routlaw

I agree with @Patriot and if I were going to paint mine it would be perhaps a pearlescent white the main reason not having to deal with the gel coat issues. From my experience and others may disagree maintaining a painted vehicle is much easier than maintaining a gel coat over fiberglass.

@ScubaRx you beat me to it. I also suspect a painted Oliver might be easier to maintain vs the gel coat which constantly needs waxing, ceramic coatings etc. No doubt it would also cost a good sum of money to have one painted properly too.

Yes indeed about half days drive from Bozeman. Hardly worth the effort but thanks for the heads up.

@gbergh unfortunately we don't have a Love's anywhere near us. Have seen them on road trips in the past and filled up more than once. Don't think they are even in Montana. I suspect based upon the YouTube videos I've seen to replace struts on the F150 there might be quite a bit more work to the install. It requires (apparently) a significant amount of disassembly. Thanks for the info though

Hopefully I don't come off as being too argumentative on this discussion but attached is the instruction sheet for adjusting the lift on the 5100 series Bilstein shocks. Also including a link from Shock Surplus with videos discussing this attribute. IOW's these shocks are indeed ride height adjustable. Bilstein makes these shocks now for just about every truck on the market including Tacomas so I have no doubt they also have them for RAM trucks as well. The 4600 series and 5100 Series are different in this regard too. In order to jump up to a completely assembled coil/shock combo one has to move up to the 6112 shock-strut assembly to the tune of just under a grand for parts alone. However that shock is designed and built for serious off-roading with a much larger diameter tube compared to the 5100 series. In the meantime regarding my initial post on this thread, still haven't found a local who can do this install any less expensive so far but understand too the cost of living in my area is and has become very expensive. Minimum wage locally is $20-$22 per hour and thats just for flipping burgers and stuffing tacos. Average home prices are hovering just under a million now. We didn't pay anywhere near that but have been living here for almost 50 years too. In the meantime still exploring the options. Hoping anyone else seeking to do this finds this info helpful. https://www.shocksurplus.com/products/bilstein-5100-monotube-gas-shocks-24-239394

They do, but actually it’s 4 settings. As I understand it this is unique for Bilsteins and no other shock by itself has this capability.

@jd1923 good job. I like the way you installed this well below the awning attachments. The original was nestled just below and touching those brackets which in turn creates a huge debris mess almost impossible to clean out. As pliable as this trim piece seems to be just curious if you considered with turning those end corners downward slightly to facilitate the flow of water out?

The 5100 Bilstein rear shocks do not create a lift, only the fronts will do that. I paid around $500 for the set of fronts and rears at Shock Surplus. However when install the Road Active Suspension this device does raise the rear about an inch and half or so.

Just watched a YouTube video where a guy was changing the front shocks on an older rusted out F150. The compressor he used was no light weight affair, really large massive floor standing affair. He took a lot of stuff apart that seemed a bit unnecessary, easy for me to say not having done it. Regardless quite the job. Also called a couple local mobile mechanics and their estimate really wasn't much different than what I had already been quoted. At this point will probably just stick with what I already have scheduled and bite the bullet. The one thing I was warned about for those contemplating these types of repairs, make sure the top plate bearing is also replaced at the same time of the shock.

Everything is like this in this neck of the woods. The growth in the area has been explosive over the past several years, got worse during covid with apparently no end in sight. Existing labor and services can't keep up with the demand. Still looking for an alternate shop nothing so far. Thanks

Have read this many times regarding the danger of dealing with spring compressors and why I didn't want to go down this route. Too late at this point for complete assemblies since I already have the shocks on hand. The complete assembly set was quite expensive though. Thanks Have a note into one of the mobile repairs outfits locally but no call back yet, still waiting on that.

Wow, lucky man. Mine was a bit messier and more difficult than that.

Just did this myself earlier in the summer. Mine was also pretty much dry rotted and ugly. It's a job make no mistake. Have yet to install rain gutters over the windows though, probably should do that soon.

Thanks for all the helpful information @jd1923 . Interesting it was my understanding one has to have a spring compressor in order to remove and install front shocks into their respective coils/struts. Have not checked into mobile mechanics, will do this evening. Understood on all else. We do have an awesome alignment shop or two here but they are weeks if not months out, seriously. Thanks again. Rob

Ordered a set of Bilstein 5100 shocks front and rear from Shock Surplus for my F150. Installed the rears myself, no issues. Finally got around to calling locally for the front installs since it requires special equipment that I don't have or want to have. Most shops wouldn't entertain the notion of customer supplied parts and the ones that did provided quotes of almost $1K with front end alignment included. The other shop was 1.5 months out. For those of you who might have gone through the same, does this price seem a bit steep? Granted I do live in an area with very high cost of living, still the price was a surprise. Made the appointment anyway for a couple of weeks from now. Suffice it to say getting anything done in this area requires a lot of patience due to the growth. In the meantime wishing the best for all the folks back east dealing with hurricanes and the aftermath. The destruction and devastation is terrible. Good luck getting through these rough times. Thanks