The springs are the same for all 4x4's IIRC.

Yeah, stock.
Nice tires btw, I have the same ones.

 

Are they good all-around tires? I haven't done anything besides highway driving yet. I was looking for the same tires because the tread is wearing but I can't find them anywhere :O

 

I've taken them off road, they don't do too bad. Once the siping is filled with mud they can get slippery. Good tire overall I'd say.
They are Medalist brand, a BFG off-shoot brand. They are a mix between the BFG AT and the MT. I have had a lot of bounce from them though, so I think they might be a little hard to balance. I am going to the shop today to have them balanced....

 

once I got them balanced, it was like driving a completely different truck. I was shocked. I didn't know if maybe my rough ride was possibly partly the tires also?

 

Possible. Mine rides rough because it is a 4x4 (that and the tire bounce). It is stiff. A solid front axle will do that. Then again, my dad has IFS in his truck and because of the shocks, it bottoms out on stuff, mine barely moves.

 

Out of balance tires can indeed contribute to ride quality. Especially if there is already an issue.

However, hard to understand what you mean (the OP) by rough ride. I interpreted your rough ride by being extra bouncey. This means the shocks are not providing any dampening. To be clear, bouncey meaning > 2 rebounds. It should really only rebound 1x (noticeably) using a single speed bump or pot hole as a reference. Another artifact, which I had was that my OEM shocks rebounded ok (could not tell from bounce test) but lost internal compression. This translated to NOT holding the tire to the ground. Effect is extra vibration and can range from slight to extreme. When I replaced them...I could compress the shock by hand.

Out of balance tires...can lead to tire separation. People at a shop will not necessarily see this when they balance. Tire separation is scary ****. Ignore zman's post

 

Sorry I should have been WAY more clear. The rear shocks are bouncy, 2.5-3.5 rebounds. The front is extremely stiff. When I go over anything in the truck, I feel EVERYTHING in the front, but the steering does not shake or any crazy vibrations. Just overall stiffness in the front, bouncy in the back. Also, I have 3 yellow shocks and one black shock...strange? haha...and that black one is the front driver side, so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

ok...I'm going to assume you have the proper air pressure in all of your tires.

Rear: Bouncey regardless of load?

Front: We all use various words to describe. Does the front end dive down upon braking? Any noticeable body roll? Do you have a swaybar? lol

I believe all the yellow shocks are newer. Bilstein HDs is my guess. Blue covers? If so, that might explain the extra stiffness in the rear. I'd personally never have 1 shock be different, maybe only in pairs if short on money.

 

First off, I have very limited knowledge so don't be surprised if I describe something weird haha. Yup just had them rotated and balanced. Rear seems to be less bouncy when hauling that boat haha. The one being different than the rest makes me want to get them changed ASAP, because I would rather have them all the same. No sway bar. No front dive or body roll from what I've noticed. Also, I grabbed the top of the front tires and tried to shake them in/out (testing ball joints right? haha) and no movement. Just trying to find out if this front is stiffer than it should or if I am just not used to the rough riding...

 

No problem and glad you are willing to clarify.

What is the boat pulling load? We talking a little dinky or some 40 footer?


What worries me is what I bolded in your reply. Doesn't make sense.

That is a good check of ball joints and front axle ujoints. 12 and 6 oclock is one shake, and 3 and 9 oclock is other. This can only be done when wheels off the ground. Just wanting to be clear with the details.