Every guy who’s ever dropped a tailgate in the mud, scraped it across rocks, or watched his shocks cook on a 110-degree desert run knows the feeling: you spend good money on a truck, then the first real adventure starts chewing it up. Rancho just threw down two new pieces of equipment aimed squarely at stopping that slow death – and they’re built for the 2026 model-year trucks rolling off the line right now.
First up are the new RS9000 XL shock absorbers, the latest evolution of a line that’s been around since the days when cell phones still flipped. Rancho didn’t just tweak the old design; they went after the two things that kill shocks faster than anything else: heat and flex.
Image credit: Rancho
These shocks are built to shrug off extreme temperature swings. Whether you’re crawling up a snowy pass at sun-up or hammering whoops in July when the dash thermometer reads “pizza oven,” the RS9000 XL keeps working. Part of that comes from nitrogen gas pressurization – the same trick that keeps the oil from foaming up and losing its ability to control the ride. Less fade means the shock still damps on the 50th hit the same as it did on the first.
The body gets a dual-component 2K paint finish. That’s the same stuff they spray on heavy equipment that lives outside 365 days a year. It laughs at rock chips, UV rays, and that orange dust that stains everything in southern Utah. Look close and you’ll see the classic Rancho red bushings and a thicker shock body than the old 9000s – more oil volume, more heat dissipation, longer life.
The real magic, though, is still those nine clicks of adjustment on the knob. Leave it soft for hauling the camper down the highway, twist it up to seven or eight when the trail turns nasty, or go full-stiff nine when you’ve got 35s and a winch up front and need every ounce of control. Guys who’ve run the older RS9000s for a decade swear by that knob – one tool, no spring compressors, instant change.
Then there’s the new Rancho tailgate protector, something a lot of us didn’t know we needed until the first deep scratch showed up. This isn’t some thin mat you throw in the bed and hope it stays put. It’s built like a serious duffel bag: 1680D abrasion-resistant outer shell (the same denier a lot of high-end tool bags use) backed by soft flannelette lining so it doesn’t grind the paint off your tailgate every time you drop it.
The smart part is the hook-and-loop cradle closures. Lay the protector over the tailgate, flap the sides down, and those heavy straps cinch everything tight. Now you can slide coolers, toolboxes, firewood, or that elk quarter across without turning the top of your tailgate into modern art. When you’re done, roll the whole thing up – it stores behind the seat or in the console box of most full-size trucks without eating half your cab space.
Both pieces are shipping now for the 2026 model year trucks, which means if you just took delivery of a new Silverado, Ram, F-150, Tundra, or the rest, you can bolt these on the day you drive it home. Rancho has always priced their stuff so a working man can actually afford to protect his investment instead of babying it, and the early word is these follow the same playbook.
Plenty of companies sell shocks. Plenty sell tailgate pads. But when a brand that’s been beaten on by desert racers, rock crawlers, and tow-rig owners for forty-plus years decides to step up their game again, guys who actually use their trucks tend to listen.
If your truck still has that new-truck smell but you’re already have next summer’s hunting trip or fishing hole picked out, the new RS9000 XLs and tailgate protector might be the difference between bringing home memories and bringing home a body-shop estimate.
Sometimes the best upgrade isn’t more horsepower. Sometimes it’s just gear tough enough to let you use the horsepower you already paid for – day after day, year after year, without the truck looking like it lost a fight with a cheese grater.
Rancho looks like they just built exactly that.
