Replacing shocks/struts. Want a smoother ride on TRD

Would it be stupid to put something a bit softer on my TRD? I have a 70 mile commute on BFG AT's. I'm at 129k miles on the original suspension. The ride is annoyingly rough now. I'm gonna replace them but with minimal offroad time I'm wondering if I could get additional ride comfort back by not going with a replacement that would be so similar to the stock for the TRD.

Thoughts? Info? Experience?

Thanks

 

129K miles on your factory shocks? No wonder your ride is bumpy.

 

The simplest excuse I have for it is that I put things off because I don't have a garage. Them I end up doing it in the driveway anyway.

 

If you put BFG KO2s on your stock TRD wheels, then you bought E-load tires. E-load tires cause a rough ride and are not recommended for our trucks. Not to mention they are very heavy. They are designed for full size 1-ton pickups.

Tire ride quality goes:
P>C>D>E

The truck came with P-load tires.

Is your ride harsh or to soft. Usually worn out shocks will compress to easily making the ride soft and bouncy, not what I would consider "rough".

 

The ride is harsh. I've read harsh and soft are both symptoms of worn out shocks, depending on the conditions. I've had these tires for 25,000 miles, and had Terra Grapplers for 50,000 miles before the BFG's. The BFG's are actually a better ride than the Nitto's were. The ride has gone downhill quite a bit over the last 5-10,000 miles though. I feel every bump in the road like I'm sitting on a skateboard, and at highway speeds if I hit a significant pothole (or as they've been doing lately, a way-too-aggressive asphalt patch) it feels like my rear tires come off the ground. It's pretty unsteady. Now just to be totally up front, my bed has some loose bolts. I don't know if you saw a recent thread I started, but it was a nightmare trying to get them tightened down. I'm positive the bulk of the rattling is the bed, but the ride is still pretty rough. It's gotten bad enough that it's pretty irritating to hit a bump.

I'm gonna take it in and let someone get the bed fully tightened before I do anything else. I just don't have the time to fight with it. I have so much else going on right now it'd be worth a few bucks to let someone else take care of it. I talked myself out of buying a new truck this morning, but decided I need to put about a grand into it for some updates, upgrades, and a few more horsepower.

 

What PSI are you running in your tires? If you've been to a Toyota dealership then chances are high that they over-inflated your tires, which would definitely contribute to the harshness.

 

I run them at 30. I had them rotated a couple weeks ago so I haven't checked to see what they put them in. That's a good idea to check and I'll do it. It was a rough ride before that though.

 

if you shake your truck by hand does it keep shaking after you stop, if so it's usually the shocks...you can get some take offs for cheap on here and just swap them in. Some come with new coils too and a top hat for ~$200 and the work can be done in 2h max

 

I'll go shake it in a bit..LOL. What are take offs?

I just really need to get some things shored up on it if I'm gonna keep it. I could REALLY use 4 doors though. My kids are 7 and 9 and both are almost the freakin tallest in their classes. I don't have to cart them around a ton, but that access cab is pretty uncomfortable for them.

I just really, really like my $260/month payment and only owing 3k on it.

 

Shocks are worn out sounds like you need to trade in your truck (sarcasm). If you are seriously thinking about trading the truck in don't worry about it. If you are keeping it you can buy stock shocks on here that someone took off their truck so they could put on a lift. Look in the classifieds. In your situation it wouldn't be a bad idea to have 4 doors with kids that age getting older. Just a thought.

 

Aha..take offs. Got it. That's a good idea.

I'm gonna think on it more tonight. I definitely wouldn't pump cash into it before a trade.

 

With 2 growing kids I would seriously consider the double cab. They are only going to grow more and the truck is going to become less comfortable and may require a double cab later anyway. I switched from an AC to the double cab for that reason and don't regret it, the extra space is great.

 

I would go dclb if I did it. I'm not a fan of the looks of the dcsb. I like my Tacoma but I'm looking at other brands in a full size too.