Suspension Suggestions Needed - GFC Camper Build

Hello All,

Picking up our TRD Off-Road this coming Tuesday and are super excited.

However, I'm concerned about performance in mild off-road conditions due to the vehicle having stock suspension and a GFC build.

Here is everything on the vehicle that will remain on the vehicle (for the most part) on a regular basis:

Exterior
TRD Pro Grill
(5) SCS F5 Wheels in matte jet black 16x8 -25mm 6x139.7
(5) Falken Wildpeak AT3W 265/75r16 w/ Road hazard protection on all five tires
AVS In-Channel Window Guards
Total Chaos bed stiffeners
Toyota bed mat

Interior
Toyota All Weather Mats
Neoprene seat covers (front and back)
Big cup holder
Screen protector
Hondo radio knobs
Expedition Essentials Dash Mount

GFC Camper
V1 (Build 125) in Grey
Upgraded Embassy hinges
Upgraded foam mattress set
Beef rack bars (pair)
Universal awning mounts (pair)
JE Interior locks
Overland Softgoods Fleece Fitted Sheet Set in Green
GFC ladder kit
Shittco awning kit

Camper Build
Custom fabricated drawer system w/ locking slides and door latch (keyed alike to the camper)
Alu-Cab fridge slide
Dometic CFX3 45L
Ecoflow River 2 Pro power bank
(2) Baja Designs dome lights
Power Trays Blue Sea 12 circuit kit w/ shut off
(2) Wavian Jerry cans in green
Rago Fab bed track accessory mounts (pair)
Lifesaver jerry can water container/filter
Wilco bed mount tire carrier
Snail Armor tailgate
(2) Ignit 5lb propane tanks

I've been doing some research into suspension options and have focused on the Bilstein 5100 and OME rear leaf packs.

Can anyone please share some personal input or opinion on whether the 5100 series will suit our needs vs. the 5160 or 6112. We're in NE Ohio and do plan to travel out west whenever we can. Not planning to do serious off-roading/rock crawling, etc. but want to be safe, prepared, and have a suspension up to the job of toting around the extra weight in the truck.

Appreciate it!

- Corey

 

Nice truck, as to your question, Jerry cans full or empty?

 

The jerry cans will be full during our trips if needed. Shorter jaunts maybe not, but longer, multi-day outings yes.

 

Check out Deaver and Alcan. If you don't see what you want in their offerings they can both build a custom leaf pack to your specs.

IMO just get the Deaver Stage III leaf pack and call it a day.

 

Thanks, brother. Don't even worry about the Bilstein shocks...? You're saying to throw the Deaver Stage III on the stock setup and it'll be good? Sorry for my naivete, just trying to understand your suggestion.

 

These would replace stock leaf springs and probably gain a little height in rear even loaded down.

 

I'm just curious about replacing the shocks, too, to accommodate the increased ride height from the stiffer springs in the rear. Seems like the average rear lift with the Deaver Stage III is ~ 2.5-3".

 

I run a leer 180, drawer/bed system, and a decent amount of extra weight. I assume it's a pretty similar weight. (I still have stock leafs, but run firestone air bags)

My truck had OME nitrocharger shocks on it when I bought it used and I ran them into the ground. Coming down the back side of engineers pass we stopped to check out a waterfall and since I noticed the ride being harsh I made the mistake of touching the front shock and almost branded my hand. I'm now running 6112's front and 5160's rear, bought them from shocks surplus, check out their videos for some great suspension comparisons that they've run on our trucks.

I am running 33's, but I now no longer bother airing down for terrain where the rocks are no larger than baseballs. When I'm just trying to get down FS roads and not take all day, then 6112's and 5160's at 37 psi feels better on that terrain than the worn out OME shocks with tires at 18-20psi. You won't regret paying for good suspension. I will say, they seem to smooth out the ride pretty well once you get to 20-30mph, even up to 40, which is about as fast as I can safely go on doublewide gravel roads when corners are involved due to visibility. For the cost, I think the 5160's do really well and it was a decent price jump to get up to something adjustable.

Despite loving the 6112/5160 combo, I would almost just say take the truck on a few trips as is. 15k miles isn't much on the stock suspension (ran into the for sale forum while looking up the camper weight lol). It may be perfectly adequate for a while and you can take more time to figure out what you want. I know you're buying a mostly built setup already, but half of the fun is going on trips, finding your limits or at least discomfort areas, getting home, and changing things up for the next trip. Personal examples...: (harsh ride so we upgraded suspension, kept dragging diff and wanted a smoother ride so we got bigger tires and gears to compensate, nearly ripped off nerf bars so I built sliders, bent factory skid plate and had clearance issues with front bumper so I got a winch bumper and skid combo, had to turn around due to extreme mud so we got a winch, had to turn around at a river crossing so I re-located intake higher and extended rear diff breather)

Edit: Didn't think about the travel limits on the stock rear shocks. If the new leaf packs really change the lift height you might be fine on mild terrain but I agree with YF-Ryan, may need something to coordinate with a lift.

 

Deaver U402 Expedition Stage 3 leaf pack would be great. I've run those with my AT Habitat, and now with my Scout camper.

I upgraded to 5160s in the rear, as they have a little more down travel. I was worried about the OEM length shocks acting as limit straps, and possibly damaging them over time. Might not be an issue, but the 5160s have treated me very well in the rear. I had standard travel 2.5 Icon coilovers up front, that handled fine, but recently swapped to 6112s to match the bilsteins in the rear (nothing wrong with the Icons, they were just old).

 

Get a 2.5in coil over with like ~700lb spring and also call it a day..

 

The leaf springs are what support the weight. Getting new shocks is a good idea too but not totally necessary to do at the same time as new springs. The shocks you can literally change out without even jacking up the truck.

 

I just did the Deaver Stage 2 on a slightly lighter build and got about 3" in the back -- you will need longer shocks. There are really no good options to get leafs that support the weight properly without also adding some lift, which means new shocks. Trying to level the front with stock springs and 5100's is not ideal in my opinion.

I went with custom-tuned Fox, but I think the Bilstein 6112 suggestions are a good one. They seem to be tuned well out of the box and are a much more economical choice. If money isn't an issue, call Accutune. If you don't add weight on the front, you don't need 700# springs. I have a light bumper and winch and still run 600#.

 

Thank you. I agree; the fun will be the experiences and tweaking things afterward. I'm really looking forward to getting into a Tacoma. The previous owner took great care of the truck and seemed to choose quality parts for the build and was diligent about following the scheduled maintenance for the truck. Being in NE Ohio, I plan to rust-proof the frame and other components before any rust is present.

 

I would imagine with the GFC + accessories you are probably in the neighborhood of 500-600+ lbs. I would get a decent estimate on actual weight then figure out leaf springs accordingly. Deaver stage 2 or 3, Icon RXT, Archive Garage's explorer series, or an Alcan custom leaf pack. If you are not looking to add any height to the truck Alcan and I believe Deaver can build you a custom pack to handle the weight without increasing the height of the truck. ** As mentioned above probably not ideal **

While I was there I would more than likely swap in 5100s or similar including a higher spring rate for front end and rear shock length which will work with the pack you decide on. Finally, If I was going to be installing new leafs and as good practice would dictate new u bolts, I would definitely look at new bump stops such as Archive Garage option 3, sumo springs, duro bumps, etc. - Personally I dig my Archive option 3 bumps and U bolt flip kit with my Icon RXT leaf pack.

Sweet truck and congrats!

 

Right on. Thanks for the input. The only reason I'm considering the 5100s over the 5160s is the fact that the 5100s have a limited lifetime warranty vs. the 90-day warranty the 5160s have. I like the external reservoirs of the 5160s and the better performance but am trying to weight the benefit of the warranty over the improved performance.

 

Meant to ask you about your tires. I looked up those tires and they appear discontinued and also looked like SL tires. What load rating on yours? I ran SL for years with my AT Habitat, but looking back that was dumb. I was at or over weight for those tires. Very happy to have my E-loads now.

 

That lifetime warranty is for defects in design, materials, and workmanship. It doesn't mean you can wear them out and get a new set. If there is a defect, it's probably going to show up in the first 90 days. If they make it beyond that, they will probably last a long time, and any failure would be due to wear and tear or exposure to the elements. At least that is my thinking on it -- I wouldn't make that core to my decision.

 

Ok... Good point.

 

I'm not sure but looking at Falken's website, the MAX LOAD SINGLE / DUAL (LBS) is 2756... so, idk?