What tires and shocks are you guys running?
 

I've been looking into tire reviews for a couple months now trying to decide what tire I wanted to go with, I ended up choosing the new for 2018, Cooper Evolution HT in the OEM size 245/70/16. These are M+S rated and of course being a Cooper they are American made which I can certainly appreciate and above all.. Just a great looking tire! Get these installed tomorrow so looking forward to see how they wear. What tire have you guys been happy with on these trucks?

Additionally, I'm looking into replacing the shocks on all four corners next. Mine is an 04 crew cab and according to the build sheet has HD shocks on it, still has the original ones so thinking about replacing them with Bilstein 4600 series.. Any reason I wouldn't want to do that?

New Tires
 

Cooper Evolution HT 245/70/16

Tires
 

I run stock-sized General Grabber HTS's in summer and BFGoodrich Winter Slaloms on 16" polished 5-spoke wheels in winter. Stock suspension.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/dodgefo...3a947b71fd.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/dodgefo...d5ca61b8d1.jpg

My go-to these days is BFG Advantage T/As. They handle great in all weather and are 3-Peak rated, which is between M+S and snow tires on the winter scale. Bilstein 4600s are also my favorite where shocks are concerned.

The main problem with oversize tires is the weight, not the height. If your new tires are within 5 to 10 pounds of the factory tire's weight they should be fine. If they weigh more, then beefing up the suspension components would be a good idea. Unfortunately i don't know what to recommend there other than contacting some of the heavy duty offroad companies that do the giant lift kits. They may have beefed up components that would work with a stock height to 2 inch lift kit. You will want heavier duty upper and lower ball joints at a minimum.

I'v had 31 inch since 1998, had to change out the speedo gear, and no problems
The larger tires are a pro and con if you mostly city driving the stock tires better
as the stop and go is much better.
If you mostly highway driving then the larger tire gives better mileage and smoother ride
as you can decrease the pressure a bit, the pot holes then have less impact on parts.

I got some KYB KG5440 Gas-a-Just Gas from amazon in 2018, they are stiff as I hit rubble strips
but corner well, as too the old ones I noticed.
compared to a "05 3500 GMC singles on the rear with Bilsteins, they are also only a year or two old.
but it's a lot heavier so not a good compare, but has same torsion bar setup as the Dakota
with same leaf spring setup on rear.