1st gen Tundra tell me about your shocks and suspension.

[Squatch]

The time is coming to upgrade the shocks on my '06 Tundra Crewcab. I'm curious to see what others are running.

Currently I have Firestone airbags, Helwig rear sway bar and E rated Cooper STMAXX tires. Otherwise the truck is stock.

I'm toying with replacing or adding to the rear springs as the camper stays in the truck most of the time.

One of the problems is that most of the aftermarket addons are for empty truck off roading. Not hauling campers and towing.

I was thinking about going with the combo of Bilstein 6112 fronts coliovers and 5160 rear shocks. But further reading tells me that these use a softer spring than stock. Not really what I'm looking for when hauling the camper. I'd actually like to upgrade a little in weight capacity if i'm replacing the front springs.

I intend to call Bilstein soon.

I'm not really looking for lift. No more than an inch anyway.

So tell me what you have and if you are happy with it!

 

[Squatch]

I spoke with someone in the tech dept at Bilstein. They said stick with the 5100 not the 6112 for hauling the camper. The valving for the 6112/5160 is more for off roading. The 5100 is more for controlling heavy loads.

I'm still interested in other options you may have tried.

 

[Vic Harder]

i've got 5100's on my 2002 GMC 2500HD with Hawk camper. It is slightly under-damped, meaning that wallows in the road are felt as being slightly too slow to recover. But just barely. Otherwise, she handles great...

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi Squatch
I talked with Bilsteen rep at the Overland expo for a while. On our 250 he recommended 5100 in front and I think 5600 in rear. I don’t recall why the 5600
But what he said made sense at the time. I do remember that the fronts and rears where different. Based on dirt roads and highways.

Russ

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

When I first purchased my Bobcat it was mounted on a Ford Ranger and I went with the Supersprings they seemed to work well. After changing the camper to a 2002 Tundra AC TRD I went with the Firestone Air Bags.
I like them better,truck rides nice I don't seem to have any issues with how it handles.
I stay mostly to highways or forest roads and with airbags I can adjust the camper to site conditions.
Frank

 

[Lighthawk]

Bilsteen 5100's all around with Helwig sway bar in rear, plus Firestone airbags and BFG AT tires.
Some wallowing, as Vic described. My biggest complaint is when the front comes off a rock and needs to rapidly expand the shock, which feels nearly percussive sometimes.

 

[PokyBro]

I installed 5100's on my F250 this summer, and have been very pleased. Greater stability on highway curves, and much better on washboard dirt roads than the previous Monroe's that were on the truck. Installation was pretty easy as well.

 

[SunMan]

I've ran Rancho RS9000s on my 2006 Tundra for the better part of 10 years along with Firestone RideRight air bags. i would typically blow the fronts out every one or two years depending on how many washboard miles I drove ( and how fast!). The Shocks are warrantied for life (as are Bilsteins I believe) so the bright side is free replacement shocks, the down side is you still need to pay for install. About two years ago I got fed up ponied up for some Kings up front, still using the original ranchos in the rear. I was happy for the most part with the Ranchos but wish I'd started running the Kings sooner as they would have paid for themselves a long time ago.

 

[Squatch]

Thanks good food for thought.

 

[Beach]

I started with a 2006 tundra and installed Bilstein 4600s in the rear with super springs overload leaf. If I had to do the springs over I would get new HD spring packs. The shocks work very well. I have a f250 now.

 

[rruff]

I've ran Rancho RS9000s on my 2006 Tundra for the better part of 10 years along with Firestone RideRight air bags. i would typically blow the fronts out every one or two years depending on how many washboard miles I drove ( and how fast!). The Shocks are warrantied for life (as are Bilsteins I believe) so the bright side is free replacement shocks, the down side is you still need to pay for install. About two years ago I got fed up ponied up for some Kings up front, still using the original ranchos in the rear. I was happy for the most part with the Ranchos but wish I'd started running the Kings sooner as they would have paid for themselves a long time ago.

How often did they fail? You need to rebuild Kings every 30k miles or so, which is going to cost a couple hundred $ plus removal, shipping, and installation.

 

[SunMan]

Valid point. My kings have well over 30k now and are still solid, my 4x4 guy said parts are ~$7.00 for rebuild, not sure what he will charge me for the work when the time comes, but he will do it locally so no shipping hassle or major down time.

 

[Lighthawk]

i would typically blow the fronts out every one or two years depending on how many washboard miles I drove ( and how fast!).

I've seen how fast you come up in my rear view mirror.

 

[rruff]

Valid point. My kings have well over 30k now and are still solid, my 4x4 guy said parts are ~$7.00 for rebuild, not sure what he will charge me for the work when the time comes, but he will do it locally so no shipping hassle or major down time.

That's a good deal! Some advantages to living in the city.

I've been considering the fancy coilovers, but the anecdotes I've gathered so far indicate they generally need a rebuild because they leak, and this usually happens sooner than it does for non rebuildable twin tube shocks. The cheap shocks will die quickly if they overheat though.

 

[azcamper]

I have a 2006 Tundra with original shocks, airbags and E rated tires. Had to do about 20 miles of washboard last week and it was not fun. Well getting into the Fossil Creek wilderness area in Northern AZ was fun but I'm thinking that it might be good to upgrade my suspension. I was also surprised how loose my turnbuckles got after that.

I've been thinking of upgrading to the 5100 Bilsteins as well.If I have them installed I'll try and report back.

 

[rruff]

For washboard airing down seems to have the biggest effect, plus finding that "sweet spot" for speed.

 

[Lighthawk]

i would typically blow the fronts out every one or two years depending on how many washboard miles I drove ( and how fast!). The Shocks are warrantied for life (as are Bilsteins I believe) so the bright side is free replacement shocks, the down side is you still need to pay for install.

I just replaced the front tires this morning and noticed I have a blown seal on front drivers shock. The Bilsteen 5100's I have are about six years old with nearly 60k on them. So, I think I'll replace them with another set from Summit Racing for $104 each.

I looked at the warranty and it excludes off road use, those weenies.

ThyssenKrupp Bilstein of America warrants its gas pressure shocks against defects in material and workmanship to the original purchaser, as long as the original purchaser owns the car they were installed on. Using the shocks for off-road or racing, using the shocks on a modified vehicle that Bilstein does not make a specific shock application for, or the improper installation, use, or abuse of the shocks will void this warranty.

 

[SunMan]

Andy,
I think Gene Rubin made a post about that warranty a couple of years ago too. Rancho may have that same clause but my 4x4 guy has a good relationship with them so I've had no problems with free replacements.

 

[Squatch]

I just spoke with a local spring shop in Baltimore. He said he could rebuild my packs and add 2 new leaves to each. Which should add a bit over 1,000 lbs of extra capacity. Real custom leaf springs not add-a-leaf. Change my packs from 3+1 to 5+1.Same day for around $650 installed. I might have to check this out. Seems like a better idea than having springs shipped from out west.

After I posted the above I spoke with Deaver again. Nice quote that was just a bit higher than the above plus shipping. This is for 2 new complete spring packs 1,000lb higher than stock and no lift. Comes with new factory rubber bushings installed. Also a nice option. Now I just need to decide.

The local shop said his solution would add some lift. Not really looking for that.

 

[turbothrush]

Have you considered making up some removeable wedges to engage the factory overloads sooner. Kind of the same idea as what the stable-loads do. You already have the airbags which will allow you to raise the truck up so you can install the wedges. Then air down the bags.

i have a gen 1 Tundra and before i installed the wedges i needed 90 psi in the bags to hold up my 1000 lb camper. Now i only need 20 lbs to bring the truck back to original height. Just a thought..