I had always wanted to find a leveling kit to raise the front of the Commander up approx. 1 1/2" so that it gives it a more "level" look and adds some "attitude" to the Commander's overall appearance. Kind of they way I had wished the Commander came from the factory. I wanted to raise the front and not get into an overall lift, spaces, and various other suspension changes and challenges that come with some suspension kits currently being marketed for the Commander.
After several conversations with Robby on this site (who had been working on his own design for this very purpose) I decided to take a look at his design and kit as well as show it to my dealer and their Master Mechanic so I could see the quality/design for myself as well as obtain the dealers feedback. I was very impressed with the quality (It's made from stainless steel) and the professional design of his kit and the dealer stated "it is definitely well made, top quality, and the nicest lift or leveling kit he had seen as related to quality in his 30+ years as a mechanic". After those comments and my own personal opinion I decided Robby's kit was the way to go.
I had my front struts replaced with Bilsteins and the dealer did not re-install the rubber bottoming boots that go over the strut pistons. Since I was going to now have the leveling kit installed I wanted the dealer to correct their error by re-installing the boots as well as the leveling kit. I though we could come up with a fair price so that I had the kit installed and they were able to correct their mistake. Well....Surprise! Surprise! The dealer thought it would be better from a customer service standpoint to take full advantage of me by simply requiring I pay the nearly $400.00 again to have the strut work re-done so that I can have the leveling kit installed and then while my wallet was open again for them they could then fix their mistake.
I was sharing this story with Robby when he told me he was making a road trip and would like to simply come by my home and install the kit himself. Now I was left with a great option. I could go back to the dealer and make them redo all of their work without me having the leveling kit installed and at no cost to me. Then Robby could install the leveling kit later. That would make the dealer eat his loss for his mistake and me feel better knowing that they could not once again take advantage of one of their customers (and they wonder why the have their hat in their hand in front of Congress and the tax payers). Well, anyhow....I would rather not have the Commander's suspension taken apart 2 more times so the dealer could fix their mistake and then so the leveling kit could be installed so I took Robby up on his offer and would let him install the leveling kit and fix the dealer's error by putting the rubber boots back on that they left off.
Robby showed up at my home as promised and installed the leveling kit and rubber stoppers. I have to tell you something here. He said he was on a road trip to visit family but he went nearly 1000 miles out of his way to do this. After finishing the work I could not get over the look and "attitude" adjustment of the Commander and cannot say enough about the quality of the work, the quality of the leveling kit, and the quality of the man (Robby) who did all of this. He is one of those guys you wish were your neighbor and friend. He is not only fun to be around but while you have him over for a beer you could pick his brain about any car issues you may be having knowing you were going to get reliable and useful information.
I did have the Commander aligned after the job so that will be something you will need to take care of.
I will post some pictures when I have a chance to clean the Commander up but I am sure Robby has some of his Commander with the same leveling kit he could post. I am very pleased with this mod and would recommend it to any of you owners out there looking to level the Commander. It is not exactly level but just right and has a slight rake to make it look overall just right in my opinion.
Thanks again to Robby for a job well done!
After several conversations with Robby on this site (who had been working on his own design for this very purpose) I decided to take a look at his design and kit as well as show it to my dealer and their Master Mechanic so I could see the quality/design for myself as well as obtain the dealers feedback. I was very impressed with the quality (It's made from stainless steel) and the professional design of his kit and the dealer stated "it is definitely well made, top quality, and the nicest lift or leveling kit he had seen as related to quality in his 30+ years as a mechanic". After those comments and my own personal opinion I decided Robby's kit was the way to go.
I had my front struts replaced with Bilsteins and the dealer did not re-install the rubber bottoming boots that go over the strut pistons. Since I was going to now have the leveling kit installed I wanted the dealer to correct their error by re-installing the boots as well as the leveling kit. I though we could come up with a fair price so that I had the kit installed and they were able to correct their mistake. Well....Surprise! Surprise! The dealer thought it would be better from a customer service standpoint to take full advantage of me by simply requiring I pay the nearly $400.00 again to have the strut work re-done so that I can have the leveling kit installed and then while my wallet was open again for them they could then fix their mistake.
I was sharing this story with Robby when he told me he was making a road trip and would like to simply come by my home and install the kit himself. Now I was left with a great option. I could go back to the dealer and make them redo all of their work without me having the leveling kit installed and at no cost to me. Then Robby could install the leveling kit later. That would make the dealer eat his loss for his mistake and me feel better knowing that they could not once again take advantage of one of their customers (and they wonder why the have their hat in their hand in front of Congress and the tax payers). Well, anyhow....I would rather not have the Commander's suspension taken apart 2 more times so the dealer could fix their mistake and then so the leveling kit could be installed so I took Robby up on his offer and would let him install the leveling kit and fix the dealer's error by putting the rubber boots back on that they left off.
Robby showed up at my home as promised and installed the leveling kit and rubber stoppers. I have to tell you something here. He said he was on a road trip to visit family but he went nearly 1000 miles out of his way to do this. After finishing the work I could not get over the look and "attitude" adjustment of the Commander and cannot say enough about the quality of the work, the quality of the leveling kit, and the quality of the man (Robby) who did all of this. He is one of those guys you wish were your neighbor and friend. He is not only fun to be around but while you have him over for a beer you could pick his brain about any car issues you may be having knowing you were going to get reliable and useful information.
I did have the Commander aligned after the job so that will be something you will need to take care of.
I will post some pictures when I have a chance to clean the Commander up but I am sure Robby has some of his Commander with the same leveling kit he could post. I am very pleased with this mod and would recommend it to any of you owners out there looking to level the Commander. It is not exactly level but just right and has a slight rake to make it look overall just right in my opinion.
Thanks again to Robby for a job well done!