Long-travel questions for those that have it

From personal experience, I regret going LT I ended up spending 7k + you tend to want the next step . I went with solo motorsports and got their regular Lt kit with 13-14" of travel. I then upgraded to derlin bushings. Added bump stops , wasnt happy with Toyotas spindles so I bought their lift spindles .. Didn't trust Toyotas ball joint issues so I bought the uniball conversion. Then I had to box in the upper arm/coilbuckets and added a double bypass shock . Then you'll want the rear to be done! I hated the fact I couldn't make u turns or park easy in parking structures . once you go LT , a stockfish truck feels so much better

 

^No offense here, brother, but proper research could have prevented all of that. I've spent the last few years researching LT as I built a Mid Travel prerunner, learned many things, but just about everything you posted up about being the next problem you HAD to add something on, is what most people are doing the first time. Or at least should be

Sitting in my garage currently
Camburg LT (Comes with upper and lower Uniballs)
King Coilovers and King Triple Bypasses
Camburg Secondary Shock mount
Wheelers Superbumps
Total Chaos Spindle Gussets (and an extra set of spindles because we all know these spindles bend at the drop of a hat)
Total Chaos Cam Tab Gussets
Total Chaos Coil Bucket gussets

And after riding around in a truck that was only LT up front, as well as reading about many other people having the same-

DMZ SUA Kit
King 16" 3.0 Triple Bypasses
Fox 2.0 3" bumps

Now I just need to save up to have the rear installed, and an Engine cross brace fabbed up to keep the frame straight on hard hits.

Proper research is key, man. Alot of people thing they can just install a single shock LT kit up front and have a trophy truck. If you go look at the 'what to read before LT' thread, most of the beginning stuff is all about how expensive LT is and you better be able to work on your own shit, or have a high paying job because shit breaks and needs to be fixed.

And I agree with the parking part, as for U Turns, that's probably because you went with the fabbed spindle and Solo kit which IIRC they changed the uniballs to a horizontal mount which decreases turn radius. Guys keeping the stock spindles and Uniballs have the exact same turn radius as stock. And on road ride is way better than stock in a properly built truck with shocks tuned correctly.

 

None taken . I did my research .. I didn't have to add those , but I've seen so many peoples truck fail by stupid ball joints and stock spindles. At the time i had my tundra, nobody made beefy spindles for the 1st gen tundra .The upgrades defiantly were worth it but in the end. I'd rather have a LT truck as a toy then a DD.

 

Well, having ridden in a truck that just had single off the shelf shocks and front LT and then riding in a truck with tuned shocks and LT front and back, it really is a world of difference. And having personal experience in not gusseting the right things and strengthening the right stuff on my Mid Travel truck, I know for a fact I will need to do it on my new truck I will be LT'ing. And yea, once the truck is fully built, DD'ing it seems like it would be a bitch...but I loved driving around in my MT truck...I can't wait to have a built LT truck to cruise around in. Then again, with mud terrains, asupercharger and supporting mods, my gas mileage already sucks, so 35's and LT will probably make it even worse...I have a motorcycle to commute on these days, and have been kicking around buying a Craiglist beater commuter car that gets 25+ MPG just so save a little gas mileage when its cold/rainy lol.

 

I have a couple of trucks, a 2015 Tacoma DCSB 4x4 v6 w/ a blower, otherwise 100% as is from the factory. I also have a 2005 Tundra access cab v8 4x4 built by DMZ (camburg front, c-27's in the rear) that I purchased used. Both trucks are similar in size and power, and to be honest my Tundra is wayyyy more fun to drive. Most likely because the Tundra is soft and has a v8 rumble.

@b1z I feel that had you spent the money for upgraded spindles, delrin bushings, and bypasses you could have easily built a rear that could keep up with the front. This is a common theme that I see often with trucks being built, upgrading the front "completely" before moving on to anything else. Yes its a good idea to increase the strength/durability of the your front end, but that upgrade is all but useless on a truck that has a factory rear. Not to mention, you can go plenty fast on single 2.5" shocks all the way around if you tune it right. I have seen extremely simple but tuned trucks with 2.5" shocks clean up on others that have wayyyy more money in to their trucks, all because they have tuned their shocks....This is JMO and I do not mean it in to call you out, but to point it out for others who will follow in our foot steps.

The Tundra is heavier than a tacoma, has poly bushings, non-gusseted mounting points (both upper and lower), non-gusseted factory spindle, and stock steering with extensions ... By all internet standards my truck should have broken a long time ago. Properly limiting, bumping, torquing of your bolts and tuning your vehicle (shocks) will help it live. I would like to emphasize the tuning, it is not just to make your vehicle faster, it also helps keep it from wearing out parts as fast....

 

have built a few truck but honestly, I wanted to do the truck right the first time so I didn't have to go back... I knew what I wanted and that was what I bought. I used other peoples issues with the tundra to build mine. The front was done and I planned to move to the rear this winter. I had all the parts, c27,shocks,u bolt eliminators etc etc.
I don't like to build something that I have to come back to . that goes for every hobby I am into. I tend to over engineer things . the bed cage set up would easily be 2500+ plus all the stuff I bought to build the rear. I was just stating my opinion that to ME. Long travel is a waste of money, Especially a DD. So I sold the tundra and bout a 2014 taco lb and never looked back.

 

Long travel is a waste of money? Rofl.

 

Yup, if you don't use it enough.. Which I didn't... Its all personal preference.. I like my stock truck driving to work and road trips better than my long travel truck but off road, I enjoyed my long travel truck..

 

Jeff, I wish you luck man but there is no combination of components that negates the physics of throwing a 5,500 pound object down a rough road at 50 MPH.

I try to keep mine as perfect as possible, but it's hard to keep up with unless you are wrenching on the thing every single weekend. U-joints, carrier bearings, power steering racks, power steering pumps, body mounts, steering linkages, radiator mount/headlight mount/core support issues, etc.

I spend 2-3 days a month offroading the truck and a full day each month working on it, on average.

 

And i have zero problem doing that. I fully understand the maintenance and upkeep needed with Long Travel, and i have a good job and plenty of free time to do it and pay for it.

I dont really understand why you would bring physics in to this, obviously nothing is going to negate the physics of anything, but properly building a truck and having the correct things strengthened, as well as properly tuned shocks that do help negate strain on compenents will definitely help throw that heavy truck along at 50 mph down a rough road

 

I would drive my truck everyday if it wasnt for the shitty gas mileage I get with 35s and 4.88s

 

I DD mine cause I run into shit all the time....damn curbs are everywhere these days

 

I daily drive a 3.5 total chaos kit on 285s and it's really not that bad. Not even that loud either, I don't think you'll be bothered by daily driving a +2 kit.

 

DD mine over 180 kms (130m) a day. Rides like butter. A butter rock truck. But it tracks true and my turning radius is actually better than stock. One tip though if you do LT (Or someone down the road finds this thread), get matching spacers for the rear. If you drive on roads that semi's have been on lots and they've put ruts in the asphalt, the different tracks of the front and rear tires will cause you to go everywhere. So get 1.75"-2" spacers for the rear.

 

Well, matching spacers would be 3.5" spacers, wouldnt they lol?

 

2"ers look reallllly close on a 3.5

 

I'm gonna start with 1.5" and see how much my fab guy can cram a 3.0 in there (big frame notch too), hopefully no rubbing

 

I had LT front and rear on my last Ranger and really liked it but there's 2 things to remember, you're going to have way, way more body roll, especially if you try to corner hard and your turn radius will likely go to shit. I had horizontal mounted uniballs and the Ranger had a wider turn radius than my dad's F250. This made parking a pain in the ass some times requiring more adjustments and room to make it into a space than in regular vehicles.

My shocks were tuned well enough I never had to slow down for dips or pot holes and just flew across them like I was on a cloud. Also being as wide as a lot of LT kits are, maneuvering in tight traffic can be a little unnerving.

 

You mean stock spindle and ball joints? The uniball is going to either limit turn radius or travel, one way or the other, it's just the design of them. Stock spindles are fine for the occasional off roading adventure with some whoops, and minor bumps but anything like Plaster City or Barstow Main will destroy them and the ball joints in short order unless you're keeping it under 15 mph.

 

No, I mean anyone running OEM replacement stuff whether it be ball joint or uniball. and the reference was because his fabbed spindle and UCA are now horizontal versus vertical, so it limits turn radius. And there are plenty of guys running around on stock GUSSETED OEM spindles out in bartsow main and such, doing just fine.