hits hard on bumps with new tires correct pressure

Hello, Your era of Ford Explorer is known for this for a couple of reasons. They were labeled the Ford Exploder for a while because they were blowing tires left and right. Firestone/Bridgestone were tasked with making a tire for that specific model and generation that would run at lower PSI due to the harsh ride that resulted from their suspension. As a result, the tires heated at the sidewall-treat intersection and blew out. This caused a lot of rollovers. The reaction by Ford was to embrace the bumpy ride and resticker these vehicles when they came in for service with new pressure settings for the tires. The only thing you can do is have your suspension inspected to ensure there are no damaged or worn components or select a different set of tires. Also, make sure the air in the tires is at the level specified on your sticker, not the max PSI on the tire.