I find it interesting that you should mention shock valving, so few people do, but, does the fact that the F150 is a truck make any difference at all?
The shock valving needs to be tuned to match the springs, the springs need to be chosen to match the weight of the vehicle, or, in the case of a truck, the weight of the vehicle along with the expected "payload", and an F150 plus payload is going to be a lot heavier than a Tracker.
Exactly.
Example; I once put Chrysler A body 90/10 drag racing shocks (inexpensive CE's) on the front of a drag racing air-cooled VW. The 90/10 refers to percentage of resistance to movement. In this case, 10% extension (so the body separates easy in the front) and 90% compression. The big question is; 10% and 90% of what? In my case, the super light ACVW frontend, (560lbs with me in it) the Mopar race shock
ratio might have been correct, but the base valving, oil viscosity, something internal to the shock was far too stiff. As a result, the car wouldn't 'leave' correctly. In fact, I took a pair of stock shocks and drained all the oil out of them, and got a much better result. I eventually got off my wallet and bought a set valved specifically for my application $$$, and sold the cheap Mopar race shocks, and chalked it up to experience.
The spring supports the weight, the shock controls the motion speed. A light weight vehicle needs lightly valved shocks. One exception might be a Samurai with Dana 60 1 tone axles and super heavy 44" tire/wheels. You'd need a heavier valves shock to control the motion of the high mass suspension components.
The last two times I bought custom length offroad shocks, the pros I bought from (at Chris at U Joint Offroad and Brent at Trail Tough) reminded me of that, and got me going in the right direction. I hope that's helpful.
