All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Light weight cars with independent suspension are always going to be more comfortable... on pretty much any road. I upgraded my '13 DCLB sport with new leaf springs, Fox 2.5s, etc. and it was pretty comfortable, even as a fully loaded camper. It never came close to the ride of an old subaru on forest roads though.

 

100% agree with the bike suspension point. i always think a bunch of the set up is above my head. Like id be totally fine with just a single rebound and compression circuit. can set up in parking lot and always know exactly how itll react. and then its more robust.

might try sr5 stuff i already have but additionally if anybody has info or reviews on different levels/ brands i really value that. not afraid to spend money but i dont think there is a worse feeling in the world than shelling out for the nice thing and then it sucks. happened on my old transition patrol, opted for the xt fox build instead of the sram gx build and everything besides dropper and wheels crapped out in 6months to year. brakes blew out, x2 definitely blew up 3 times over, xt derails i swear made out of tin foil, ahh getting annoyed thinking about it

 

Did you air down to about 20 PSI? These trucks are leaf sprung body on frame - they aren't gentle, vs a unibody sedan which will be a lot smoother. But also: Sport is tuned more for the road (stiffer ride), they're old(er), and if you were at highway pressure that's a rough ride. I have a TRD OR w/ stock OR "tuned" suspension (a bit softer), when I hit FSRs it's down to 20-25 PSI, and she's smooth as silk. I rode in a Sport trim truck a couple weeks ago and the ride was notably harsher.

You just need some basic suspension work, stock level TRD OR stuff would be plenty, no need to futz around with more than that (changing drive angles etc etc)

 

makes sense, my old out back was infinitely better on dirt roads and especially in snow. thing was a tank. i just figured tire size would make massive difference but guess not.

how much out the door was the upgrade and what leaf pack you get if you dont mind me asking?

 

for what it's worth, my stock trd-or suspension was pretty okay on dirt. but definitely over time, they got progressively worse and worse and just straight up seized. hahah.

I got some some new dobinsons with new coils and new leaf packs. and new suspension definteily feels much better than the seized ones. but then again, anything's better than a stick for suspension. but will say that it was surprisingly comfortable for a rip down "hole in the rock road" a few months ago. Even accidentally took a tiny jump going 50 mph and it landed softer than i thought possible. ultimately, i think your mileage will vary. if you're in UT, talking with one of the shops for more info might be worth it. for reference, got my work done at RLT suspension.

as for 5100s, they are widely considered best bang for buck but i've heard that they can be said to "ride rough". whatever that means to each butt dyno.

 

Both corolla and truck would have been at highway pressures as I have either a 55mi or 20mi drive prior to dirt road either coming from office or home and then 20mi back after. So seems kinda unfeasible with how short the drive is 30 min in total. Take more time airing up and air down than the drive itself. so if that is direct solution, Ill just have to deal with harsh lol.

There is an actual significant difference in the valving with the OR vs the sport? OR are the 4700 right? what are the sports? are 5100s any different than 4700s?

I always see the truck flexing, as tacos are know to not be stiff. And its easy to see with gap between bed and cab. Really makes me wonder what that poor corolla is going through lol. Just can visualize it as easily.

I guess worth noting is prior to this truck i had 06 access cab sr5 and then put rough country on it and i remember it feeling the same as the sr5 but also smoother than my current sport. (i am not claiming RC is an upgrade lol i was being cheap)leafs were more clapt on that truck too haha

 

I had the Icon RXT leaf pack (option3) since I had a camper and full build out in the back. I wanna say I spent like $3000 for everything...? This was about 7 years ago, so pre-COVID pricing and my memory is fuzzy cause I've had two children since then.

Airing down the tires makes a big difference too, especially when you've got bigger truck tires than can handle it.

Here's a pic for fun!

 

Cool, prior owner had quite the firewood set up when i picked up truck and was og owner so imagine it saw quite a loaded life prior to me. so could just be incredibly clapt suspension.

As for dobs what was pricing for all that jazz out the door? Only reason i feel bad talking to shop is I wouldn't be going through them for install, ie how they make money ie id be wasting their time.

Im hoping im being a paranoid blockhead and just anything will be better than what i have, I just have no trust after I have gotten burned a couple times with bikes with "nice stuff"

 

i THINK mine was...right around the 4k or 5k mark? if i remember correctly. new coilovers, new leaf packs, new shocks, and new bump stops. full install.

my girlfriend has a 4runner and we got 5100s on her's. just the shocks. reused springs. with install, that came to about 1k.

 

That thing looks sweet! I will be picking up one of the midrise caps or something along those lines in the near future/ before winter. So if I am gonna have to do everything I'd be planning on that thing living on there. Id kill for precovid prices.

Congrats on the kids!

have air down if i am running stuff all day, but for such a short drive seems crazy, maybe im crazy. Also definitely dont have onboard air, otherwise thatd be super reasonable, I use bike pump when i do it lol.

 

go down to like 25. should be fine for pavement and dirt. i got an Amazon special pump that plugs into my cigarette lighter. takes forever to air my tires back up, but i dont air my truck down too much. it gets used more for other peoples cars at this point lol.

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1207554811/heavy-duty-4-way-tire-inflator-system?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=4+wheel+tire+inflator&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&frs=1&nob=1&content_source=041e1c4f-10ce-468f-bf8d-d6f88ad02540%3A2ac941526480c1605f371522655c47d18f3f90c7&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=041e1c4f-10ce-468f-bf8d-d6f88ad02540:2ac941526480c1605f371522655c47d18f3f90c7

Get some spaghetti, makes it real easy and relatively fast. I don't even have a slick compressor setup and this has dramatically sped things up and made it better to live with. Some people run lines through the frame and set up chucks near the tires, or coil up the lines near the tires, so you just have to deal with a few whips.

4-500$ all in for a nice compressor and nice spaghetti is a lot cheaper than struts, just my 4.5 cents (adjusted for inflation).

Edit - I'm on 10 ply, so I run 40-45 highway, which is total ass on FSRs. 4 or 6 ply you can run a little lower on the highway and would be better to leave at highway on the FSRs. I think my old 4 plys I could run around 30 comfortably on the roads, no problems - but the FSRs up these ways are shale roads and those things got shredded with our 60mph average

 

I like one of those price ranges a lot more than the other haha, sure one is a lot better than other but that rode is extent of off road use I do other than down st george area in winter to ride.

 

yeah, i hear you. i can't give you my subjective assessment of 5100s on dirt roads though. so take my words un-seriously. hahah.

 

Sweat is indeed good; just funny how much more biking produces than running out there -- worth it for how fast I can explore new areas for running.

 

I don't even daily my Tacoma. I drive a 2012 VW TDI daily, the Tacoma sits unless I'm working out of it.
The van would have to be changed somewhat from how it is currently if I bought his I listed.

I would like the bikes hidden when going out of town or even to the local park.
I also throw a little giant ladder and packout boxes in the bed of the Tacoma and would like those hidden as well.

It's crazy even though the Tacoma is rated to tow more than the Van, I'm still willing to bet the Van does better shifting wise and with wind than the Tacoma does pulling my 7x16 enclosed trailer.