90% off road, SR V6 double cab coming up a bit short, need to sort the setup for hard every day use.

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I live in rural Hawaii. We do a lot of deer eradication (invasive species and all). This morning for example, I drove 10 miles at 45mph on pavement (our max speed in our area), and then 50 miles of about 50% 4wd, and 50% ungraded dirt road (a trophy truck would be bitchin for these parts).

We loaded out 18 deer worth of meat (about 1200lbs) with 1 driver, 2 250lb hunters in the back. So the load varies, of course we go more slowly when coming out of the hunting grounds.

The truck does ok, but the front dam scrapes fairly often, and the suspension feels really mushy (granted I bought the cheapest one) on the more loamy higher speed sections. I would like to do a suspension lift and am willing to pay the price for a Fox or Icon setup. I also see much less expensive TRD pro take-offs for sale on the used market, and wonder how much better the premium kits really are in the real world. I also do not want to cut anything.

I did use the search function, and tried to find some really heavy everyday users and their setups, but came up short.

If anyone has some real world experience with this type of build, would be most appreciative.

Mahalo.

 

Idk this seems different enough. He does carry a lot of weight. He also does those faster dirt roads.

Would whatever overland people run be sufficient for for him? That's a lot of weight off road. Isnt that pretty near the max payload, or at?

I would help him but I dont have personal experience with carrying over a thousand pounds in the bed off road. The thread you posted doesnt say anything about that, at least not in the first page that I read.

Welcome OP, hope someone can help you.

 

Take off the front air dam. Looks better without it anyways.

 

Painting the air dam to color match the truck will make it look better.

 

Sounds like you need a full size. The max payload of the bed is 1100lbs IIRC.

 

I wish I could go full size, but the tracks we drive on are too narrow, so we make do with what we have.

 

Oh hell yes that is awesome ! Glad you get to have fun while doing your civil service. With that being said, don't be shy with some pictures. Everyone here loves that shit.

If you're finding you are off pavement as much as you are (lucky you) then a better suspension setup will pay for itself very quickly.

Check out @AccuTune Offroad or @Downsouth Motorsports. These two companies will take whatever you do and have a conversation about it and set you up with a product that will deliver in your situation day in and day out.

Again pictures please! Happy hunting.

 

2.5 coilovers with air dam removal would do wonders for you

 

Heavy duty springs and better shocks, something like an OME set up would do the job I'm sure, no cutting required and gets you 1.5-3" lift. You could also put some bigger tires on there like 255/85R16s because you'll be saving money on the less expensive OME set up. Definitely take off the air dam too. The 255 - 33" tires won't require you to do any cutting at all, and they'll only require you take off the mud flaps if your truck came stock with them.

Wheeler's Offroad seems to get good reviews and they sell a full OME kit, you'd want 2886 front coils, your preference of shock, and probably heavy duty Dakar leaf springs OR a really hefty setup from Deaver like the Stage 3 leaf springs that are rated from 600-1000lb capacity but I don't know if WOR sells those. If I recall correctly too Deaver can do a custom spring set which might help you because you carry far higher than payload for the truck, and most springs. Good luck!

 

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on this...

I don't have real world experience, nor did I sleep at a Holiday Inn last night, but if I had 4k+ to spend on suspension, I'd be leaning towards something like this:

Headstrong has Elka here (650 coils, unless you're getting a winch),
Exit Offroad has Dobinson 500-800 lb leafs here with their bushings here,
Duro Bump has their bumpstop set here (4.25" for the rear).

Of course, you'll want to check with those vendors before ordering

@HeadStrong Off-Road
@Crikeymike

I have Torque airbags and

$74 Daystar, Air Bag Cradle designed for full suspension travel, Fits All 6" diameter convoluted Air Bags, fits any full size of half ton truck, 2/4WD, KU09140BK, Made in America, Black

Daystar cradles on my truck for the extra weight of a truck camper, but the ride can be a bit harsh, especially when unloaded...

Post pics of 18 deer in the back of your truck, please!

 

https://youtu.be/Re72di5phM0

 

From your description, sounds like you live on Molokai....

Welcome to TW!

 

Maybe get a trailer?

 

5100s up fron with no lift, Firestone airbags in back with day star cradles.

 

I am running firestone currently. I assume you are running https://m.torqueusa.com/Urun/tr2407as.html

At first glance it looks like the same as the firestone kit. Never heard of 'Torque', any reason went with them? (Price, warranty, performance, reputation)...

 

Sounds like a pretty incredible job. I'd love to see photos too, and I'd also love to go check it out one day!!

Is that just something you do on the weekends, or is this your main job?

If you're loading up with that sort of weight all the time, proper springs and shocks to support it all will make a world of difference, not only in gaining some ground clearance, but properly supporting that weight and making it drive a lot more comfortably when loaded.

I can make suggestions for you, but it really depends how often you're loading up with that sort of weight.

The other fella that suggested a trailer, I thought that was a really good idea too

 

Torque mentions that they have a thicker airbag, but, honestly, they were less expensive than Firestone. We will see about longevity and warranty... (Firestone offers lifetime warranty)

 

I would say a lift and a replacement of the stock rear springs to OME HD's or Dever?? Or air bags?

 

Springs are what hold up the weight of the truck. Shocks are what control how quickly the truck compresses (or rebounds) on those springs as it drives over bumps.

You got to build it for what you really need. Aka a truck that can handle the kinds of weight you are talking about is going to ride like shit when its unloaded, theres not really any way around that.

So it sounds like you need something along the lines of an Icon RXT leaf pack (option 2 or maybe 3) in the rear, and some 650 lbs rate coil springs in the front. Because these trucks use coil-overs in the front, you'll buy that as a pre-built unit. So take your pick of name brand really. (Everyone will recommend what brand they have installed on their truck so take that with a grain of salt, like me telling you get Kings )

Lastly, if you're worried about approach and departure clearance issues, thats where aftermarket front and rear bumpers will come into play.

Hopefully thats enough to get you looking in the right direction. Theres a ton of info about each and every one of the above topics on here, so start doing specific research then you can ask specific questions.

 

Thank you all, I really appreciate your advice. I think the Fox or Icon Coilovers, and an Icon leaf pack, or some airbags make sense.

The photo below is a pretty typical load, this one was split between a couple of trucks. I think the count was 18.


One of the places we have the privilege to hunt.


What I do is not for pay, but we have no meat shortage. My chest freezer is pretty full.

Truck is pretty much stock except for the tires and the kid.