Rear Shock relocation

I've seen the various threads where people have done a rear shock relocation mod from either; the BAMF kit (the cross member section with multiple spots to mount your shocks to) and the DIY setup that consists of a custom cross member section and one spot to mount the top of your shocks.

Unfortunately, I don't have the tools or know how to make my own crossmember, and I only plan on learning how to weld in the next year. The BAMF kit would be perfect but it's no longer available.

I'm posting this thread because I'm curious about a different setup that's available - Anyone familiar with it?

 

Depends on the type of wheeling you do. IMO, the BAMF kit (which I was also sad to see that it's no longer available) is better for articulation because you can run longer shocks without cutting into the bed. But it doesn't dampen wheel movement quite as well, so it's better for slow rock crawling type stuff. The slower you go, the less vital damping becomes. I had this type of setup on my 1st gen 4Runner and it worked well for the type of wheeling I do, but definitely had body lean on the road. My cross member was just a 1.5" tube welded between the frame, with holes drilled for the mounting bolts.

I remember seeing a thread fairly recently from a guy that did the outside the frame rail conversion on his first gen. iirc, the guy had to run wheel spacers and even then the shocks were still extremely close to the tires and to the frame. Too close for my comfort...

 

There's going to be nearly as much work with that Wheeler's kit as there is doing a custom cross member. I mean, the only extra thing you'll need with custom is the ability to cut a piece of round tube. And for that, all you need is a sawzall...

Personally, I'd save about $400 and do the custom way. That'll buy you a welder to do it even.

Couple things that might be useful for you:

How-To: Toyota Tacoma Rear Shock Relocation - Determining Leaf Spring Cycle and Mount Positioning
You can print this out and have a guide as to what you need in order to do the mod.

Tacoma Rear Shock Relocation - Fabrication...and Failure
My story, where I didn't correctly follow the steps above, which resulted in re-doing the work with a bit more TW-provided knowledge under my belt. (which I covered in https://adventuretaco.com/tacoma-rear-shock-relocation-scrapping-the-first-attempt-and-trying-again/)

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That's just a total chaos kit, which will still require welding. There's a few people on here that run them.

I'm not a fan of running shocks outside the frame on a 1st gen. There's just not enough room to make it work. You'll end up rubbing the shock even with tires sticking out way past your fenders. I would only consider them if you're running 265 or narrower tires, or have a wider axle than stock.

Archive garage recently came out with a similar kit, and they have a thread with some good discussion on running shocks outside the frame.

I would recommend the DIY route and follow @turbodb 's writeup. It's not a very difficult fabrication project, and if done right will offer you more performance than even a dialed mid travel front can deliver.

 

I'm running the Total Chaos outboard kit. Check out my build thread.

I don't rub the shocks with 285 tires, 2.125'' shocks, and 1.25'' wheel spacers.

 

What kind of difference did you notice in the way it rides on/off road? Were you able to discern characteristics between the relocation and the overall upgrade to a better shock?

 

I'd guess that's pretty hard to discern. Looking at his project, he changed all the variables at once, so kind of impossible to tell which variable made the most difference.

That said, shocks will typically be the primary place you see the most improvements. Just adding upgraded shocks in the stock location will be a HUGE improvement. Relocating them is really just a way to squeeze out a little bit more performance for some situations, like wanting to get more wheel travel.

 

The relocation didn't move the shock mounts all that much. What it did allow was for slightly longer shocks - 10" vs. the standard ~8" or so.

As such, the shocks themselves are the place I see the difference. I get a bit more travel, but it's not like I'm flexing a ton further than I did previously.

 

They're talking about 1st gens. Totally different animal.

 

2nd gen and therefore irrelevant to what works on a 1st gen.

 

You did move your shocks into a parallel configuration (both leaning back) instead of the fore-aft configuration like stock. That's a fairly major change, but I believe this change is more likely to affect axle wrap than overall handling.

 

Exactly. A bigger change handling wise would have been outboarding the frame, or doing a / \ configuration - those would have affected stability/roll more than what I did.

 

@dlo13 should edit your post to delete those pics?

Thanks to everyone else for posting on here; as I mentioned I will learn to weld in the year to come so either a cross member, or mounting outside of the frame, will require welding and I understand that.

With that being said, my use won't be rock crawling at all. Just want to gain some more travel during the slower drives when we're out doing some dispersed camping.

Just trying to get talked into one way or another...

 

Here's Archive's kit for outboard the frame rails, more affordable and giving more travel than a TC kit. Wheel spacers required and low offset wheels recommended. The bump spacers in install pic are not required.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-shock-relocation-2-5-outside-frame-rails.573407/

 

I think I was the last guy to get the BAMF shock relocation bracket. He had one left and it had a minor defect resulting in a discount.

That said, It works pretty well, but the holes used for adjusting the shocks don't allow for enough compression (Mounted more l l than / \ ) I'm running a 12" Fox and in order to get the shaft sitting at close to 6" of compression and 6" of rebound, I can't use the outer most holes. So the inner holes are all I can use. If I try to use the next set I'm left with around 3" compression and 9" of rebound.

The full custom route will be the best way to go. You can cycle the suspension and be sure to get the most travel out of your shocks that way...

 

If you had to do this all over again would you still go this route? I’m looking to purchase ADS 2.5” coilovers with remote reservoir and clicker for the front from Headstrong Off-road. Hopefully they go on sale. For the rears, I’m guessing I need to special order the 2.5” shocks with welded lower rod end directly from ADS?

 

If I had to do this again, I’d do exactly the same thing.

In fact, I did do it again on @Digiratus truck, and he’s enjoying it as well as far as I know. He setup there is the same, though he got clickers and bypasses on his 10” shocks.

Mike also got clickers in front, but he got them from MCM I’d recommend that route for you too, as Matt provides nice brackets and a good mounting solution for the front resis.

 

You’re definitely the inspiration for what I want to accomplish. I’ll check out MCM. I’m also going to use your guide to do the Tundra brake swap.

Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex and don’t know how to weld so I’m going to have to pay someone to do that part.

 

Yeah, no shop can be tough, and makes it hard to learn something like welding. Luckily, it's a pretty easy job, so you should have no trouble finding someone to do it.

And by all means - reach out if you have questions about the Tundra upgrade, or want to grab a brake line kit.

 

How much would it cost for your help?