Suspension Recommendations

Hey All! I am looking to upgrade the suspension my 22 OR. Ideally, I am looking for something low maintenance but still great off road. I know I know “maintenance is inevitable” but I’m talking about infrequent maintenance. I don’t want the squeaking or having to change out bushings every 10-15k.

I mostly cruise through the trails of OC/IE in California. No intense crawling.

As far as weight, nothing up front and don’t plan to put anything more than some lights and a bull bar to replace the plastic front valence thing. In the back, I have a bed rack with recovery equipment and a bike rack. Overall I’d say 200-300lbs total will be static weight in the back throughout daily driving. Thanks!

EDIT: Looking for 2-3 inches of lift up front and something to level out the back or slight rake.

 

How much are you looking to spend?

You can do a 3" skyjacker 3" lift for ~$2300 or $10k with something like camburg. You could also go full retard and do long travel for even more money.

Heim joints are really not high maintenance. You need to oil them every 1k miles. But it takes less than 60 sec to do.

 

I’d say 5k total, not including labor

 

If you don't want excessive maintenance issues, then it's best to keep it to 2" or less lift. The higher you go above that, the faster things such as your CV joints (the boots especially), steering rack and ball joints start to wear out. More than 2" generally also requires you replace the upper control arm (UCA), which many seem to have ball joint reliability issues of their own (at least from reading on the forum here... Certainly some will be better than others, but I can't comment on which since I still have stock UCAs).

 

Bilstein 6112/5160 combo with an add a leaf or new RTX leaf pack. Proven, reliable, affordable and rarely ever a need to go beyond unless you are doing really serious shit. Take it from a guy that has zero experience and is building out his own 22 OR right now for hunting. What could go wrong with my recommendation? My lack of personal experience speaks for itself!

 

I would love to but I need clearance. I don’t mind changing parts out but looking for ones that don’t require super intricate maintenance cycles like I have been reading/researching.

 

Hahah I have been looking into that setup but hoping to get something a bit more robust for off-roading. I am on the trails nearly every weekend.

 

What is it you're trying to clear if you're not doing any intense crawling?

 

Maybe he's trying to "clear" the bar of style?

 

For what? Suspension lift doesn't add tire clearance or lift the low point of axle lines.

And bull bar. Just no.

 

I laugh ever time I see a truck with a massive 6"+ lift with the cross member hanging down at the stock height.

 

first not a bull bar, but the bumper that replaces the front matte plastic part on the stock bumper. And clearance for hilly dirt sections in places I camp that rub the frame and sides of the truck.. it’s not rock crawling but dirt crawling I guess

 

I'm partial to Dobinsons shocks. @Crikeymike will set you up!

 

Depending on what your install cost is, this would be a legit suspension system that rides amazing.
https://accutuneoffroad.com/product/05-tacoma-mid-travel-suspension-kit-stage-2-fox/

If your budget is strict, we can move some things around to get it down a few bucks, but everything in that kit is designed to work together and will work great for years to come. Shoot us a PM is you have some questions

 

Well, the kit Accutune just posted would be an excellent way to go... But if you still think you need more clearance than that, then the only other practical choice would be a drop bracket kit that lowers the LCA mounts & axle housing if you want to keep maintenance to a minimum.
People love to bag on them (already an example here lol), but they do have something to offer in the way of keeping your axle components happy by retaining more of the suspension's factory angles.
True, no lift will increase axle clearance (only tires can do that), however it is far easier to find a line over an obstacle that will clear the axle, rather than trying to find a line that clears the entire truck's undercarriage.


I suggest you start out with a good 2" mid-travel kit such as Accutune's, and see where it gets you. More likely than not, you'll find it plenty enough to get where you want to go. If you do decide later it's still not enough, then all isn't lost since it is possible to use the mid-travel shocks and UCA with a DB kit (using shortened spacers) to get something around 4 or 5 inches lift without torturing your CV joints.
My recommendation would be BDS if you do go that route.
https://bds-suspension.com/products/4-inch-lift-kit-toyota-tacoma-16-20-4wd

 

So yeah... if you want more clearance you need bigger tires. What size you want to fit is probably the most important piece of info you need to provide.