Bottoming Suspension

So I get to drive my TRD OR and a RAV4 over the same set of railroad tracks with a g-out and seven elongated speed bumps quite often. The speed bumps are the gentle kind that you can roll right over if you aren’t speeding, not the little tall ones you almost have to stop for.

My TRD slaps to the rear bump stops, especially over the RR tracks, touches gently on the speed bumps. The Rav takes them both with poise, same speed (30mph), never bottoms. So much for “Race Development” eh?

Will a better shock in the rear stop this? I was thinking about the cheapest Fox, they are progressive, right? I’m currently stock, and it’s a new truck so nothing is worn out.

 

You sure you're bottoming out and it's not just really stiff in the rear from being unloaded?

Throw 75lbs in the rear of the bed and see how it feels.

 

Oh for sure, it’s a solid thud right into my butt cheeks. Back end sinks and whap! If it was too firm I think it would be staying level or kicking.

 

Is the truck lifted at all?

 

As someone that never even tows / rarely loads the bed, is there a way around this? Like softer leafs but maybe sumos / airbags in the rare case I throw some shit in the bed?

 

Sumo Springs took care of that issue on mine. You still feel it when it hits the springs, but it’s not jarring like the OEM bump stops.

 

Sumo springs just save your shocks. I did better leaf pack and bilsteins

 

The same happens to me too. I have 250lb of sand in the bed for winter and I randomly bottom out going over tracks.
Haven't really worried about it too much, but I'm following to hear what everyone has to say.

 

You just need bumpstops which engage more gradually than the stock hard rubber pyramid. Wheeler's Superbumps, Durobumps, Archive yellow bumps, Chevy Silverado bumpstops... pretty much anything is way better than stock.

 

I'm probably not the best person to ask on softening the suspension, but from my understanding, better bump stops like super bumps or duro bumps would help cushion the impact if you are hitting the bump stops but if you're looking for a softer rear in general about the only thing you could do is either remove a leaf from your pack or get a custom pack built to your trucks specific weight requirement, at that point you would definitely want some kind of air bags or air shocks if you ever were to tow or haul though.

 

S’what I figured. Thanks buddy!

 

I put Sumo's on mine. I found them helpful with bottoming out. I always have around 100 pounds of tool in a box straddling the bed. Sometimes I haul a bunch of stuff. In the Winter I add 150 pounds of rock in 50 pound bags. A side benefit is body sway on curves and turns is drastically reduced.
I have no experience with any other solutions such as shocks or different springs. They could be better, I don't know. But the Sumos for me were simple to install, maintenance free and solved my problem.

 

What is going on is an old suspension system that works great, but is limited. Toyota has made a delicate balance between comfort and harshness. Unfortunately this comfort makes the suspension bottom out easier. And making a change can affect harshness. Adding weight to the bed makes it bottom out quicker and easier. Adding a heavier spring, increases suspension stiffness and could increase wheel hop. (Springs also create a dampening effect with the friction between the leaves, so more leaf springs increases this effect aswell) adding a shock or a progressive bump stop may give you your best feel and reduce the bottoming out. Not that the progressive bump stop is preventing the bottoming out, it is just softening the smack from bottoming out. The right shock will help with the right valving but if too aggressive you increase harshness... it's a delicate balance....

I have a stock 2017 TRD Sport. The rear shocks are valved stiffer then the Off-Road. I do bottom out over speed bumps as you have described. I will be installing Eibach shocks in March and will see how these change things up. If this doesn't help, then I may look into a progressive bump stop. If I can't stop it, then at least I can soften it up.

 

I have AAL and 5100's and I can take those elongated speed bumps at 30-35 mph with no issues.

 

Bilstein 5160's & Icon RTX leafs set at stage 2 helped with my bottoming out when unloaded but not when loaded for camping out on rough trails/ dirt roads. I tried Sumos, Super Bumps, air bags, etc. to no real satisfying conclusion. Hydro bumps ended giving me what I was looking for. Pricey but worth it for me.

 

I’m not convinced you are bottoming out. I think people often mistake the stiff rear suspension that pickups have for bottoming out. Have you found any visual evidence that the bump stops have contacted the leafs?

 

Put white sticky grease on the bump stops and get after it! Then you see if they did touch.

GO!

 

^^^ I’d do this first and if the frame is hitting one of the bump stops, I’d pop the rear shocks off and make sure they’re not pooched before buying leafs or Sumo springs (yes I know your shocks are new-ish, but they could still be bad)

 

I get the train of thought, but it can't always be the rule. I also highly doubt your new stock components are worn this early, but flukes happen. That being said, I think others are probably on to the case and its probably not so much "bottoming out" as much as just a more stiff truck suspension vs the passenger car suspension. I'd second putting a little glob of grease on the bump stops, driving the route, and checking to see if they made contact or not. At least then you'll know if you're actually bottoming out or if you're experiencing something else.

 

I purposely wore my stock offroad stuff out in 3k miles just for the heck of it and to see how long the stuff would last