Preferred rear suspension? Do anything special for all that weight?

[Justin_A]

Looking for more input in regards to setting up the rear suspension for my Tacoma. I did a rough search here and TacomaWorld and I find myself with more concerns the more I read. Here on ExPo most rigs are set up with distance in mind. "Rough" roads as apposed to "crawling" trails. I just purchased a Suzuki DRZ400s along with a hitch carrier to come along on the traveling and now I'm concerned about the rear suspension having too much load. I'm reading through everyones builds and setups including pop-ups and there's no doubt a lot of weight added to the rig but far and few do I see vehicles set up with air bags. Can somebody school me on why? Or what better way to compensate for the added weight while keeping it off road worthy?

Tacoma trd 4x4 / short bed. Stock trd suspension.
Typical load includes: SnugTop camper shell, ARB RTT, ARB fridge, small second cooler, normal camping gear, recovery gear and now a 300lb dirt bike on the hitch.

 

[MidnightRider]

I like the airbags. I use firestone ride-rites. They are easy to install, you can leave the rest of your suspension stock, and when the truck is unloaded, you just leave about 5-10 psi for a stock ride.

When you load down your truck for a trip, you just air them up enough to level out the ride. You can put up to 100psi. They handle up to 5,000lbs. I usually run about 55-60 with this camper.


Some people say they limit your trucks off road ability or allow full use of the rear suspension, I haven't noticed. When I'm loaded down with all my gear I'm not going fast enough notice any.

 

[DVexile]

Having read on the issue quite a bit, I think this is a decent summary:

• Air-bags are a great solution if you ride both loaded and unloaded on road. Their durability off road seems suspect but presumably plenty of people driving off road carefully have no issues.
• If you run loaded all the time then a proper spec'd leaf spring is a more robust solution. Toyota knows 99% of their customers drive around with no load and putting a stronger spring would result in a harsh ride unloaded. So they put rather weak springs on the rear so that unloaded ride comfort will be good. Thus stock the rear suspension sucks with much load at all. Good choices are the OME Dakar and All Pro for a bit of lift and additional load handling. Both of those products effectively come with two different spring rates depending on how much your typical load is. For the Dakar there is an additional add-a-leaf to take the standard Dakar up to a higher spring rate for heavy loads. For the All Pro they have an "expedition" spring which handles higher loads than their standard spring. If you run the Dakar with its add-a-leaf or the All Pro Expedition with no load the ride will be rough. For their "standard" springs probably your topper is enough weight to keep the ride smooth even unloaded. Lots of reviews of these products.
• If you only very occasionally add a lot of weight then Timbrens are a good durable and inexpensive solution. These are bump stop replacements that are much taller and do flex a lot. Effectively they greatly increase the spring rate of your suspension once under a fair bit of compression. If your suspension is loaded such that it is very close to engaging the Timbrens then the ride can be rough. So it is important to get properly spec'd Timbrens for your application.

For me I've got a Flip Pac on (290 lbs) and a wood raised floor (40 lbs) and enough other "always in the truck stuff" that I've got a minimum rear load of 500 lbs, I do want a few inches of lift and I'm almost always off road. So I'll be going with an All Pro Expedition leaf spring.

Others who do a lot of heavy hauling, primarily on road but with mild off road, but also run nearly empty as a daily driver will swear by air bags.

 

[bkg]

I'd be less concerned about the suspension than the frame in that instance... Then again, I'm just not a fan of those hitch mounts.

 

[Justin_A]

Great info!

 

[odomandr]

I think the way I would go if I had it to do over again would be to have Alcan build me a set to my specs. My suggestion

 

[WillBeck]

Denver also makes lead packs to spec. More leaves = more progressive rate = better ride.

 

[hol571]

Since you're in San Diego, check out National Spring in El Cajon if you're thinking of going the custom route. They built a custom pack for my brother in law's taco that he loves.

 

[tonkaman]

I'd be less concerned about the suspension than the frame in that instance... Then again, I'm just not a fan of those hitch mounts.

It would definitely be worth welding on frame support plates. That much leverage could do some real work on a frame. I also use a hitch hauler, they are great but they will bend a frame if you don't reinforce it