Isn Rancho just a re-badged version of a Monroe shock absorber?
We often hear this question from customers who have been listening to suspension “experts”. The basis for this rumour is understandable. A few years ago Rancho Suspension was purchased by Tenneco Automotive, one of the world’s largest automotive parts companies. Tenneco also owns Monroe and, as a matter of course, Rancho now uses part of the Monroe facilities in the USA to manufacture the RS5000 and ride-adjustable 9000X shock absorbers. Unlike other shock absorbers produced in the Monroe plant, the Rancho RS5000 and 9000X shocks are assembled using components designed and specified by Rancho engineers. At one time, Rancho offered an ‘RS1000’. This was a Monroe clone and marketed as a budget-priced replacement shock absorber. We have never stocked the RS1000.
