Guy has a set of DT-3000 DoetschTech shocks for superduty plus Doetsch steering stabilizer [replacement for 'stage-prop-Rancho-oem' stabilizer (nice but not original phrase with me)] and willing to let them go cheap ($220, all in boxes). I'm thinking of grabbing them as potential replacements for the 'stage prop Ranchos' that will be on my new F250 FX4 XLT when it arrives.

Anyone with Doetsch experience? Heard good things on other rigs but nothing re SDs.

RR

 

Forgot to add -- all the shocks and stabilizer are chrome finish -- look great. I guess that looks aren't everything . . . so I need to know if they also work very well.

TIA

RR

 

Can I have your brand new Ford ones? for free?



I like the steeltec and shocks I have

so if you all want to chuck the originals remember me

 

Well, Top, I figured I might buy these and use'm either right away if the Rancho oem's are terrible -- or tuck them away for the future when the oem's wear out. I take it you like the originals just fine! Your address sounds like Texas or SW US, so I imagine shipping would be pretty steep from Alaska, even if I souvenired them!

By the way, somebody here said there is a big Bridgestone/Firestone Steeltex recall effective today -- heard anything definite about that?

RR

 

Have not heard on the tires.

Your gonna love this truck in Alaska! Pity for me. I like my stock shocks just fine and wanted to experiment (on the cheap) with the new Factory/Rancho setup.

Lots of folks got scared off the 'Fstones cus of the bad press.

I have been running them for years and I tend to be real hard on tires and sidewalls... in this price range I have not found a comparable sturdy tire.

I have 86 NISSAN PICKUP with over 300,000 on the clock and exactly three sets of tires. The original (generals or whatever, I forget) and still on second set of Fstone Wilderness AT ( same tire as recalled) Two 3 year trips to Germany and the tires took the high speeds and have never run outof balance on me.

Wife loves Goodyears (Wrangler A/T) and I have a three to one replacement ratio of hers to mine over the same time frame only on her Jeep wrangler (highway only)

I am old enough to know that many folks buy tires for looks and usually totally forget about what class B, C, D, or E means. So if Parnelli Jones Dirt Grips are on your list, remember to get the $209 a corner 33"x12.50x16s put on a good set of 8 or 10" rims. Cuz you cant fully air them up for a load on the stock rims, 7" is too narrow.

 

I have an 03 FX4 Lariat which comes with the factory Ranchos.

I have had nothing but good things to say about the Rancho shocks from Ford. However, the steering stabalizer leaves much to be desired, so I'm going to update it to the RS 5000 which I've heard good things about. That update is only about $40 though, not 220.

Still, 220 isn't that bad for all you'd be getting, although I think that you'd have them sitting on your shelf for some time before you ran into replacement time! But by then you'd have an 8' lift and huge tires, so they'd be useless anyway

 

Appreciate the thoughts -- apparently forum members don't have much experience with these particular shocks -- which means I need to be a bit skeptical.

Fredvon4: Good point about the rim width / load range on tires, Top -- I've been looking at tires and thought of going to larger size that would still work with the oem xlt 'deluxe alloy wheels' which are 7" and feel that going past 285/75R16 would not be wise. Unfortunately, the tires I have been looking at are D or E rated up to 265/75R16 and only available in D range at 285/75. My user name indicates what I am dealing with for GOOD conditions -- roads made from crushed rock, rock which the locals used to make into spear points due to its natural fracture characteristics. It's not unusual to find razor-sharp rock splinters on the roads and deep in your tires so even though D range would be sufficient for weight [and better for ride, I imagine], I intend for now to stick with a tire size that keeps an E range, thus the factory-optional 265/75. Besides, our roads tend to be rebuilt trails originally created by wandering animals or miners with teams, and on and off-road conditions in fairly steep mountains have shown that low center of gravity is desirable. So I doubt I will be lifting too high, at least until I get a few miles under the truck to figure out the limits. Then, maybe, I will go to a lift and larger tires. As to the SteelTex TA tires, I will also wait and see. Some of the miners and contractors run them here and also swear by their endurance and wear; others swear at their wet and ice /snow traction. Mostly cooper, bfgoodrich and goodyear m/t and t/a tires here otherwise, but several with recent Geolanders and bridgestone dueller REVOs, the latter getting rave reviews. Wait and see how they like rocks. My old CJ5 is still running around town with 11-year-old Armstrong tires made with a woven kevlar and steel belt wrapped sidewall to sidewall -- no major punctures or blowouts! Greatest tires I have ever owned and wish they were still in business.

By the way, back before I quit logging time hoping for WAS on 5 watts and took up chasing skirts, I was a ham, too [K0ISY]. Unfortunately, in those good old days I had to log more hours for the license than my interest in girls allowed, so let it lapse. Complicated by voluntarily wearing OD for a few years in the 60's.

bcweis: You remind me of just how I do things, and glad you did! By the time I wanted to replace shocks, I might very well be ready to lift the truck, given how I like to tinker with the rig.

Like I said -- too many words ago -- got to cut back on the coffee--- ypu gave me some things to chew over. Thanks.

RR

 

RockRoad,

I'm not sure what Load Range D vs. E has to do with the condition of your roads?

Load range simply refers to the psi used to determine max. load capacity. Load Range D is 65psi, Load Range E is 80psi.

Load range is pretty much irrelevent when it comes to the construction of the tire itself. The BFG's, Goodyear MTR's, and the new LT tires from TOYO all have reinforced sidewalls and good tread patterns for dealing with terrain like you described. I wouldn't worry about load range, I'd worry about the construction of the tire being aimed at your particular use.

FYI - The 285/75 - 16 Size tire (Load Range D) has the equivalent max. load capacity to the 265/75 - 16 tire (Load Range E)

Lots of members here, myself included, have gone with the 285's or 295's with no adverse effects. My are wearing perfectly and I haven't seen any signs of problems due to the wheel being 0.5" narrower than recommended.

Waxy

 

RockRoad,

Well another "been there, done" that for me. Stationed in Washington at Fort Lewis got me sent to Greely and other "undisclosed" Alaska locations.

Have some experiance on the roads you describe. Low CG and TOUGH tires are manditory. If you need to really spinn the crap out of the tires, to get up a trail, you can eliminate many of the OPEN tread design, mudd n snow, as it is fairly easy to slice the voids and sidewalls.

Also is probably a good reason to pass on the pretty chromed shocks, as the rocks will just beat them up any way. (we had jeeps and trucks that the rocks beat all the way through the lower tube and spit all the fluid out).

Hear you on the armstrongs, and you should consider good recapping for them when needed. Tough *** carcasas!

Get your butt back into HAM... tests MUCH easier, 5wpm code test.

RIGs are first class. 2meter in the truck is required!!!

Check out qrz.com and Arrl.org Also hit the links to the major HAM catalog companies... bet you get the bug again