What makes for a smoother ride with the prerunner?

Hey guys, finally got back in a truck, picked up a 04 double cab taco and I'm already a big fan, but it's my commuting car as well as my hauler and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make the ride a little smoother. With the prerunner (no TRD) it feels like the truck relays every bump in the road. I'm interested in getting a camper shell for it and a couple people I've talked to said the shell will help balance the truck and smooth out the ride a lot. Any experience or suggestions with that or anything else would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

what kind of tires are you running? a good tire will help more than anything.

 

Ironman Radial A/P - 265/70R16

They're new tires, the dealership I bought the truck from had just put them on, maybe they just need to be broken in a little more. I was considering the camper shell before I started realizing how bumpy the ride was. Will the shell help? Cause if not I might wait till the tacoma gets redesigned in a couple years and go for a new truck all together.

 

How many miles are on the shocks?? You may be due for some new ones.That would help alot w/the ride.

 

Get some Icon for shocks. They were much smoother than my 5100's
http://www.iconvehicledynamics.org/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23_44_75&products_id=189

 

The truck has about 74,000 miles on it, so new shocks are in it's near future. I think I still might get the camper shell too. Thanks for the help, I'll look into that, any other suggestions would be great.

 

With or without the shell,some new shocks should fix you right up.

 

I think the prerunner rides pretty smooth for a "truck." Don't forget it's a truck. It won't ride as smooth as a car. You could always let a little air outta the tires too. That'll lessen the severity of the ride a lot.

 

The shell, as any substantial weight in the bed, will help take some of the bounce out of the rear end. You can get the soft coils from OME and new shocks, that may help too. Tires make a big difference. I have BFG AT's which are really stiff. Drop some air pressure and see what that does.

 

Get some bilstein 5100 shocks. they helped alot.

 

In my 2002 I hauled a rim and tire for my dad from Louisiana to Texas, smoothest my truck ever road. It was a 17" steel rim with a 35x12.5 Hercules or something along the lines of that name.

 

The more weight, the smoother the ride.


LOL, my wife calls my truck a Boobie Bouncer.....