I've been a member of this forum for a good while now, and I've seen many different opinions from many different "technically skilled" people on this board regarding installation of aftermarket parts as well as quality.

Here's my gameplan. I have a tire-guy in mind to do this work for me, as he is the most convenient.
First, I plan to have him price out for me:
1) General Grabber AT
2) BF Goodrich AT
3) Bridgestone Dueller AT
all 265x70r16, or close to it....
He already told me that the Grabber is a low end and to stay away, but I know I've read on here that some guys have them and are very happy with them.

Second, while in there changing the tires, I'll have him install one of the leveling kits made for our truck, however I'm still not sure which one to choose. I suppose the Trailmaster kit is the one I've seen on these boards the most.

Third, only a possibility, I might have him change the brake pads all around, or at least in the front.

Does this sound liek a good idea, or does this sound like a rip-off for easy work that can be done in my driveway? Of course with twin boys at home that are nearly 4 months, spare time doesn't really exsist for me any more....

Can anybody shed any light on my tires choices and lift choice? Any reason NOT to go this route?
Any input would helpful.
Thanks

 

I have the dueller A/T in that size and love them they look great not to street and not to mud tire just a nice looking on/off road tire. quiet and have 60,000 tread warranty. brakes do yourself there cheap and easy. the level kit you can do yourself if you've done this sort of thing before i took my appart to do it and looked at the nut on top of the strut and did'nt go any further cause i thought it would break off if i tried to get it off so untill i get new struts i aint doing it. has anyone taken theres apart with the nut ect. all rusty looking?

 

I have the BF Goodrich All Terrains on my truck and love them. Great all around tire. And as for that suspension work I would say that you could probably do it yourself, I've never had our suspension apart, but have taken quite a few apart of previous trucks, just make sure you have the right tools or else it will be a heck of a chore! And as for brake pads thats a no brainer, that is easy to do yourself.

 

I had General Grabbers on a Toyota 4X4 I used to own and I loved them. I went to BFG ATs and liked them too, but the ride was a lot stiffer than the Generals. One thing I'll tell you is that I've had several guys tell me that the BFGs aren't as good of a tire since they changed to the "KO" style. Take that for what it's worth, but that's what I've been hearing. I know a lot of guys still running them though.

As far as the leveling kit. I bought one that I haven't been able to install yet (too busy with work, holidays, and something about single digit weather [&:]) but the instructions have me wondering if I wouldn't be better having a REAL mechanic do it for me. There's a lot of disassemble this, reassemble that, kind of crap going on. I would suggest for someone who doesn't consider themself to be REALLY mechanically inclined to have a pro do the work.

Hopefully this helps.

 

For a leveling kit if your truck is 4x4 then definitely go with the Trailmaster kit and be sure to install it per the new instructions on Trailmaster's website. Many other kits and the older way of installing the TM kit place the spacer above the strut assembly which could cause axle bind on a 4x4. I have this kit on mine, unless you have a wall-mounted spring compressor you may find it very difficult to compress the spring enough to take the strut apart. I was unable to get it compressed enough with strut compressors from Napa and ended up having a shop take the struts apart and put the spacers in for me.

 

Hey, what did the strut nut and stud look like on yours was it pretty rusty or clean i can get the spring comprssed i just don't want to break the strut and not have a replacement.

 

Well, mine looked pretty bad, long story is the shop I brought it to ended up giving it back to me not done and not charging me because they pulled the nut partway off and it bound up because it was crossthreaded from the factory. They didn't keep going for fear of breaking the strut so I brought it to the dealer and had them install it, ended up being a lot cheaper than what they quoted because they broke the strut then replaced it under warranty (thus warranty covered most of the labor for that side) and then discovered the other strut was blown so that was warranteed too (which covered most of what was left for labor).

Barring something ridiculous like what I ran into with the crossthreading I don't think you'll have too much of a problem, just soak it with PB blaster or something similar and let it sit overnight (preferably in a warm garage if you have it) before doing it.