Improving Suspension on a 22 TRD OR

Hello all,

I bought a used 2022 TRD Offroad last summer primarily to be able to haul lumber, use as a watersports vehicle (kiting, foiling, etc...), and to take to the mountain bike trails. Possibly some very light offroading as well, but nothing crazy. Truck has worked well so far, but I always thought the suspension was a bit harsh. The other day I took it on a mtb shuttle run over some washboard and pot-holed dirt roads and the truck was very jittery with the rear seemingly wanting to slide sideways at times. Just wondering if there is something I can do to plush out the suspension a bit. Not looking to do a lift as it has plenty of clearance for my needs, but is there anything I can do to smooth it out and not quite so harsh? I suppose putting some weight on the back might help, but I'd rather not add weight just for the sake of a smoother ride. And I do have a canopy so that already adds a couple hundred pounds. Any advice?

Thanks!

 

A lot of people swear by the Bilstein 5100 shocks, although there have been occasional reports that they too can be a bit stiff. Bilstein 6112s (5160 rears) are reportedly a bit smoother/less harsh (both the 5100 & 6112 can be set up for stock height if that's what you prefer, just most people go with clip positions that provide 1-2" lift).

That said, pickup trucks as a general rule will never be as smooth as a sedan or some SUVs (especially in the rear), pickup suspensions are designed to carry weight... Putting that weight on it is about the best you can do to smooth it out.

 

Miles on truck when bought and now?

ORs reportedly come with the plushest shocks to provide a better off road experience. Plusher than Sports, SRs, etc.

It's possible they are worn out (thus the mileage Q)

If its time for new or better, @memario1214 of HotShot Offroad is worth a call.

 

I have a '22 trd of as well. Rear leafs are pretty crappy. I'm at 49k and riding my bumpstops with ~1k lbs in the bed (spring time mulching).

I'm not interested in lifting my truck, just maximixing travel at stock ride height, or as close as I can stay to it.

Based on reading here and elsewhere, I'm looking at swapping the rear spring hangers with extended/beefier shackle hangers, most likely from Archive Garage, doing a u-bolt flip kit with a different/more progressive bump stop. This should help with a lot of rear end shimmy when going over bumps, which has bugged me since I bought the truck.

Still not sure how to advise on a replacement leaf spring selection. Icon rxt, old man emu and archive garage all have various leaf packs or add-a-leaf options for the tacoma.

For your truck, a u-bolt flip kit and rear bump and a better shock may be all you need unless your leafs are sitting inverted (have an uphill bend to the top of the leaf) with just your shell on.

 

I also have a 22 TRD OR. Mine is long bed. The most significant upgrade for me was a progressive bump stop In the rear. Our trucks do not have a lot of up travel so the bump stops make contact very easily. I went with an archive garage ubolt flip with his bumps stops but now that I am looking at Perry Parts I am really liking the look of his product.

Our stock suspension is very bouncy and it gets even worse if you push the suspension off-road and it heats up. I went with 6112s in the front and 5125s sized for an OEM 1in block in the rear and it is a significant improvement.

If you don't lift at all then I would suggest Bilstein 4600s. Same diameter as 5100s but setup for stock height and cheaper. The 6112s are much nicer in the front but there is no equivalent for the rear.

If you do want to lift it and improve offroading performance more then you need to decide on what your budget is as there are lots of options. I went with a moderate 1.4in in the front and 1in in the rear mainly focused on adding more suspension travel and gained about an inch of travel in the front and 1/2in in the rear and much better handling.

 

What you describe is exactly what Hammer Hangers were designed to fix. There is no suspension out there that will solve that problem. Trust me, I've tried. I've had 5100s, Fox 2.0, and Elka 2.5 DSC with custom tuning. I've also had an AAL, Dakars, and now Deaver stage 1 leaf springs. None of those solved the wandering problem with the rear end. That's because it's caused by the OEM shackle hangers being weak af. Hoenstly, Toyota should be embarrassed about how bad those are. Hammer Hangers were a night and day difference with how much more controlled the rear end got. More so than any suspension upgrade I did.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. Sounds like I'm not alone in my dissatisfaction with the suspension. I'm trying to not put a ton into this truck as I intend to get a new primary car next year and I will then use this for hauling and for when I want to go biking or play on the water. So, preferably no lift and no major suspension overhauls - though replacing the shocks is not out of the question. I'll look into all of the recommendations here and go from there. To answer the mileage question - around 21.5K when I purchased and about 29K now.

Thanks again!

 

Shocks should be fine at that point. I'd follow the recommendation by @Saskabush

 

Perry Parts rear bump stops will set you back $135 and you will no longer feel the bump stop contact on big bumps and will be more controlled. I have a feeling that was what was causing a lot of the harshness you described. https://www.perryparts.com/product-page/ab3r-tacoma-3rd-gen-rear-bump-stops-2016

Then if you want to improve the ride in the rear more a set of 4600 rear shocks will run about $150 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=8506380&cc=3450959&pt=7556

Both are rather easy diy installs if you are comfortable with such things or relatively inexpensive to get someone to do.

Then once the rear is improved if you feel you want to get rid of some of the bouncyness in the front you can do 4600s in the front as well although the install is a bit more involved.

 

Circling back to this thread. I ended up doing the Rago hanger kit, Bilstein 5100 shocks in the rear, and the Perry Parts bump stops. Also put picked up some new bronze rims (stuck with 16s) which look great with the Lunar Green. Probably should have upgraded the leaf springs while I was at it, but didn't think that far ahead. It all took a couple of afternoon/evening sessions and I wrapped things up last night. Only did a quick drive on the road but sure seems to be a pretty big improvement and more planted over the small road bumps I went over. The hanger was a pain, but getting the old hangers off wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Found that using a metal blade on my Saw-Zaw and cutting what rivets I could reach with it flush and then drilling them out before popping them off with an air hammer worked best for me. For the rivets I couldn't get to with the saw I drilled and then hit with the cut off wheel. Getting everything put back together and doing a little troubleshooting took at least as much time as getting the old hangers off. I will say that this 53 year-old body is feeling it today though! Can't count the number of times I had to crawl and slither under the truck. Would be nice to have access to a bay or a lift.

I do have a couple questions that came up during the process so hoping to get some input:

First, when fitting the hanger on the passenger side I quickly realized that the rear exhaust pipe hanger had to be removed so I cut it away and my pipe is now hanging with no support. It actually feels pretty solid, but I know I need to do something with it. What are my options here? I have seen some people just cut it back to where it is pointing down behind the cat. Seems easy enough and I would be ok doing that as long as there are no potential issues it would cause. Alternatively, is there an easy way to add a new support/hanger without having to weld? I could bring it to the local exhaust shop and I'm sure they could weld something up for me, but I would prefer to just get it done on my own if possible. I would be open to doing a new cat-back pipe, but it could not utilize the rear hanger since it's now gone - and I really don't want to spend more than a few hundred if I go that route. Anyone else deal with this? Not sure if it is an issue with any of the other hangers or just the Rago. Oddly, I couldn't find anything on the internet about it.

Second, on a couple of videos I watched for the Rago mount it said that when doing the hangers you should extend your brake lines. However, the hanger doesn't seem to really change my ride height and I don't have a lift other than the 1" factory lift that is standard on the TRD OR. An AI result from a Google search said you don't have to replace the lines, but not sure I trust AI that much yet. Does anyone know if I need to extend the brake lines? Or can I tell for myself by jacking my truck up from the frame until the wheels are off the ground and checking if there is slack in the current lines? I don't plan on doing a lift and would prefer not to have to change the lines and bleed the brakes if I don't need to.

I think those are my only two concerns. I'm going to look into replacing the front struts and shocks next. If it's not too difficult of a job I'll probably do that just to complete the upgrade.

Thanks for all the help and advice!

 

I can't help much on the exhaust hanger other than to say having your own welder is a nice thing. If you think you might start getting into other (more-involved) mods like this on your truck, it might be a worthwhile investment to purchase one and then practice on some metal scraps until you get good at it (mine's paid for itself several times over already).

As for the brake hoses, you certainly can check by lifting the truck up by the frame so that the suspension is hanging. Just be sure to lift a little at a time though (checking each time) so you don't find out too soon that you didn't have enough slack after all. Note that you can bend the rear axle brake line bracket upward some to get an additional 1.5-2" slack in the OEM lines (a spacer on the bolt holding the bracket is another option as well).

Lastly, your TRD OR isn't the one with the factory "lift" (it's the same height as the SR, SR5, Sport, Limited). You're thinking of the TRD Pro with it's Fox shocks that has the 1" higher stance.

 

Replacing the stock hangers is one of those mods that made me very skeptical of the reported benefits. However after installing some Hammer Hangers I swear by them. I can't believe they made as big of a difference as they did.

Bamf, Rago, Archive all make them, well worth the effort. Those rivets are a pain.

 

You can just cut the exhaust tip off right after it turns down after coming over the axle. Then there is no need to re-support it.

You shouldn't need longer brake lines until you replace the leaf springs with ones that give more droop. Even then, the shocks usually limit the droop. In the meantime, if you're worried about it, you can just leave that bracket that supports the hard lines on top of the axle unfastened so that there is a bit more play. You can easily test this yourself, but just jack one side of the truck/frame up so that only the one wheel droops. That's the more likely scenario compared to having both wheel completely off the ground (pretty much have to jump it for that to happen naturally).