Two questions here.

I have an 01 F150 SCab w/ the off road pkg(17" rims) with 41,000. I expect I'll get another 5,000, maybe 10,000, miles out of the tires. When it's time to replace(probably late this summer) them I'd also like to get a new set of rims. I've been looking for something I like for a while now but there are so many options I'm not sure what to get. I think I should backtrack a bit and look at functionality first then see what's available.

So my 1st question is what is better steel or aluminum and would there be an measurable increase in functionality over the stock rims. For my purposes the 4x4 is used primarily during winter. While I do get off road occasionally during camping trips. Most of the dirt I'm on can be handled in 2wd. I've read some of the responses on the "wheel poll" thread but I'm not seeing the info I'm looking for. I'm sort of toying with the idea of two sets of tires. One for winter and another with nice rims for summer. If I went that route I'm pretty sure I would buy a tire with less aggressive tread(w/ the idea of getting better mpg) for the summer version.

2nd question: How can I tell when the shocks are worn out? And are the stock shocks high enough quality to use them until they are worn out? Or in other words are they junk and is there something out there that will provide significant improvement in functionality? Most of the miles on the truck are on the freeway and I'm not interested in a choppy ride- but I would want the truck to still perform off-road.

Thanks
Tim