will be changing mine every year or 2 from now on......

 

If you are the sort that doesn't mind a little wrenching now and then, i would suggest buying one extra shock. In 3 months pull off one of the ones you installed and compare the force needed to collapse it with the new one. Do this every 3 months.
I may be wrong but i think you will find those cheap gabriels and monroes lose a LOT of their dampening ability in a very short time, and in under a year are flat out worn out.

 

Honestly now that I know new feel vs old feel I will just know when they need changed. Go bobtail or unloaded in my case over the worst railroad crossing you have near you....not even fast....just like you think would be normal. If you get a death bam then go get new shocks and try it again.

I had to come to dang near a complete stop going over tracks and now I can go over them like I see every other trucker doing.....normal slow.

 

The problem i always ran into when judging by the feel of the ride is that shocks wear out gradually so you don't notice just how bad they have gotten. Its the whole boiling a frog alive thing. If you slowly increase the heat the frog never tries to get out of the pot.

 

New exercise program for the driver looking for something new.. hahahaha

 

Neither get the Bilsteins made in Germany.Honestly ,Im not sure if they make em for a Rig or not? And on a pickup theyre nearly $100 apiece.I would say otherwise,Id go with the big yellow Monroes.I believe they dampen better and ruggeder than the Gabriels.JMO