Overland Rig: Bilstein 6112/5160 and OME Dakar EL096R

Yea I had someone in Mesa tune the antenna for me. He had to grind the powder coat off of the contact points on the mount.

Used this antenna mount

 

I’m having difficulty knowing what I’m looking at :/

 

Would you say the 3” bilstein are a bit over kill and not really needed for overlanding rig?

 

The 6112 generally give a 2 inch lift, which I think is perfect. But they’re adjustable so you can put them where you prefer.

but I put them at the top since the Dakar HD leaf pack raises the rear like 3.5 inches with an empty bed.

 

Hey man, I'm thinking of getting this same set up but with medium duty dakars since I don't have much weight in the back. Which notch do you recommend I set the fronts at? I'm worried if I go with 4/5, the rear will look to high with the dakars. I have 265/75r16 tires as well. Your insight would be greatly appreciated

 

Three questions:

1) what’s your current measurements? How many inches from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender above it? For front and rear?

2) what do you plan on adding permanently? Bumpers? Wenches? Skid plates? Sliders?

3) what do you plan on adding temporarily for camping trips to the rear? Ie weight?

 

Hi wonder what do you think for my rear leafs MD vs HD. Access Cab 2020.

1) don't know :| but can measure later. I think 1" rake stock with spare under.
2) rock sliders, camper shell, full skid plate, platform bed ~400lb.
3) 100-200lb MAX temp weight.

Since access cab setting only 5/6 for 6112 which is 1.65" wonder how much rake naked truck will have vs loaded with ~400lb permanent weight.

 

Yea you should should go HD then IMO. With the front set to 5/6 and rear HD leaf pack with a naked bed it’s a 2-2.25 inch rake. Here’s how mine looks with a completely empty bed with all the measurements.

Plus if you hate the HD you can always take out a leaf and make it the MD.

ride is a touch stiff with an empty bed but with the 100 lbs tonneau cover I use it’s fine. Should feel fine with your camper shell.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ome-el096r-and-bilstein-6112-measurements.608026/

I tend to camp with about 600 lbs in the rear and it works great. At about 850 lbs is level front to back. Here’s a video on that that I made.

https://youtu.be/NYVGADG6Wro

 

Thanks, you mentioned there you wouldn't ride offroad with trunk empty, is it that stiff with no load? I'm thinking I would be actually ok with it sagging 1" in the back since 6112 manual doesn't recommend using 5/6 for Access Cab, only 4/5 that's 1.65" lift on the front so maybe medium will be less of a rake for me, sounds like 4/5 and HD in the back will be 3" rake naked.

 

My main concern is over stressing the rear shock with off-roading with an empty bed.

With an empty bed you’re getting like a 3.5 inch lift in the rear. The 5160’s are designed to be used with a 1-2 inch lift. There’s two problems with this.

1) you’re not using the shock where it’s designed to be used and thus less performance.

2) the shock is what limits droop of the wheel. While off-roading with an empty bed you’re likely to hit maximum extension of the shock more often and putting more stress on it and it can break more easily in theory.

there’s a couple answers.

1) Extension limiting straps. Thus it’ll take some stress off the shocks under full extension and keep them from breaking.

2) You can get a bilstein shock with more extension and designed for a 3-4 inch lift. You’ll need a higher bump stop though as they also have left compression capability. However they’ll perform less well when you’re fully loaded cuz you’ll be sitting at a 1-2 inch lift when full loaded instead of the 3-4 that the shock is designed for.

I’d say the 5160 is still your best bet with the HD Dakar’s. Just don’t go aggressive off-roading with a completely empty bed as you’ll over extend the shocks a lot.

lastly you could get the MD Dakars and if you need more support you could always add airbags and onboard air. Then you’ll be fine with the 5160’s with an empty bed and have the flexibility to load up your truck and get the support you need when you need it.

 

Thanks for write up! Makes sense. I think airbags + MD makes me feel the best about my planned setup, Headstrong website says Dakars MD unloaded sit at 2" in 2020 Tacoma. I'm hoping with 400lb my lift will be 1" and that way I can also set front to 1" and have an even lift. Or do you think MD will sag a lot more than 1" with 400lb?

 

Difficult to say. What might be best is to buy the HD, take out the leaf and install it as an MD. See what it’s like and add either airbags or the extra leaf from there.

what I did was get the rear installed first, then decided how much I wanted to lift the front after taking measurements. Was annoying but got it how I wanted it that way.

 

Thanks, that sounds like a good path.

 

More upgrades!!! New video coming soon

 

Updates on the build

https://youtu.be/g4qea_RgetY


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...d-cbi-rci-icon-and-more.727603/#post-25932406