Truck Feels A Bit Unstable At Highway Speeds

Mine's this way too. Gets blown around by the wind off of semis. Also, going off road, the steering wheel must be held tight or it fights against you. I always thought this thing could use a steering stabilizer. I'm pretty sure it's normal and it all depends on your expectations. Best thing you can do is drive another one to compare. I may have my front end alignment checked some day. The camber looks like it may be excessive but it has always been that way. Whatever is the reason, that's the way it came. I have not abused this truck.

 

OP, are you still running the stock tires? Tires with deep tread can give a "floating" feeling, the stock tires shouldn't feel that way however...

 

I agree, going from my Ram 2500 diesel to this 2012 double cab long bed was a bit of a shock on the highway.
I expected the "refinement" of the independent front suspension to feel more, well.. refined.
The Ram had only 44k on it and was still nice and tight up front, plus its heavy as hell (~7K LBs), anyway it was rock solid at any speed.
It rode like crap though, needed Bilsteins badly, but it got 22mpg @ 75mph... this Taco gets 15

One of the weird things about my Tacoma is when the road rocks it left/right/left the steering wheel pushes on my hand, as if it has way too much caster effect.
The steering is also noticably slower than the Ram and our 09 Rav4 v6.

 

I just know I can be going 55 down the highway and rock the steering wheel back and forth a couple of inches real fast and you won't feel the truck move. That is the wandering I believe most people experience.

 

Mine is just the opposite on my '08 RC Base.
Could be the short wheelbase, or it could be wear (or lack of) on the rack unit... but mine is VERY touchy. There's no wandering at all. My wheel is very solidly "connected" to the tires.

 

My truck when fairly new would wag the back end constantly with no wind. It was as if the truck never settled, and the rear end was constantly rolling side to side.

This was on a smooth highway. One time I had a passenger with me, held the steering absolutely tight, the truck still yawed constantly back and forth.

Had the 4 leaf springs installed, and per the TSB the alignment was at least checked if not adjusted.

Sway is now gone except on super windy days.

OP, count how many leafs your truck has, then decide.

PK

 

I know this sounds crazy, but the Zip Tie Fix that i feel ALL tacoma's should be equiped with fixed most of the highway issues i was having....

(try it, you will NOT believe the difference!!!) and if you hate it, you just pull the zip tie out. takes ~5 minutes to install.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/88077-steering-column-fix.html

*edit: it also fixed the annoying "looseness" you feel when on dirt/off road

 

I have a 2011 with the 4 leaf pack with 32" tires. Was fairly unstable with stock tires and is now worse with the softer rubber. I hauled about 400lbs of shit the other day in 30-35mph winds and it was much better. My flat tonneau seems to help when passing a big truck; stops the wind from going in the bed. Try throwing 100-200 lbs in the back and see how it feels.

 

The Hellwig swaybar is awesome!

 

Checked my tire pressure yesterday and that was fine. Also checked for any uneven tire wear and I didn't see any evidence of that. Will be taking my truck into the dealer Tuesday or Wednesday. The likely reason is probably because I'm so use to a stiffer wheel of my BMW and how low it is. Thanks everyone for all the advise. TW members always come through!

 

I came across this post while doing a search for my truck's very same handling trait. I have a regular cab(Short wheelbase) with a fiberglass shell, both things add to the "drift" that I feel. I am trying to get the 3+1 leaf spring TSB and I have a rear anti-sway bar on my wish list. I got rid of the stock Dunlop tires very quickly in large part because of this "drifting". Going with Michelin LTX M/S2 tires made a world of difference. It is good to know that mine is not a unique situation and that there are cures for it.

 

Just my experience with this.

This past weekend i traveled from houston to san antonio in my truck..... for some odd reason my truck felt "unstable" it was windy at the time, but i was gripping the wheel for my life and taking slight curves made me nervous as hell.

i panicked pulled over to the Colombus Texas and took it to a tire shop and had it alligned and wheel balanced thinking it was that. The shop guy told me that the the camber and everything was within range and shouldnt be causing a problem (still charged me for the alignment)

I started suspecting it was all in my head, so i just got back on the road and just followed a semi while going 10mph below the speed limit. this helped with my nerves...

On the return drive.... i figured out what it was.... a few month ago i wrecked on a ATV ended up with 20 stitches on my face and a pretty bad time over all..... and the feeling right before i wiped out was basically what i was feeling the entire time i was driving at highway speeds.....

on the return drive i drove like i normally do and kept myself calm by chewing on some jerkey while driving.

just my experience dont ignore what your truck is doing but for me it was not the truck (ruled that out by having a mechanic look at it) it was just me being nervous about getting back on the wheel after a major accident.