My Jeep is rattling itself to death.

[dverna]

Yes...I know it is not a Mercedes.

But the ride is atrocious. Much of the 5 miles from blacktop to my place is a washboard surface. The Jeep is a 2010 2 DR Wrangler Sahara.

At times it is dangerous as the vehicle wants to slip sideways on the worst areas.

Lowering tire pressure helped a small bit but I am thinking new shocks and/or springs might be needed.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[popper]

slip sideways on the worst areas. Yup, usually bad tires but all have the death wobble as no steering damper. All vehicles have cheap rubber suspension bushings and should have good neoprene. Drive slower?

[Baja_Traveler]

With that drive, I would definitely upgrade suspension. I put all new bushings and Bilstein 5100 shocks on my truck before my last Baja trip, and it made a huge difference on the rough washboard roads. Airing down also made a big difference, but going through air down/air up exercise for 5 miles is not worth it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I learned a lesson about Jeeps from the 1980s. I owned a couple of them. The way the suspension is designed, it's kind of a backwards design that it makes you feel all the bumps. My Boss at that time was a 4x4 off roader in the 70s and he explained how the suspension is backwards, but I am unable to explain it.

I have no idea if they still use that design? I surely would think they wouldn't. But who knows?
ANYWAY, on my second Jeep, after reading about lots of options, I choose to buy the best shocks Bilstein had to offer, at the recommendation of my Boss and others. Best $700 I could have spend, that was in 1996 on a 1987 Cherokee with 100K mi on it.

I'm sure others will chime in with more current suggestions.
good Luck

[country gent]

For some reason Jeeps front springs had the solid hinge joint in the back and the shackles in front this made for a very stiff ride as the axle didn't "swing back" over bumps. No real give there. It used to be a popular mod to reverse the springs putting the fixed hinge in front and the shackles in back, this allowed the axle more give to ease over bumps.

The short wheel base of the jeep dost help with ride either.

[smoked turkey]

Years ago I had an old blazer 4WD That would literally jump, skip, (or what ever the word) sideways on pavement if I crossed rail road tracks at an angle. It was a very scary thing. It would eventually stabilize itself after a little bit. It was tie rod ends for me. That fixed it. I think it must have something to do with the short wheel base of these type vehicles that allow them to be thrown out of kilter somehow.

[osteodoc08]

Just
Empty
Every
Pocket

All joking aside, there’s not much you can do. A new set of shocks will help if the old ones are worn out, lowering pressure if possible and slowing down.

[dverna]

I have been looking at the Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. About $400 and they are not too hard to install. I would spend it in a minute if they would improve the ride by 50%. But most of the guys suggesting them on the Jeep forums are off-roading. Though I do a bit of that, it is on logging trails and nothing really rough or challenging. I am not crawling under it to adjust from highway to rough road conditions if that is what needs to be done.

On decent roads the Jeep rides well enough and last year the county did a better job of keeping the washboards graded so it was not as bad.

Part of me thinks my best option is to trade it on a used 4x4 pickup truck. But I bought a new tractor this year and replaced the roof on the house so money is tight. Trying to sell my Kreighoff Trap combo but not too many buyers for high end shotguns.

popper, I drive 10-20mph over the gravel road. It takes me 20 minutes to go the 5 miles to blacktop.

[JimB..]

You ever consider grading the drive from the pavement to your home? If it’s not yours, maybe just a quick drag.

[rockshooter]

I found that putting my jeep shortbed wrangler in 4-wheel drive calmed washboards somewhat. A big part of the problem is the vehicle length. Ever notice all the Wranglers off the road in snowy areas- they sure like to spin.

Loren

[Dieselhorses]

This is a longshot (and no I'm no Jeep expert) but check your pitman arm maybe?

[samari46]

I had an old '73 CJ5 and redid the supports for the body to the frame. They were all rotted out. Then the floor boards started to go. 1/8" steel flooring and diamond plate in the back. Added weight which isn't a bad thing. Big tires and new off road shocks.Local place I got my stuff had all the equipment to do the job. One the weekends looked like jeep central. Frank

[john.k]

When I lived out west Qld,all the roads were washboard........shake you to pieces at 40 mph............all the locals used to drive a 70mph......reckoned you only touched the tops of the bumps ,and was just like a smooth road......Some spectacular crashes when front suspensions broke....especially Fords.

[Idaho45guy]

First advice is to go directly to a Jeep forum and post your question there, as people here still think Jeeps have leaf springs and 258ci 6cyl motors, lol.

If you don't like the ride in a 2010 JK Wrangler, then I can't imagine what you would have thought of my `89 YJ model....

My dad has a 2008 2dr Wrangler and it is a Cadillac compared to my old leaf-sprung Jeep.

With the short-wheelbase of the Jeep, small things can make a huge difference. Your situation sounds like the right shocks and tires would help tremendously. The biggest mistake people make when selecting shocks for their Jeeps is to put shocks on them with too stiff of valving.

The Rancho 90000 is a good example of that. If I recall correctly, lots of guys have ran those and discovered that they destroy the ride. I think the ones I ran were a Skyjacker of some sort. Really helped the ride characteristics, but I had leaf springs and a lift and big tires. You have coils and likely stock tires.

Go to a Jeep forum and ask.

[dverna]

You ever consider grading the drive from the pavement to your home? If it’s not yours, maybe just a quick drag.

It is five miles of county road and the worst part is the more well travelled road 2.5 miles away.

[Froogal]

My one ton dually has such stiff springs that on a washboard road, the rear tires will actually lose contact with the road surface, and then the truck will get a bit sideways. The ONLY answer is to just SLOW DOWN.

[dverna]

First advice is to go directly to a Jeep forum and post your question there, as people here still think Jeeps have leaf springs and 258ci 6cyl motors, lol.

If you don't like the ride in a 2010 JK Wrangler, then I can't imagine what you would have thought of my `89 YJ model....

My dad has a 2008 2dr Wrangler and it is a Cadillac compared to my old leaf-sprung Jeep.

With the short-wheelbase of the Jeep, small things can make a huge difference. Your situation sounds like the right shocks and tires would help tremendously. The biggest mistake people make when selecting shocks for their Jeeps is to put shocks on them with too stiff of valving.

The Rancho 90000 is a good example of that. If I recall correctly, lots of guys have ran those and discovered that they destroy the ride. I think the ones I ran were a Skyjacker of some sort. Really helped the ride characteristics, but I had leaf springs and a lift and big tires. You have coils and likely stock tires.

Go to a Jeep forum and ask.

I researched on a JK forum as it is the correct model and that is where some were recommending the Rancho 9000's. Thanks for warning me about them as I suspected the off-road types would not understand their needs are not what "normal" people need. One guy who posted the same question got a lot of ridicule and bashing so I doubt they view "normal" people who have a Jeep as "worthy". We must be the Lee equivalent users of Jeeps I guess.

The Skyjackers were mentioned on that forum but not too positively.

[Lloyd Smale]

I run Bilstein 5100s on mine and duel steering stabilizer shocks. It helps but its still a short wheel base jeep. Mines a 2015 and like was said if you think your 10 is bad try the same road with a tj or worse yet a yj. Best ride with mine is with the bilsteens and the tires aired down to about 22 psi. I leave the set at that all the time unless I know im going on a long trip where im conserned about fuel economy. Make sure to that when you buy tires you buy 4 ply instead of 6 or 8. Ive got 6ply 34s on mine and they definitely ride stiffer then the 4 plys did. I went that way because I do some nasty stuff in the woods and wanted 2ply sidewalls. About the only real cure is to slow down or buy a longer wheel base 4 door. To be honest I drive it and shake my head. Ive had jeeps since the cjs in the 70s and this thing rides like a caddy compared to past generations. I amazes me till after a couple weeks of driving it I hop in my silveardo. Then the reality check happens.

[elk hunter]

As a Wrangler owner and the guy who has to grade the roads in our range complex the best advice I can give anyone driving over washboards is to slow down. Driving even moderately fast over washboard roads is making the road situation worse and not doing your vehicle any good.

[Idaho45guy]

I researched on a JK forum as it is the correct model and that is where some were recommending the Rancho 9000's. Thanks for warning me about them as I suspected the off-road types would not understand their needs are not what "normal" people need. One guy who posted the same question got a lot of ridicule and bashing so I doubt they view "normal" people who have a Jeep as "worthy". We must be the Lee equivalent users of Jeeps I guess.

The Skyjackers were mentioned on that forum but not too positively.

I ran into the same thing on one of the forums. Jeep owners can be quite tribal and snooty.

The 9000xl is an adjustable shock and most have theirs set to the lowest setting, which means it is basically a 5000 series shock. Softer the better for a Jeep. Lower the tire pressure to mid-20's, don't run an E-rated tire with stiff sidewalls, should be better.

The good thing is that Jeeps retain their value, at least around here, so once you find out just how awful they are as daily drivers, you can pawn them off on the next sucker trying to regain their youthfulness through a vehicle purchase.