New(ish) Member, Old Truck, Shock Question

[mjewett]

Hi all,

Relatively new member, longtime lurker here - thanks to all for assistance with a variety of issues over the years, this is a fantastic resource.

Currently driving a 71 K10 junkyard special, 350/350, "restored" some years ago by an amateur and used by me semi-daily for geology field work.

Basic question at hand is this. Truck already rides like a 1-ton with a set of overload springs in the rear. I do load it down from time to time and would rather leave them in for now. The PO's Monroe Gas-Magnum shocks lost their rubber bushings years ago and the shocks themselves finally have given up the ghost. Rancho 5000s on other trucks I've had were obscenely stiff and bouncy and didn't last long. Anybody here have some advice on preferred shock for smooth ride and little bounce on a stock-height 4x4? Also, being as rubber doesn't last long in the now-desert of NorCal, is there such a thing as poly shock bushings? Any thoughts on how miserable those may make the ride (always stuck to OEM rubber on other bushings)? Any help is, as always, much appreciated. Pic below just because.

Mike