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Shock absorbers Rancho or Dobinsons
Swapped out the Toytec Aluma Boss 2.0 for Dobinsons MRR long travel in the rear & extended travel up front. Added Dobinsons billet UCAs and 600lb rear springs. Night & day difference in ride quality on the 2+ hour drive home
Pros: night & day difference
Dobinsons ims is awesome. Multi stage valves so you get a soft ride without compromise to the handling which is difficult to achieve
Pros: soft ride, good handling
Cons: difficult to achieve
Vehicle:
Toyota Hilux
Everyone here will push Bilstein shocks. They're probably best for weight and wheelbase. I put Rancho on mine and leveled the truck by going 1.75" taller up front. Don't hate the ride.
Pros: leveled the truck
Cons: don't hate the ride
I went with Dobinsons twin tubes on my GX470 and they’ve been great. Pretty comparable to the sport setting on the OEM shocks I’d say.
Pros: great, comparable to sport
Vehicle:
Lexus
As I do some offroading or mostly off pavement vs wheeling I’ve also liked my Rancho 5000s.
Pros: good for offroading
Vehicle:
Ford
Had a ‘86 Blazer with snowplow and heavy duty suspension came with twin shocks up front when I replaced them I went with Rancho RS 5000 ?
Vehicle:
Chevrolet Blazer
I’ve got rancho on my stock height xj right now and it’s not bad by any means but I don’t have anything to compare it to besides the blown OEM shocks that they replaced a few months back.
Pros: not bad by any means
Blown out ranchos
Cons: Blown out
Vehicle:
Ford Ranger
I see all the dobinsons positive remarks here. I've also had good experiences, but at the same time on my 80 I had the yellow nitro shocks and those are the only shocks I've ever had leak on any 4x4.
Cons: shocks leak
Vehicle:
Toyota Land Cruiser
It’s the crap Rancho shocks.
Cons: crap shocks
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Which shock absorbers to choose — Rancho or Dobinsons?
If choosing shock absorbers across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare shock absorbers across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which shock absorbers are better — Dobinsons or Rancho?
In March 2026 on PartReview, shock absorbers Dobinsons were overall better than Rancho.
- Rancho received a PR Score of 61 out of 100, and Dobinsons scored 91 point.
- Rancho ranked 10 in the overall ranking, and Dobinsons ranked 5.
- The average rating is higher for Dobinsons (4.4) than for Rancho (3.1).
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Shock absorbers Dobinsons have better feature ratings than Rancho:
- Bottoming - owners believe, that this property for Dobinsons is better than Rancho.
- Body bounce - drivers claim, that this property for Dobinsons is outperforms Rancho.
- Leaks - reviews suggest, that this property for Rancho is preferred to Dobinsons.
Which shock absorbers are more popular — Rancho or Dobinsons?
Shock absorbers Rancho and Dobinsons were equally popular according to data in March 2026.
By vote balance, shock absorbers Dobinsons surpassed Rancho:
- For Rancho, the ratio of positive (72) to negative (45) votes is 27 votes.
- For Dobinsons, the ratio of positive (66) to negative (6) votes is 60 votes.
By number of reviews, shock absorbers Rancho surpassed Dobinsons:
- For shock absorbers Rancho there are 38 reviews: 22 positive, 3 neutral, 13 negative.
- For shock absorbers Dobinsons there are 24 reviews: 22 positive, 0 neutral, 2 negative.
Which shock absorbers do car owners prefer — Rancho or Dobinsons?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, shock absorbers Rancho and Dobinsons have not taken top places in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding your review about these manufacturers.
Other comparisons of shock absorbers
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of shock absorbers Rancho with: Bilstein, KONI, KYB, Monroe, Sachs, FOX, GABRIEL, OEM Toyota, OEM Volkswagen, OLD MAN EMU.
Also available: comparisons of shock absorbers Dobinsons with: Bilstein, KONI, KYB, Monroe, Sachs, FOX, GABRIEL, OEM Toyota, OEM Volkswagen, OLD MAN EMU.
You can also see who is better among other shock absorbers manufacturers: Bilstein or KONI, Bilstein or KYB, Bilstein or Monroe, Bilstein or Sachs, Bilstein or Rancho.