routlaw

Thanks John for this reply and helpful info. FWIW you installed the same batteries I was contemplating the most but probably only one of them. History has proven we just do not use or need that much stored power. Just curious how do you feel about the Epoch app in general, upgraded or not? Prowse and others thinks it needs work, and in some cases lots of work.

Hello All Been AWOL for a while but just returned from a week long trip to the SW and was sorely reminded of the need to finally upgrade our battery pack. It works for water pump, lights, stabilizer jacks etc but not for the furnace. Just not enough juice to trip the sail switch, go figure. Have been looking at both SOK and the Epoch but was put off by Will Prowse's review of issues with the Epoch brand. Pitfall software app, and in some cases just downright failures of the entire battery. Not so with the SOK brand. Apparently the app for SOK is quite good. So for all you folks who have upgraded to the Epoch line of LiOn batteries can you shed some user field experience. It would be much appreciated. I will add this to the equation, having reached out to Epoch a few times I have found their customer support to be downright pitiful. Either short and curt responses or none at all. Worse I am not alone in this apparently when you read some of the reviews of their customers who have purchased their batteries. Thanks again. Rob

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

Likewise just went through this again yesterday, however this time around in order to prevent a projectile shooting out from water pressure I stood to the side with thumb firmly pushing against the large nut while slowly rotating with the other hand. This did allow for a much more controlled release and by far less mess, and other than my shoes I stayed dry. I had never noticed the white flakes until yesterdays procedure. What’s up with that?

Excellent upgrade and mod, well done!

I hope @DavePhelps doesn't mind me hijacking his thread but reading through these excellent and informative post has me asking yet more questions which hopefully some of you will provide answers. Like Dave I am also on the verge of upgrading to LifePo batteries after 9 years with my 4 lead acid batteries that are showing weakness. 1. If never plugging into shore power upgrading to a Power Dynamics charger capable of lithium charging becomes unimportant, correct? 2. Why the need to upgrade to a more powerful PD charger just for Lithium batteries? If a 30 A charger worked for lead acid or AGM's why would it not provide enough current for LifePO? 3. My direct battery measurement is different than what my Blue Sky IPN Remote indicates, or stated more precisely a direct battery measurement with my multi meter at the terminals indicates 13.89 volts, while the IPN remote is reading 13.4 volts which is almost a half volt difference. Is it possible I have another issue rather than dying batteries? 4. I don't use an inverter, other than occasionally a small unit rated at 400 watts that directly plugs into the 12 volt ports. Probably will not add anything more in the future either. Put another way we tend to be lightweight campers requiring only lights, water pump etc. Am I missing something else worth considering? Like Dave I am considering the Epoch 300 amp but also looking at the SOK lineup too. Will Prowse and a few others have given high praise for all of the SOK batteries. Great price points too. Thanks

It's my understanding the general consensus is the RAS is much better than air bags, but not having tried air bags can't make any claim for this. Can't recommend it enough as well as the Bilstein shocks but also hear the Fox shocks are awesome to but the investment on those can be as high as $2-$3K ± . My gut feeling is most if not all new trucks have at best mediocre shocks from the factory.

I have an F150 Super Crew and likewise the owners manual makes similar statements, anything over 5000 lbs and 500 lbs tongue weight should use a WDH. Another way to look at it is look at the max tow and tongue weight then cut it in half without a WDH. I will add this, over the last couple of weeks I have installed new rear shocks, Bilstein 5100's and the Road Active Suspension System to my truck. The difference is not subtle! Better ride, better comfort, better handling, and better load carrying ability and stability with these new products. I would describe the ride as taut but smooth. There is a certain (probably modest) amount of weight distribution with a properly installed RAS setup. How much I do not know and the company does not make statements addressing this spec. Due to the rear height increase with the RAS system it was necessary to reconfigure my truck ball hitch (lower) to properly accommodate the Oliver hitch. Took the rig out for a short spin this afternoon, parked it a couple of times to measure how level the E2 was with new kits and still the the nose is down by an average of about 3/4's of an inch. Not bad, but probably does indicate the need for the Andersen WDH for those who want absolute level while towing. I should also add the tanks were empty and trailer only partially packed, with nothing in the truck bed. Hope this helps.

Must be something with that Texas heat, took me a few hours of really messy work. You are lucky.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Was able to remove it with bug and tar remover but still a lot of messy work. Will do a final clean, polish/wax later today if it doesn’t rain. Not sure why Oliver ever made the decision to install these things in the first place. All mine ever did was create a damn for debris and organic detritus. Thanks again.

The white neoprene rubber (I think) gasket that is installed just below the awning to sort of but not really divert water on my Elite II was deteriorating and rotting significantly. This afternoon I finally decided to take the thing off which has now left a long line of black rubber where it was glued down. I have tried Acetone, denatured alcohol, naphtha, and mineral spirits to loosen or dissolve the remainder none of them worked. Its my understanding heat guns will only harden neoprene and it doesn't sound like a safe method around FG anyway. For those of you who have removed this gasket just curious what method you used to remove the final residue? Thanks