I just installed them over the weekend, so I have not really tested them much yet. I am running 5 on all four corners like I said and they ride MUCH nicer than the Edelbrock IAS I had before. Hands down the Ranchos are better than the Edelbrocks in ride quality (Edelbrocks are very firm, probably equivalent to 7 or 9 with Rancho 9000s). Running at 5 the Rancho's control body roll pretty well, and the ride is superior to Edelbrock IAS on a 1st generation Explorer. ***Keep in mind it's all different for you torsion bar/control arm guys (95+). ***
All of this is strictly my experience with a 1st gen suspension and Rancho 9000's.
Potholes: pretty good, compared to what I was running (Edelbrocks). At dial 5, the truck doesn't bounce too much going thru the pothole; with Edelbrocks the truck would bounce out pretty badly (with the Edelbrocks, one time in St. Louis on Tesson Ferry Road I hit a pothole and ended up in the next lane over......)
Washboard roads: again, superior ride to the Edelbrocks. There's only so much you can do with the twin-I beam suspension as far as ride quality goes (it's a truck ride) but Rancho 9000 is a better ride than Edelbrock.
Compared to Gabriel VST/Edelbrock/Rancho 9000: The Ranchos at 5 dial setting ride comparably to the Gabriel VST, a good budget shock that I have run in the past.
The Ranchos at 7 or 9 ride more like the Edelbrocks did.
Install difficulty: Not too bad. I had to pick the hottest day of the year to do it
I used plenty of PB Blaster to soak the old nuts; etc.
The Ranchos come with shock boots and they are a pain to install on the rear shocks but it can be done.
If you have trouble compressing the shock to get it on the mounts, go to the gym. heheh. A trick is, turn the Rancho dial to 3 or 1 and the shock will be easier to push in.
I have tried the rear at 3 and it was a little mushy and soft; the rear end was squirrely on 3; but I'm still experimenting.
