Anyone tried Timbrens?

[ETAV8R]

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I'm running timbrens on the back of my Tacoma. But it is a non standard setup. I have old man emu heavy duty leaf springs, with an extra leaf, and an overload removed. I have a u bolt plate above the axle, and my timbren plate is bolted on top with two bolts. Meaning I can unload the camper and remove the timbrens with only two bolts per side, so I don't deal with them all the time. I'm also running a taller and softer timbren to maintain a good ride quality. However my main reason for using these instead of air bags is off road use. My truck is lifted with longer shocks, and there is no worry about over extended or bottoming out like there are with air bags. The only real downside for me is that I'm unable to use the last 1.5" or so of suspension travel due to the way they're setup. This would be the same thing with airbags and brackets. I think I'm going to commit to leaving the camper on the truck full time soon, so I will be buying a custom spring pack from deaver which is really the best way to do it.

Having said all that, I wouldn't hesitate to run airbags on a full size truck again as I have in the past. It is a very simple and effective setup. You can inflate them with a hand pump and adjust your ride height very easily. If you're not using the truck heavily off road I definitely wouldn't have a concern about them at all.

Sounds like what I'd like to do.
I definitely want Timbrens for my Tacoma. I have OME set up front and back and find the rear is sagging with a fully loaded Finch Shell. If I were to do it over again I'd get the Allpro custom built leaf pack with Timbrens. I've only heard good things about them.

 

[Squatch]

Do you have the extra rear leaf? It's my understanding that OME makes an extra leaf that can be added for most Dakar spring packs.

 

[ETAV8R]

No extra leaf. Most of the time my truck is w/o camper and it is quite high in the back.

 

[fatmab]

Late to the party but I thought I would chime in. I have Timbren's in the rear on my '07 2500HD 4x4/Hawk combo. I've been very happy with them. They helped with sag and side to side roll. Stabilizes really quickly after bumps on the highway too.

 

[adamdrummer]

I just completed a suspension upgrade on my 2012 TRD Tacoma. I have a ATC Bobcat on the truck pretty much full time. I had OME Dakar springs installed when I got the truck last year. This week I installed both front and rear Superbumps and Icon 2.0 rear shocks from Wheelers Off Road. They were really helpful in giving advice to a newbie like me and gave me the confidence that I could do the install myself!

Overall it took about 4 hours to do the full install. If I had to do it again, it would take half the time! The hardest part was getting the front bump stop on since the spacing was real tight. I had to jack up the truck on each side. And the allen wrench Wheelers provided was too long to fit in the space so I had to trim it down. The rear bumps were easy to install. It was a simple unbolt of the springs u bolts, remove the stock bumps and then replace with the Wheelers and then torque down the bolts.

While I can't give a true assessment of the upgrades, I can already tell by driving around on Bend's abusurdly potholed roads that the upgrades were worth it. My camper feels more stable in the back and I'm not getting the "bouncy" rebounds when I hit a hole.

I drive several thousand miles year on dirt roads in the Mojave for work plus lots of highway driving from Oregon down to the desert. I found that my camper was having a lot of bounce in the rear and hard hits in the front and rear when the roads got rougher.

I went with the Wheelers vs the Timbrens because of cost and reviews. The Wheelers set was easily $200 cheaper overall.

I've attached a few pics.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[ETAV8R]

Those look great and I think I've changed my mind after speaking to a friend who says the wheelers bumpstops and bilstein shocks/struts made his off-road travels much better.

 

[SCUD]

I've been using Timbren SES #GMRCC (55 durometer) in the rear of my 2008 GMC 4WD Colorado (extended cab, Z71, 6' bed) for several years. It hauled my Harley Ultra Classic (950# wet) on a 6" high Load-All 8' box & ramp to Arizona & back with no problems. The vertical CG was probably about 30" above the bed, and horizontal CG was behind the rear axle. GVW is 5300#, but with me, bike, gear, fuel, cooler, water & camping gear we hit the scales from 5500 to 5600. No real off-roading, other than some unimproved roads, but it sat level & stable on the freeway.

1500# of gravel has been transported with no problems. The Timbrens feel very progressive to me, with no bounce, loaded or unloaded. The ride when loaded is more firm, but still comfortable. The stock 265/75-15 tires probably help with ride comfort as well, even when inflated over suggested pressure.

The bike is gone, and I have a 2016 FWC Fleet shell on order. We did a trial fit with a 959# Fleet shell at American RV in Tigard, Oregon and it sat level. Shims were used to keep the shell above the top of the bed walls, so the unit was ordered with a "lift", and I have no idea how much weight that will add. The camper is not scheduled until October for delivery. I'll get back to this thread after that to let you know how it goes.

#GMRCC.........

Scott