Rocker replaced (finally) 1st time attempt

[georgieb51]

I am impressed with what you are doing. Thanks for all the hard work you are doing on communicating you experiences with all of us. Keep it up! (It might be helpful to note where you got your parts from. Are they repro).

[Fbks_Cruiser]

Good for you! What a feeling of accomplishment eh? That job is in my future, I’m really dreading tearing the truck apart and finding all the rot. Not to mention tying up my garage for what would probably be months at the rate I work!

[conoco]

Originally Posted by Fbks_Cruiser

Good for you! What a feeling of accomplishment eh? That job is in my future, I’m really dreading tearing the truck apart and finding all the rot. Not to mention tying up my garage for what would probably be months at the rate I work!

Cruiser, I cant even begin to tell you the feeling I felt when I started to put everything back together for mock up, and realized ( damn, I didn't just ruin my truck) LMAO!! If I head to Fairbanks this summer we will have to get together! Fishing season is almost here!!!

[Fbks_Cruiser]

Originally Posted by conoco

Cruiser, I cant even begin to tell you the feeling I felt when I started to put everything back together for mock up, and realized ( damn, I didn't just ruin my truck) LMAO!! If I head to Fairbanks this summer we will have to get together! Fishing season is almost here!!!

Sounds good. Next time I head to Anchorage, I’ll send you a note to see if you’re in town. By then you should have the other side done!
So RayBuck wasn’t too bad shipping to AK? I hate paying more for shipping than what the item costs!

[conoco]

Originally Posted by Fbks_Cruiser

Sounds good. Next time I head to Anchorage, IÂ’ll send you a note to see if youÂ’re in town. By then you should have the other side done!
So RayBuck wasnÂ’t too bad shipping to AK? I hate paying more for shipping than what the item costs!

So lets talk about shipping LOL! I was lucky for the passenger side. I work up on the "Slope" which I am sure you know what that is. (For those who don't I work on the oilfields at the top of Alaska. 2 weeks on 2 weeks off) I was fortunate that I shipped my parts from "RayBuck" to a buddy of mine that lives in Washington whom I work with" It was 38 dollars to ship from RayBuck to his home in Washigton. He then just brought it on the plane with him as checked baggage so the rest was free. Again, I was super lucky. My awesome sister recieved my order for the drivers side and her husband is going to bring it up to me when he comes to work, or she will ship it to me. She just got those parts and the shipping to here was only $37 dollars for everything!!

If I had not been able to do that, here are the following parts that I ordered. and the 5 vendors I used for pricing. (I wont name the vendors out of respect)
Inner rocker extension,
Outer Rocker
Both Pillars
Footwell
Restoration Grade Floor Pan (which is awesome and well worth the $30 extra as compared to just the regular floor pan).
both front and rear floor braces.

So, I put that into my shopping cart at 5 different vendors and the lowest shipping cost for all those parts was $245. ( Keep in mind all the parts total were only $205)

The highest shipping charge for all those parts was $376 .

Like I said in my earlier post. I understand the vendors have to make money and nothing is free, I completely understand why the shipping charges are that high. But I will say that it is crazy ridiculous. I order a lot of parts and I have never experienced shipping prices like this, specially for these parts which are incredibly light and the longest piece being 53 inches long and about 8" wide.

To bring it in perspective, I ordered a complete 4" lift kit last year for my truck. New front and rear springs, shocks and all the hardware and I only had to pay $130 dollars to ship. All those parts came in 1 box and it was super super heavy and way longer than even the longest part I just ordered, which was the inner rocker.

Again, I cant say this enough I appreciate all the vendors and its my fault that I live in the most beautiful state in the country ( Not bias or anything LOL) I just really wish with some of the vendors, would be willing to work something out, so I could use them for my parts and send the the substantial amount of money I will continue to spend in parts to them. I would much rather use the smaller vendors than the BOX stores. I have no problem paying a little extra in shipping. But I cant justify paying twice the amount of what the product cost. There is a couple vendors on here that all my money for parts would go to if we could only work something out. But Again, I get it and it is what it is.

I hope nobody takes offense, its not the vendors fault I live in Alaska, everyone needs to make money and I hope each and everyone of them is profitable and are able to continue providing great products for our trucks. If any of you would be willing to drop the shipping just a little bit, you would make more in the long run with the volume of parts I order, and I know it's not just me!! Most Alaskans will pay shipping, we are use to that and live with it. that's all I got :0) everyone stay safe.

[conoco]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

I am impressed with what you are doing. Thanks for all the hard work you are doing on communicating you experiences with all of us. Keep it up! (It might be helpful to note where you got your parts from. Are they repro).

I used RayBuck for all my parts. Unfortunately I would have loved to go with GMC Paul or MANES. But the shipping to Alaska was to expensive, which I understand and its unfortunate. I did get the cab braces from MANES and they were awesome to work with.

All the parts I got from RayBuck were labeled as Tri-Plus. it was heavy gauge metal which was awesome to see when I got the parts. I was really worried because I was TIG welding and the thinner stuff would have played hell on me. I appreciate the kind words, it has given me the confidence to keep going with other stuff I have not done before. This was such a fun and frustrating project at time