Dobinsons 2016-2023 Taco Suspension Options

Thanks, I'm really happy with it so far. Just normal driving I don't have any rub and plenty of clearance at full lock. I haven't really flexed it out yet to see what it looks like with the front stuffed. But I do hope the front settles about a half inch and I plan to drop it down another half inch with a preload adjustment for better CV and steering angles, they're kinda steep as it is. No CMC yet but after I get everything at the height I want it might be needed to get a full stuff with no rubbing.

 

Picked up 450lbs of new toy the other day...



I didn't get the chance to measure, but I can't imagine the rear dropped more than half an inch if at all. 111Rs

 

So I'm going to pull my shocks off this weekend and adjust my coil seat height. I currently have them set at 220mm with the 314 coils. Which I thought provided 2.0" of lift at factory seat height of 213mm and I was after 2.5" so I went with 220mm. After reading the original post in this thread I saw that those coils will provide 2.5" at 213mm with no additional weight on the front and 2.0" with 150lbs of additional weight. As they are right now they seem WAY to stiff for no additional load on them. When I jack up the truck, measure the spring length, and then measure the spring length with it supporting the vehicle weight I see virtually no spring compression. I can bounce on the front end and flex everything so there's nothing bound up anywhere that I can tell. So I'm curious what some of you are seeing on your trucks running these coils. I plan to go to 213mm which should drop 160lbs or so of preload, I'm hoping that will soften them up some.

 

I've got the 314 coils, though on the 220 non-adjustable coils. From what you're saying, it sounds about right. They're definitely stiffer than stock, and I don't see much compression going on when jacking the truck up and down, but for a 2.5" lift I'd imagine that's quite normal considering there's not much more travel to play with. Maybe try measuring the compressed length after going for a quick drive around the block so everything can settle?

In any case, I found removing the sway bar helped free up the feeling up front. I'd suggest trying it out for yourself, you can always put it back in if you don't like the way it handles.

Unrelated question for @Crikeymike, when you say one of the leafs can be removed on the 111Rs if not running a lot of weight, I'm assuming that's the bottom leaf of the upper group of 4, not the little leaf at the very bottom?

 

They're only 586LB coils, they aren't stiff. As a comparison, the Eibach pro truck coils are 742#

What is your hub to fender measurement now, to get an idea of what lift height you have?

And for access cabs which come taller from the factory, they're normally set to the taller seat height.

 

From memory, it's the 4th down from the top. It's an overload leaf that doesn't have any spring clamp attached to it, and definitely not the little bottom-most leaf.

 

Right after I got the lift on I measured 24.5". I was planning on getting it on level ground this afternoon to see what it's at now after a week. My before measurement was just a little over 21".

 

@Crikeymike I did measure the length of the coil at approximately 12.5" with it in the truck. Does that sound about right for where I have my seat set?

 

I don't save load height measurements, so I'm not sure. I only go by coil seat height and hub to fender measurements.

The C59-314 are 405mm/ 15.94" free height.

The lift height as soon as they're installed will be a fair bit different than when they're settled. The IFS gets really preloaded with all new parts in there and takes usually 500 miles to settle in. If you settle down to 23.5", then you'd be at the ~2.5" over where you started.

 

This just in! Just picked up my lift from RSG Offroad in CO. Great guys over there, they were very helpful and I felt like I was surrounded by people as excited about my truck as I am. Justen from RSG helped me out.

Front: 221 struts with 314 coils
Rear: 112r leaf springs.
UCA: SPC

They recommended a diff drop, which I already had. I went with the driver side 1/4” strut top spacer because my drawers and tools are also more loaded on the driver side.

I don’t have any extra weight up front (besides a supercharger I suppose) so I went with the 314s so the ride would not be too stiff and I actually get proper articulation off road. Had originally planned to go beefier but the guys at RSG convinced me I would lose more than I would gain going with the 220s or the 352s without weight. If I need extra ride height I can always throw on a set of strut spacers to hold me over till I get a bumper.

For the rear I have around 700lbs constant load with a roof rack, topper, and a wood drawer system that stays fully loaded in the summer, plus a load of tools behind the back seats. I figured I can always take a leaf out if it’s too stiff at 700lbs on the 112s.

I’ll be installing in the next few weeks and will post some before and after shots after I’ve driven it a month or two. Disclaimer on the before and after shots, I bought my truck from a previous owner with 3” spacers up front so I expect to break even or even lose a half an inch with this setup. My truck is at 65,000 on original suspension and has been riding with around 700lbs in the rear all year so my struts and rear shocks are shot and have been leaking for a month or so. The rear leafs are pretty much flat and even have some negative arch in the rear. So this before and after won’t be for those of you looking for the difference from stock to lifted.

Gonna be my first time installing a suspension so I’ll comment on that aspect too afterward

 

Love how clean everything is out of the box. What's nice about these trucks is suspension insoles aren't terribly complicated. Looking forward to the progress

 

Anyone know the diameter of the front shock? Assuming its a 2in shock and not 2.5in? Thanks!

 

The monos are 2.2”. Don’t know what the twin tubes are...

 

Yes, that's right. Twin tubes are right at 2" (50mm).

 

IMS Install Update

After lowering the seat height down to 213mm and logging 450-500 miles on it I am sitting right at 2.5" of lift. That's with the 314 coils and all stock weight up front. The ride has been really nice since dropping the extra preload off the springs. On a side note, for those looking for a quality diy spring compressor the ones from SPC are well worth the money at ~$125 online. I used them to make the adjustments and they felt every bit as safe as my buddies Branick that I used to assemble them with. You do have to hold your mouth right to get them in there but once they're attached they work really well. Now I just need to get her on the trail, and I can't wait to get some 5.29s in the diffs...

 

I installed my Dobinsons L59-111-R Leaf packs. Very happy with the height and the ride quality. Superb. Far better than my single add a leaf with the stock leaf pack. Also, the height has been returned to where it was before I installed the topper and rack, plus I feel the setup will support the weight of my boat when trailering better.

I ordered new shackles, U-bolts, bushings and the geaseable bolt kits along with my leafs but it seems the passengers side grease bolt is contacting the mount and its making a hell of a squeak when the suspension flexes. Did I do something wrong on installation that caused this? Drivers side has about 3/16" of clearance but the pass side bumps right up to the mount when torqued to spec.

 

I ended up having to cut the excess part of the bolt off with a sawzall. Mine was rubbing the hanger as well.

 

Same, only I used an angle grinder to shorten.

 

I also hit the rubbed off part with spray paint so it wouldn’t rust.

 

I had this situation too. We ended up getting in there, and cut the bolt end with a sawzall tool while it was still installed. Not the cleanest fix, but it worked.