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ONE YEAR FOLLOW-UP - page 2

UNDERHOOD

Compressor and Air Horns: Pacbrake and Chrome City ★★★
Purchased direct from Pacbrake. I love the compressor, air tank and horns. I also love the quick disconnect that I added at the area of the truck’s license plate. This comes in real handy when you have to air up a trailer tire on the side of the road.

The three-star rating comes from my inability to keep the plumbing air-tight, thus requiring the compressor to operate too frequently. The horns sound great. Call me lazy for not crawling under the truck to find the slow air leak.

Engine Oil Drain Valve: Fumoto ★★★★★
Geno’s Garage. This cost-effective item solves the truck’s infamous oil drain problem.

Quick Grill Release Kit: Geno's Garage ★★★★★
Since I’m the guy that developed this kit, you can rest assured that it gets a five star rating. For the do-it-yourselfer, the instructions are in Issue 71, pages 141-143. The removal of the grill allows you to use the bumper as a step—just like the ’94-’09 trucks that we’ve all become accustomed to.

Compressor and Air Horns: Pacbrake and Chrome City ★★★
Purchased direct from Pacbrake. I love the compressor, air tank and horns. I also love the quick disconnect that I added at the area of the truck’s license plate. This comes in real handy when you have to air up a trailer tire on the side of the road.

The three-star rating comes from my inability to keep the plumbing air-tight, thus requiring the compressor to operate too frequently. The horns sound great. Call me lazy for not crawling under the truck to find the slow air leak.

Condenser Guard: Lanier Metal ★★★★★
Geno’s Garage. The guard goes hand-in-hand with the QGRK. It keeps the condenser’s fins from getting bent. Sandwich some nylon window screen between the guard and the condenser and you can eliminate the bug splatter problem.

Cab Fresh Air Filter Kit: Cab Fresh ★★★★
Geno’s Garage. I like the fact that the filters help clean the outside air. I do not like the cheap, quick to rust screws provided with the kit. So the Geno’s folks now send stainless screws with the kit.

EXTERIOR

Tailgate Up/Down Assist: Gate Glide II ★★★★★
Geno’s Garage. I’ll start my list of exterior items with a must-have item. Every truck should have tailgate-up and tailgate-down assist. Many of the TDR writers have also given the Gate Glide II a big thumbs-up. If you haven’t already purchased one, you need to give it a try.

Bed Liner: Spray-in, Line-X brand ★★★
Local installation at Super Trucks, Cumming, Georgia. The Super Trucks guys continue to do a great job on my trucks. As a side note, have you noticed that a spray-in bed coating is now available as a factory option? Compare/contrast the thickness of the factory option to the aftermarket guy in your area and I think you’ll choose to stay with the aftermarket product. And, although I’ve tried, I can’t match the Line-X with any of the do-it-yourself kits. (Even the U-POL that I wrote favorably about in Issue 73.)

Bed Step: AMP Research ★★★★★
Geno’s Garage. With a drop in the price to $199 this easy-to-use step is a five-star item. It bolts on in less than five minutes.

Foglights: Pilot ★★★★
Auto Zone. I installed some small sized, inexpensive lights from the local auto parts store for use on the front and rear (backup) of the truck. Using relays, the front lights come on whenever the low beams are operating, and the rear lights come on whenever reverse is selected.

Bed Cover: Agri-cover Lite Rider ★★★★
Geno’s Garage. Cost-effective, 99% waterproof easy to install, and, most importantly, it rolls/unrolls in about 10 seconds.

Wheels: American Racing ATX-181 Artillery 20”x 9” ★★★★
Tire Barn Custom Wheel Warehouse. The Geno’s staff purchased these wheels at the 2010 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza. The offset is not quite right or these wheels would get a five star rating. Yes, they stick out too far which necessitated Mopar fender flares to make the wheels/tires look correct. That is the drawback. The big plus: the wheels are Teflon coated. Initially I thought this was a bunch of bunk—kind of like Teflon that was used in Slick 50 lubricants back in the 90s. But, the ease of clean up has made me a believer in the Teflon coating idea for truck wheels. Should I need to purchase wheels in the future I will look for those with a Teflon coating.

Fender Flares: Mopar ★★★
Local Dodge dealer. As noted above, the fender flares were necessary to compensate for the incorrect (too wide) offset of the aftermarket wheels. The truck’s wheels/tires now look acceptable.

Tire: Cooper 275/60/R20 Discover HT Plus ★★★★★
Tire Barn Custom Wheel Warehouse. When the Geno’s guys returned from the 2011 Scheid event with the 20” wheels and tires I was really concerned that these wider tires with their somewhat aggressive tread pattern (the stock tires were Michelin LTXs) would be louder. I was also concerned about the larger diameter, the Cooper’s are 630 revolutions per mile, the OEM Michelins are 690. So I have effectively changed the rear end gearing by 60rpm or 60/690 = 8.6%. The stock 3.54 gearing is now a 3.23. But the truck pulls my 12,000-pound load okay through the rolling hills of Georgia and the southeast. And, I can always downshift to fifth-gear.

Mudflaps: Husky/Winfield Products ★★★★
Geno’s Garage. Those mudflaps are perfectly contoured to the truck’s wheelwells. Pricewise, they are about 25% less than the Mopar part. You can’t go wrong with that!

NOT SO GOOD

All right, you’ve looked at my list of goodies that have a favorable rating. How about those that did not make the cut and were not installed on Mr. Schwarz? I would be remiss if I did not give you an update. Here goes.

Fuel Door: Bully or All Sales
I don’t think a chrome fuel door would look right on this all-black truck. The Geno’s folks no longer sell the cheap chrome Bully door as it would rust too easily. The All Sales polished aluminum doors are a nice addition for those that like shiny things.

Lights: Anzo or Recon
The Geno’s folks reported too many warranty problems with the Anzo lights. I tried the lights from a competitor, Recon, and I had too many problems with poor electrical connections. I cannot recommend either light to you.

CONCLUSION

Any item with four-stars or better you can correctly assume that I would use on my next truck. Three or less…time to evaluate the product or the poor workmanship of the installer. I’m hopeful my list of items is helpful to you as you upfit your truck.

Compressor and Air Horns: Pacbrake and Chrome City ★★★
Purchased direct from Pacbrake. I love the compressor, air tank and horns. I also love the quick disconnect that I added at the area of the truck’s license plate. This comes in real handy when you have to air up a trailer tire on the side of the road.

The three-star rating comes from my inability to keep the plumbing air-tight, thus requiring the compressor to operate too frequently. The horns sound great. Call me lazy for not crawling under the truck to find the slow air leak.

Robert Patton
TDR Staff