2011 ultimate doublecab build questions

My stepbrother is looking to build his new 2011 doublecab. It has been a while since I did my 02 and wonder if some feedback/opinons from those that have "done it!"

Looking at the following mods

Lift - size and brand favorite for front and rear suspension for this year?

33-35" tire fit thoughts?

front and rear bumpers with front being winch capable?

rock sliders, which brand?

skid plate in place of stock trd which brand?

quality is top concern, and driving will be in new england

thanks

Carl,

The easiest way to answer all of your questions is by reading TACODOC's build thread. It is thread #14 on page 2 of the build thread sticky above. You will find several good double cab threads there, but Doc's is all encompassing.

Some quick easy answers for you are;
A 2 1/2 inch lift is optimal ( any more and you risk drive line vibration issues)

255/85 16 BFG MT seem to be the norm, but arguments can be made for other manufacturers, size pretty much remains though. These should fit quite easily with the above lift.

An ARB front bumper is the easy answer, but if you have a good fab shop nearby, you could design something custom with some options you may see on this forum.

Rear bumpers are a wide variety, with many varying opinions. I personally like the idea of keeping the tire in stock location, and putting 3 fuel/water mounts on a heavy duty swing out. I am also planning on chopping the rear quarter panels up to the taillights and wrapping the bumper for more ground clearance.

Demillo rock sliders are popular, I chose All-pro with a kick out ( it allows me to put the side of the slider on a rock and pivot the truck in tight spots)

I'm no help on the skid plate, I stuck with stock for weight reasons, and just keep reminding myself to put the rubber on the tall rocks

Good luck,

And New England winters? Rustproof everything while it's disassembled.
-POR15 or DOM16.
-Icon coilovers up front. Mine are four years old now. 65k miles. One rebuild a year ago. Have seen two winters now. I recently had them off to rustproof the mounting buckets. They still look good. No corrosion from dissimilar metals. With adjustable coilovers you can dial out the inherent list to port if that is still an issue with newer models.
-Bolt on sliders. I prefer things to be removable.
-Avoid uniball UCAs for a mild lift. (2"-2.5") and here is why: Uniballs
-ARB bumper bolts on without issue. The available fogs are worth what you pay for them.
-If you dislike electrical as many people do and only want to do it once: plan, plan, plan. Maintain a wiring diagram as you go. Take the time to do it right, right down to the color selection of your wiring.
-Though I've never had a rear tire carrier, I've seen more than a few people opt to put the spare back underneath. And on that note: Keezer's Frustum
-Tires: The only thing I'll say here is the longer I'm back in a cold weather climate, the more inclined I am to give up on trying to find the perfect year round AT. I'm considering getting a set of Hakkapeliittas for the winter.

I'm a little nieve here, and this is a great thread. Let me ask, when you say no uniballs, does that mean buy your coilover of choice, set to 2.5" and that's it keep the UCA's?

Good advice from Keezer.

Regarding the uni-balls + coilovers in a salted-road environment: Just be prepared to actively maintain, clean, and lube to reduce corrosion/rust. From time perspective, it doesn't take long to spray them off and apply teflon lube every couple of weeks and know that you are proactively lengthening the life of your equipment. Also interesting to note that Camburg and Light Racing offer UCA's that are not uni-ball, but will get your caster/alignment back to spec.

Also, Icon offers an anti-corrosive coating on coilover for an additional $100, well worth it in my opinion.

frobuster said:

I'm a little nieve here, and this is a great thread. Let me ask, when you say no uniballs, does that mean buy your coilover of choice, set to 2.5" and that's it keep the UCA's?

Click to expand...

Excuse me Carl. I don't mean to take your thread off on a tangent but perhaps this would be of some use to you also.
******************
Pretty much.

Back in '07 when I first started looking at aftermarket UCAs with uniballs, I knew next to nothing about them and found little information. From the information I could gather, I believed the lift would push the camber of the alignment out enough that it could no longer be set properly. And that the aftermarket UCAs with the longer post was needed to correct this. This is not true. The alignment can be set properly with the OE UCAs under 2.5" of lift. I have 2.25"
The uniballs wear quicker. It was made abundantly clear in the instructions to use no lubricant on them. Whether this wear is accelerated by taking them into a nastier environment or not, I cannot say for sure. Mine had protective covers (Icons) and still...well, look at the pictures in the link of my previous post. I would say, be prepared to get new uniballs more often than you would concern yourself with balljoints. Once you get the hang of getting the UCAs off and on a couple times, it's no big deal, assuming corrosion isn't an issue. Every once in awhile when the front end is lifted, grab hold of the arm and check it for play.
If you read through the uniball link in my previous post, I believe it is mentioned, and I now concur that a uniball type of UCA is best left in the desert.

Carl, it is not my intent to hijack your thread. Hopefully I'm. Curiously adding to it.
I have recently heard of "the yellow wire mod" that makes the front and rear limited slip full-time; I was never aware that my 07 access even had a front LSD. Is there any truth to the yellow wire mod?

I think that mod is to use the rear locker outside of 4lo. No lsd in the front.

final question round........

below is the "final" first few things we're looking at doing. Narrowed down to ARB front bumper, and only what is needed to raise front end to accomodate this extra weight, also want as large a tire as possible without any major problems rubbing.

Interested in doing (with cost in mind):
1. ARB bumper w/skid plate
2. Suspension to accomodate bumper weight/appearance (front only/and or rear)
3. BF Goodrich AT tires

What suspension lift can be done up front to accomodate the bumper?
What brand skid plate goes with the ARB front bumper?
Which size AT would be ideal with only these mods?

thanks,

Though my Icons are four years old, my ARB is a year and a half. I measured before and after I installed it, fully expecting to have to adjust the Icons. I did not. For whatever reason, the front end did not sink at all. I am not knowledgeable about the inner workings of these coilovers but they took the ARB with no change in height or road manners at all.

With 2.25" lift, a 265/70 (about 31.5" inflated dia.). Guys that go into the 285s (over 32" dia.) tend to have rubbing issues. Again, this is with a 70 aspect ratio. Check BFG AT specs tab

I've no recommendation on skids. Left stock.

I used Wheeler's single AAL in the back. Some have recently reported fit issues with them. AAL issues I've had mine for four years now. 1.75" lift leveled the truck with respect to the Icons. I notice now they have 1.5 & 2". I retain my overload leaf. AAL
I went with this and still will as I do not want to loose any load capacity.