Adding Weight

Hey All,

I am finding that I need to add weight to the back end of my double cab long bed to help smooth out the ride on the highway. Right now I have 6 bags of sand back there. Does anyone know if there is a better way? The bags are getting in the way of using the bed. Is there any kind of weight that can be added to the under side of the truck? I thought about just buying some weights and somehow attaching them to the side of the bed or having them welded under the truck, but I wanted to see if there was already something out there.



Thanks,

Scott

 

before you go to all the trouble of adding weights and all......what psi are you running in your tires, and which tires do you have?? you may be able to take your rear psi down a bit, and that may help. you can also go to performanceproducts or summitracing and check out the bladders that fill with water to add some weight.

 

Scott,

What types of problems are you having on the highway? Is it bouncy? Is it floaty? Need more info....

I'd look for more permanent fixes rather than carry weight around with ya.... Depending on what your problems are - will depend on what you can do to fix it.

There is a rear-leaf spring TSB out where Toyota will replace the original 3 leaf pak with a 4-leaf pak. Search the forums/Google, you'll find tons of info on it. Not sure if that'll help ya or not. I get mine done next week.

You could also change your rear shocks ...air down tires....

 

I imagine the rear leaf TSB will only make the situation worse for him. For those of us not used to trucks it can be a bit bumpy on certain roads. I have noticed that a few sand bags does make it ride better but I am sure it comes at the expense of gas mileage. The ride doesn't bother me that much so I do not plan to use sand bags except during really bad weather.

 

tacomaman06, I'm running my tires at what the manual says. I'll try running a little lower and see what happends.

Janster, The ride is bouncy, it gets so bad on some roads that my girlfriend gets nauscous. Adding the sand bags has definetly cut down on the bounce I have heard of the TSB, I have the parts on order with the dealer. We're just waiting for the springs to come in. I have heard that it'll make it worse. I am stuck in the middle. I drive a fair amount on the highway so I need to try to smooth out the ride, but I also haul enough that I want the extra support that TSB provides. Unfortunately when I'm on the highways I'm not usually hauling anything. I'm hoping that the upgrade to the Bilstein

rhoppas, I expected the ride to not be a smooth as a car, but this is beyond what is really acceptable. Part of the issue is the way the roads are. I don't know if it is the same everywhere, but here is southern California the expansion joints are about 18" apart and creates a crazy washboard effect. Unfortunately I didn't test drive the truck more than one highway, the stretch I drove was fairly new so it was smooth.

 

Cusas, I am assuming that your truck is not the TRD. If so, the TSB should replace your shocks to Bilsteins as well. Make sure you ask otherwise they probably will not install them.

 

What year is your truck? Mine is a 07 and I drive all over with no problems. I drive on miles and miles of icy roads with no weight on the back too. Adding weight is easy but no way to solve the problem. What's it doing to your gas consumption?

We have other members in SoCal. Why dont you PM tcBob and ask him if he has the same problem.

 

TheMaster, I've got a '07 Dbl Cab long bed. I'll try to get ahold of tcBob.

Thanks for the reponse.

 

weight=BAD GAS MILEAGE!!!!!! EEEEEEEEK. not good in this day and time. lol i found going from a non trd truck to my new turd that its a lil bouncy. but it bein new and all i def. aint complainin. gf naucious tho......hmmmmmm. seat covers are ALWAYS a good investment. lol but seriously ive never heard of that prob.b4. it mite need a lil breaking in.

 

Hey cusas6, I know what you mean by the washboard effect. There is 1 highway here that is terrible. The rest of them are fine. It is one of the newer highways too. i think it is just the way they poured it...

 

I'm with corndog, let it break in for a few thousand miles then make a decision. As for carring weight in the back I just carry all my gold bullion.

 

I've got 6500 miles on it already. How many miles is good for breaking in?

 

as far as your tires go, try running 32 or 33 in the front, and try 30 or 31 in the rear and see how that does for your ride. it may make it a little smoother for you.

 

i have an 08 and was hauling a cargo trailer and the damn rear of my truck started bouncing after hitting some bumps. This doesn't seem normal. I'm going to take it in to see what the dealer says.

 

probably the trailer bouncing,and making the rear of the truck squirley, just my opinion though.

 

don't think so, because i haul this trailer with other vehicles and never had a problem.

 

It was 21,000 miles before I saw my gas mileage improve

 

damn man.. i just saw something that you need.. its this bag that dispenses weight over the back axle and it ties down to the tiedowns in the bottom of the bed... you just unscrew a cap and put your garden hose in there and fill it up to whatever you want or as much as it can hold (400lbs) and the things made out of something durable so you can put objects down on it and everything without taking it out.. i wish i knew where i saw it..

 

My rear end is pretty firm - on my truck that is. When I am on rough roads the rear end tends to jump around a bit, but it's all good, it doesn't really bother me. After all it is a truck, and with the stiff springs in the back (TRD) and no weight I expect it to jump around.