Not working on vehicles will slow you down a bit. But it won't be a show stopper. Your greatest strength will be understanding how everything works and being at least mechanically inclined. I'm not sure what your tools look like, having not worked on vehicles before.
I love the Shrockworks bumper. For me and my lifestyle, it works. It has a very snug fit and not too obtrusive. The quality and craftsmanship is tremendous. It's heavy and I found it best to suspend it to put the lights in and do the install. There's a bit of grinding to do with an angle grinder for the prep work, need a 3/8th drill bit for the frame. It's a challenge but can be done in a day with a buddy.
Before you install the bumper, you need to decide if you'll do a body lift and how high, with your suspension lift or not. That goes for installing rock sliders as well. If you do the BL after you install the bumper and sliders you'll end up with gaps where you don't want them.
As for your suspension lift, follow the threads on the vibration after the installation of the Toytec Boss set up. I happen to like the Toytec lift that I have but I also wish I had a bit more rake. I might change out my springs in the rear next year. Decide on what you plan on doing with your runner before you purchase your lift. I personally don't care to know which way a dime is facing - heads or tails when I run over it. I like a softer ride.
Again, it meets my needs. Budget may be a factor as well. You'll need help with this. Working a ball joint press can be tricky if you've never used one. Removing the rear shocks will bring out another vocabulary you've never even known you had! Grrrrr
The Light Racing UCA's are awesome. My caster and camber are fantastic because of the adjustable UCA's.
Think hard about the rear bumper with the tire carrier. You can get a narrow tire to fit in place of your OEM spare and still be able to clear pretty much everything unless you get into crawling. I'm still thinking through my needs for the rear bumper I pull the trigger. I want to do it correctly the first time around. No regrets.
Keep in mind the additional weight will cost you in mpg's and will add extra strain on your vehicles suspension. The TBU should be higher on your list than your bumper. You want to minimize the stress on your front end as much as possible if you can.
TBU is great and should be done even on a stock truck in my opinion. Just FYI the stock spare is the biggest I can fit stock on my 01 with the trailer hitch. Different years got different hitches. Anything even slightly taller will rub on the panhard bar. Even a 265/65/16. Don't even try a 255/75/17...
I really appreciate the feed back! The TBU was definitely on my list
somewhere, but it has been moved to the top. Was there one thread that was more helpful than others, or did you just take what you could from all of them? Especially concerning part numbers and users had the best experience ordering from...
Glad to hear you love your Shrockworks bumper. Which PIAA lights are you running in the bumper. I was going to order the driving lights, and found them for $150 buying direct from PIAA on clearance. I just don't know if I should order the
510 SMR Driving XTreme White Plus Halogen Lamp Kit or the
510 Super White Driving Lamp Kit... I can't seem to find what the difference is between the two, so I planned on calling them today. Another thing is that Shrockworks is now offering Baja Designs Squadron lights instead of PIAAs. Again, depending on my needs and what people thing of them, I might end up spending the extra money if they're that much better.
Concerning the body lift... I hadn't planned on doing one. At this point, my rig is my DD with some offroading, but nothing remotely hardcore. Do you think I will be able to fit a bigger tire like a 285/70/17 without any rubbing after a 3" suspension lift if I'm not flexing that much? I know it comes down to specifically which tire, but I'd love to hear people's experience and if they've gotten away running bigger tires without having to do a body lift. Pretty sure I've seen a few users on here that have, but don't remember for sure.
Also, really good to know about the spare tire and what will fit and what won't. It had crossed my mind, but good to know for sure before I pull the trigger on bigger shoes. Running with 265/70/16 right now and the spare fits in the stock location.
I couldn't agree more with taking the time to consider what your needs are and doing things right the first time. This forum has been so helpful in my planning process figuring out how to prioritize my purchases, what is necessary, what I should avoid, etc...
