suspension, tires and highway ride quality

Hello!

I just got a '02 single cab, 4wd, 5spd tacoma- 6 lug alloy wheels with 265/70/r16 on it

My main use for this truck: Hauling house construction materials and yard stuff with the bed and an 8x10 trailer, hauling rowing shell crew boats up to 5hrs on the highway and New England winter travel on snowy, icy roads. Not much off road except for the occasional unpaved mtn fireroad.

My front and rear shocks and springs are fairly rusted out and could be replaced- riding on the highway is fine right now, but I can feel some sway side to side.

Going over pot holes and the truck is all over the place- maybe I'm just not used to it but my full size Chevy diesel didn't fly all over the same way. I can't really tell if the previous owner jacked up the truck or if the upsized tires just push it up higher- not sure if the suspension is stock.

My question: Whats the best setup for front and rear suspension and tires for highway travel, but with the occasional load of dirt in the bed?

What's the best tire size for this application as well? I'd like skinny low RR tires (I think)

 

Holy hell.... What does the frame look like?

 

That is A LOT of rust....I'd be very concerned how the frame is holding up on that thing. The shock mounts alone look like they're about to break off

 

Well disregarding rust... Probably the stock Tacoma suspension and tire combo will do what you want. Then you'll have decent tow and decent off road abilities, just as Toyota intended.

 

OP, you just put up a picture of the most offensive thing known to Californians......RUST!!!!!!!!

 

As a Californian I can agree. Wtf is rust?

 

I mean...I would think even people used to seeing it would agree that this is a pretty bad case of it just based on those 2 photos

I wonder if maybe his frame was replaced some years back based on the small part of it we can see in one of the pics, doesn't look nearly as bad as some his suspension parts.

 

Not considering it's an '02 vehicle. That's how I've always seen it. Older=more.

 

Rust? Ha, well, you should see my '93 chevy 2500... Welcome to New England!

Frame was replaced 3 or 4 years ago according to the seller. I'm not sure he really took care of the under side much, so the frame has some surface rust that needs attention and it looks like the dealer bolted a bunch of super rusty old parts onto the new frame back when they replaced it.

My plan is to take the bed off and scrape/treat/coat a lot of the underside. Scrape, treat it with some kind of chemical rust converter and either prime it or treat with Fluid Film.

As for replacement suspension- what is a good stock shock and spring combo? I checked NAPA and they have a preassembled unit but not really sure of the quality. Buying from the dealer does not seem like the best option.
Do those leaf springs look stock?

 

Cant help you with coilover brand but anything from the Toyota dealer will give you the longest life as well as the most stock feel. Any aftermarket product will be hit or miss. Sometimes you'll score with aftermarket NAPA, AutoZone, etc. parts, but sometimes you'll wish you just bit the bullet and got the OEM Toyota stuff. Shop around, read reviews, see what you can find. As far as leafs, yes, those are stock or at least stock replacements.

 

All part of living in the great Northeast!!

Just is much worse since the use of Liquid Brine Started

read through the forum you will get lots of ideas how to spend money

I went with General Springs Heavy Duty in the rear Then because I haul 1000 plus pounds regular Super Springs which work great .

In the front I used Monroe Shock Spring replacements because I did not feel like taking them apart

 

Looks like Monroe has an OEM replacement as a full assembly, which seems to have up and down reviews on this forum.
The KYB gas-a-just is in my budget and seems to be OEM and has better reviews here- but what spring do I pair it with for good "daily driver" ride quality?

 

Keep in mind though stock was crap.

Ask about a lift and you get 100 answers. Stock height.....no one has much opinion.

You can get a set of lifted springs as cheap as stock and rides better, although I don't find they really last longer either.