looking for suspension suggestions

My closest place is the N GA mountains. We stay mostly at primitive campgrounds off FSR roads, so not real rough to get to. And since getting the Rally, I have learned all about Gaia I've got some buddies that are new to bikes, so we're gonna try and do the Smokey Mountain 500. We got to do the Big Frog Loop and some of the FSR in AL a few weeks ago.

 

that looks like a lot of fun!
i've never done any off roading on a bike that was made for it... only bike i've ever taken off road is this one, only on a few unmaintained county roads, and it was pretty dicey.. lol.

 

Hey all
Ok... been a while since I started this thread... life got in the way, and suspension was put on back burner.
After looking at a bunch of stuff, I kinda made up my mind that the 8112/8100 setup was what I really wanted. The capabilities are awesome, but was mostly interested in the 100k before needing service.
Super expensive tho, so I gotta wait on that.

As of today.. I'm on the original trd or shocks with over 150k miles.
Adding the sliders and bumper a while back was noticeable.
Front end is 19in from hub to fender, rear is 21. Rear does sink considerably with weight.

Right now, I have a chance to put on a set of 2022 trd pros with 3600mi.
Fronts have a westcott lift,so I'll want to put that back to stock. Was thinking I'd do the deaver u402 when I did the shocks (not sure if stage 1 or 2.. I do have the sliders and a mid rise shell, and usually add about 400lbs plus when we go camping).

Does anyone have input on the pro suspension?
I don't blast through fire roads or deserts. Our favorite place is around bowman lake, and that's super rocky and slow going.
Most of the time, this is a work truck that hauls a bunch of tools and materials.

I would like to get something with compression adjusters, but again... expensive.
I can have these for 4-500 bucks.

Still want to save for the bilsteins, but these would get me through the next couple of summers.

So... any input?
Thanks.

 

I'm not sure I agree here...

I have RXT leafs on mine set on option 1 (normally I run empty, to with maybe 300lbs of camping gear)...
A few times now I've put my truck to work hauling loads of fresh-cut (still green) firewood with the wood piled to (or even above) the top of my 6' longbed (so probably 1K lbs at least). While it gets fairly close to the bump stops (an inch or so), it's definitely not buried on them (and with the adjusters on my Fox shocks turned up, nor does it slam against them, so long as I slow to 25 or so for those large drainage dips at some intersections).

The occasional 800lb load with the RXTs on option 2 should be even less concern (I take "occasional" here to mean short trips within town 1-2× a year to maybe once every other month... Maybe OP can clarify).

As for the Pro suspension, I don't have personal experience, but it should be much better than any of the lesser TRD suspensions. However it doesn't give you any adjustability for varying loads (as in my example above) or for having a bit more "fun" off road but then wanting to dial it back down a bit for the street.
I run Fox with the DSC adjusters, and no doubt I've found them extremely handy to have.

 

I do remodeling, building, tiling...so it's not uncommon for me to be hauling a 150lb tile saw, several 60lb bags of mortar, a bunch of tile, 800lbs of lumber....

The stock springs were fine when I got the truck, but they're pretty well shot now.

And yeah, I'd LOVE to get some shocks with adjusters... but that's down the line, and I can pick the pros up for cheap now.

 

In that case I'd probably lean toward Dobinsons leafs then... Reason being it appears they include thicker overload leaves at the bottom (in a way similar to the OEM springs) which the RXTs don't have. This helps carry weight loads that often vary (when the spring compresses and the OL leaf makes contact, it progressively stiffens the whole pack). Only downside to this would be if you go offroad a lot, the OL leaf can restrict your uptravel to some degree. Not a big deal though if you're not rock crawling or doing things that twist up the suspension.

If you can get the Pro shocks cheap, then go for it.

 

no.. don't do much serious crawling.
the roads around bowman lake are paved with softball sized plus granite rocks, and that's about as much as we do when we go camping.
we did the last trip on the original shocks with 150k on them, but it was also slow going.

funny, i came out of the grocery today, and a 2019 pro had parked next to me.
i waited until he came out to ask about it.
he said that he had a 2in spacer lift on it. all i could see was how much higher his truck was than mine.
i'm guessing with the added lift of the 2022 pro shocks, it might be close to the same?

just made me think of my 4'10" tall girlfriend, and how i was going to need to pack a stepladder for her to get into it.....

 

Yeah you should be completely fine then.

You're not thinking of a 2" spacer lift together with the Pro shocks on yours, are you? Wouldn't advise that if you are... Not just because its a cheap spacer lift, but also because with Pro shocks, you'd actually be at 3" lift (2" spacer + the factory 1" of the Pro shocks).
More than 2" lift tends to rip up CV boots and stresses the steering rack more. Some here might push things to 2.5", but almost no one knowing runs more than that unless it's with a complete suspension kit that has the drop-down brackets for the lower control arms & axle housing (which allows 4-6" lift w/o issue). That's likely much more than you need though, given your use case (your GF will probably also thank you for not lifting it that high too).

 

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about.
The westcott is a 1.5in lift, above what I'd get by just putting the 2022 Pro shocks on.
I'm thinking that before I install, I find someone who wants a westcott lift, and just swap them for their stock collars.

Also thinking that the weight of my bumper, winch, and sliders is going to pull it down a bit.
It definitely brought my stock suspension down, and it rides ridiculously rough.

 

The shocks I'm getting already have the westcott installed, and he doesn't have the stock collars anymore.

 

With your bumper, winch & stuff, you'd probably be OK with the 1.5" atop the Pro lift then (assuming it's a ¾" thick spacer). The weight should suck it down at least half-inch, maybe a bit more. You certainly don't want to be as tall as the one that parked next to you though.

 

I'm more worried about the preload on the shocks killing comfort.
From what I understand, they should already be 700lb springs, which should be more than enough on their own.

 

Thanks for posting on this topic. Just recently learned that I've got a saggy rear suspension to deal with and this was helpful. Nice looking truck

 

Preload doesn't actually change the rate (stiffness) of the springs (it'll still be 700lbs-in. if that's what they are), what it changes is where at (how high) the suspension will sit within it's travel range when the truck's weight is on it. Any changes in ride quality will be from changes in the suspension's geometry (steepness of the control arm angles) and/or reaching the suspension's travel limits (cutting off part of it's travel response, usually it's downtravel).

However I think that if you threw them on w/o the spacers, you'd end up real close to the original stock height for yours (the weight of your bumper & winch canceling out much of the 1" Pro lift). If that's what you're after, then certainly no problems should come from it. I guess i read your comment asking about the truck next to you as if you wanted to have some lift on yours.

 

Thanks!
i've been putting this off for too long, and wanted to get something done before our trip to shasta/trinity this fall.

that's another concern i have with the westcott lift and the trd pros.... being an internal bypass, they need to be in the right spot to work properly, yes?
wouldn't a preload lift affect how the bypass functions?

i don't mind a bit of a lift... my skids did get a workout the last time we went to bowman, and i'd like a little more clearance...
i just don't want it to be as drastic as the guy who parked next to me yesterday.

 

700 lb springs up front and springs rated 700-800 lb constant in the rear with room for more, something like stage III deavers. I've got a semi-hidden bumper up front and a 10k warn, and i went with 650s into my 6112's (come w/ 600s) and it isnt enough so i'm undersprung in the front. Also undersprung in the rear too with the cap, drawers, etc shoulda gone stage 3 instead of 2 deavers hah

got some life left in my current shocks so gonna run those out and redo everything in 1 shot

 

that's kinda nuts... guess i shouldn't worry about being oversprung on 700lb coils.
i probably only have 350-400lbs constant in the rear (shell, full size spare, sliders, and my everyday tool bags).
also looking to do everything in one shot. i have new toyota lca's and cam bolts i bought last black friday, uca's come with the shocks, need the new leaf packs, and also have a pair of oem front wheel hubs i've been sitting on for a few years just in case (might be time at 160k).
will do the ecgs bushing as well.
i want to have as much new or replaced as is reasonable, so that i don't have to worry about it later.

 

If I was to guess, the bumper weight (with or without a 1.5" (¾" thick) lift spacer) wouldn't be enough to put the shocks close to their bypass zone(s) (I'm thinking that would be within the last two inches or so of travel at the wheel... Maybe someone can confirm).

Yeah 700lbs is very typical for those with a lot of weight hanging off the front (lots of guys with King & Fox (aftermarket) shocks run those). You'll be fine. Don't overthink it.

 

these are the fronts, with the westcott lift on them.
kinda looks like a 1/2in top spacer on there.
if i removed the top spacer, then i should get an inch less lift, no?

Well, picking them up in 10min... so no point in worrying now!
Lol

 

Oh, whoops... That's not the spacer style I was thinking (spacer being between the top-hat and the coil, meaning you would have to disassemble the coil from the shock to install/remove the spacer).
Yeah those look like common above-top-hat spacers. You can easily get rid of those for sure (looks like one shock already has it missing anyway).

½" = 1" lift is correct. (it's actually closer to 1.9:1 ratio, so... yeah)