Anyone tried Monroe Monroe Load Adjusting Shocks
 

I have towed a car transporter trailer with my Aspen with smaller cars and the rear sags. I looked to see if Monroe had air adjustable shocks for the rear for this vehicle and they only have these to assist with towing. It looks like a shock with a helper spring integrated together. Could not find any specs on how much weight they help support on the website so was asking does anyone have experience with these shocks.

http://www.monroe.com/en-US/e-catalog/58651

Update: On researching my options I see that Air Lift 1000 are air bags that fit inside the rear spring to increase load carry capacity. Anyone tried these?

I wish they had the air adjustable shocks for the Aspen as well. I ran those on my Ranger due to the extra weight in the back and those things were awesome. Would work better if you install an on-board air pump as they do tend to leak air over time. I was constantly filling mine. I bought a set of those air bags that go inside the coils for the Ranger, but never installed them.

I am still running the OEM shocks on the Aspen. I really need to upgrade them. With all the research I've read on this forum about shocks, the general consensuses I found is to run Monroe Sensa-Trac if you want smooth riding or Bilstein's for towing. Some even use the Monroe Reflex for cost savings. I saw one guy ran the Bilstein's on the front and the Monroe Sensa-Trac with coil-overs on the rear and he was towing and swears by that setup.

Looking at the website you listed, they don't even list the Sensa-Trac shocks so I wonder if these are even available anymore. I may have to look in to these load adjusting shocks as I to tow from time to time.

Yeah I had air adjustable shocks for my 1999 Explorer Ltd AWD 5.0l that I used to tow my then boat with. I liked I could just air them up when I had a load and let the air out when it was empty, fairly simple.

Just to let you know, I went ahead and ordered myself some new shocks off of Amazon on Thursday. I ordered the Load Adjusting shocks (58651) for the rear @ $109.20 shipped and the Reflex Truck Shocks (911259) for the fronts @ $83.16 shipped. So just under $200 for all 4 shocks. Not bad. When the arrive (and when I get them installed) I'll let you know what I think of them. Probably won't be able to tell you how they handle under heavy towing as I haven't even done any of that yet. The most I've towed is around 2500 lbs. But I'll tell you how they handle for normal driving.

So the new Monroe shocks came in a few weeks ago. Took a couple of hours to install all four including removing the spare tire to install both rear shocks and removing each front tire to install each front tire. I've been driving on them for a couple of weeks now. I still feel bumps / potholes when I drive over them and she still "Floats" like a Cadillac when driving over dips but what do you expect for such a heavy truck. However, the biggest improvement I found is that she no longer "skirts" over to the next lane when going over bumps in a turn. She stays in her lane. So that is a huge plus in my book. Still not sure how the extra springs will hold up to hauling heavy loads, but I'm sure they've got to be an improvement over stock. Below is a picture of the difference in the rear shocks. Left is the OEM and right is the Monroe Load Adjustable shocks. I did not take a picture of the fronts as they were pretty much identical to the OEM's.

Hope this helps in making your decision.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.chr...e6b8099996.jpg
OEM Shock vs Monroe Load Adjustable Shock

Thanks for the update and the pic.
Wow I am impressed with the rear shocks.
I have driven a few mid size SUV's and this is the only one that changes lanes over dips/bumps. Funny I thought the new shocks would stop the float but not the lane changing (bump steer?). I had mines at the dealership when I first got it so I assumed the front suspension was up to par but wonder if the tie rods/ball joints have too much play in them. They did replace the stabilizer bushings and end links though.
If I keep mines shocks are next.

Did you follow the directions or were there any short cuts when you installed the shocks?

I actually like the "floating" over dips instead of dropping quickly and bouncing back up quickly. Feels more like a ride in a Cadillac or air ride system. So I'm glad it didn't get rid of that. I did look at the stabilizer bushings/end links and I do believe those need to be replaced. I will be looking in to those next. Just need to find the correct parts.

The instructions didn't tell me much other than which side went up/down for the rear so I didn't really use them. However, I did find a brief "How To" in one of the earlier threads on here for shocks. The biggest things to know is that you have to lower the spare tire to access the rear drivers side upper bolts. So I removed it before working on the rear as it also gave more room for the passenger side as well. I did not jack up the rear when removing the old shocks. However, when I went to install them, I connected the upper bolt first, then I had my father slowly raise the rear with the jack until the lower point lined up to install the lower bolt.

As for the front, I raised up the truck and removed the wheel. Placed a jack stand under the frame for safety. Removed the shock (you will need a boxed in wrench for the upper nut as it is difficult to line up a socket on), Installed the new shock with the upper bolt first, used another jack to raise the hub up to line the lower point on the shock and then installed lower bolt.

After installing all the bolts on both the upper and lower points on each shock, I torqued them down to specs.

Front shocks - upper = 75 ft lbs , lower = 60 ft lbs
Rear shocks - 70 ft lbs for both upper and lower
Wheel studs - 85-115 ft lbs (I torqued to 100)

Good stuff.....I need to get new shocks will probably follow suit.

Decided to be different, I went with Bilstein. I will report updates once installed.

I'm happy with the Bilstein, just installed them today. What a difference.