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Suspension for 2017 Tacoma and FWC Fleet Shell


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#1 lactic

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 12:10 AM

I have been researching this topic for 2 days straight, read almost every thread on suspension, and I have changed my mind 10 different times!

 

I have a stock 2017 Tacoma DCLB and I am picking up a FWC Fleet shell next month and I plan on using the Firestone ride Right airbags with the Daystar cradles which I already have. I thought I was going to do the OME HD struts, 886 springs, and HD Dakar leafs but I have concerns about the front strut top out clunk and the limited articulation with the rear struts. 

 

This has led me to the following setup.

 

Fox Level 2 kit-

2.5 Fox extended front coils (no remote reservoir)

LR UCAs

2.0 Fox rear struts with remote reservior and compression dampening

OME HD Dakar leafs

 

www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p193/FOX_Level_2_Kit_w%2F_OME_Dakar_Leaf_Packs_-_05__Tacoma.html

 

Does anyone have any feedback, suggestions, or recommendations with this or a similar setup with a Tacoma/FWC camper that will stay on the truck approximately 90% of the time?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

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#2 Scott81621

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 01:18 AM

I have a 2010 Tacoma DCLB with a Fleet shell and Firestone Airbags.  Stock suspension and the truck handles the weight no problem.  I can cruse 90 on the highway with no handling issues. 

 

My only other upgrade would be to the stock shocks, BUT I would not want to make my lift any higher, as I think the is detrimental for the handling.

 

My two cents!


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#3 takesiteasy

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 01:43 AM

We have a 2011 Access cab TRD Off-road and an ATC shell camper. I'm not sure how the 2011 truck compares to the 2017 so this might all be irrelevant.

 

The truck has the stock TRD Off-road suspension (with the factory extra leaf). We do not have air bags. The truck carries the camper without any issues for the most part. We have had some porposing on a couple of roads but it has not been at all common or enough to cause me to upgrade the suspension. As the shocks near the end of their useful life I am considering some upgrades similar to what you are proposing. I would not be interested in any additional lift other than what is already built into the TRD package, which is 2 inches I believe.

 

You might consider loading the camper and trying it out with just the air bags and see how it goes before spending a bunch of money on the suspension. You can always do it later if necessary.


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2011 Tacoma AC TRD
ATC Custom Shell

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#4 James T Kirk

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 05:09 PM

You can check out what I recently did here

 

-Kirk Out


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#5 rando

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 05:25 PM

One thing to keep in mind is that with a 1000lb + of camper and gear on board you are not going to be a rock crawling, desert racing machine.   Relatively speaking, you will be a lumbering beast.  Extended travel and extra articulation are probably less important than longevity and maybe adjustability to dial in the damping for the heavy load.   I would go with Scott in that you want to avoid lift - you are going to be top heavy and tippy with the camper, extra lift or squishy long travel suspension will just make this worse.  

I have a 2016 Tacoma with a Fleet Flatbed (heavier than a shell) and I have OME Dakars with the extra leaf in the back, OME BP51 shocks and airbags/cradles for fine adjustments.   I dialed the front BP-51s down to the lowest preload/lift and still ended up a little higher than I would have liked.   I have also had two failures related to the BP-51s in ~10K miles, so I would not fully endorse these.  If i were to do this again, I would likely just use the standard  stiff OME shocks to save significant money and for higher reliability.   The FOX shocks seem to have similar issues with reliability and the need for frequent rebuilds. 


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2016 Fleet Flatbed

2016 Toyota Tacoma


#6 nikonron

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 06:04 PM

I have a 2009 Tacoma access cab, Eagle shell. I'm pretty light on the camper itself but have ARB front bumper w/winch, rear swing away bumper and full skid plates and sliders.I'm running Icon coilovers and OME Dakars w/ extra leaf and sit level and handles fine. No air bags and I don't need them. I'm probably lifted 2 inches.Just did the Maze in Canyonlands, so yes you can do some pretty rough trails. The key is slow and deliberate. I'm a very cautious driver.  Ron


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#7 ETAV8R

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 06:11 PM

OME fail far too often.

Since they are standard with all TRD Off-road models and people try to use the trucks stock for off-road travel there are lots of people who have had them fail. Usually from overheating. I personally know of three people in addition to myself that had them fail. These were all trucks carrying camping loads. There have been several recent posts about people wanting to know about options for Tacomas.

 

Here's a good clip showing what can happen to different types of shocks/struts with no load.

 


Edited by ETAV8R, 26 January 2018 - 06:25 PM.

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Founder of D.E.R.P. Desert Exploration & Research Project. A camp proper is a nomads biding place. He may occupy it for a season or only for a single night, according as the site and its surroundings please or do not please the wanderers whim- Horace Kephart.

2009 4x4 Tacoma Access Cab-The Gini

2013 Silver Spur Finch Shell- The Oxcart/Gini's Burden-

http://www.wanderthe...ory/#entry83606


#8 nikonron

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 06:30 PM

I think you are confusing OME with OEM, big difference.  OME is Old Man Emu and OEM is Original equipment manufacture


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#9 ETAV8R

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Posted 26 January 2018 - 07:08 PM

Ah you're correct. Their both yellow lol. The OEM for Tacoma's are the lower end Billy's .

Still upgrading from the TRD Billy's to OME isn't the best solution. Maybe with their new resi system but that took a long time to come to market. Having gone to upgraded Bilstein shocks/struts is working well for me.

 

In regards to extended travel, I go with the "better to have it and not need it" mindset.


Edited by ETAV8R, 26 January 2018 - 07:09 PM.

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Founder of D.E.R.P. Desert Exploration & Research Project. A camp proper is a nomads biding place. He may occupy it for a season or only for a single night, according as the site and its surroundings please or do not please the wanderers whim- Horace Kephart.

2009 4x4 Tacoma Access Cab-The Gini

2013 Silver Spur Finch Shell- The Oxcart/Gini's Burden-

http://www.wanderthe...ory/#entry83606


#10 trikebubble

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Posted 30 January 2018 - 12:23 AM

I have a Tundra, but had the same dilemma as far as suspension went. At the end of the day I went with higher end performance shocks that can deal with the repetitive abuse of washboard and forestry roads, along with heavy duty springs on the front and OME Dakar leaf packs (also have the Dakar add-a-leaf on order but not installed yet) and Firestone airbags / Daystar cradles. I did not want to rely solely on airbags to deal with the added weight, more to have them there to assist with the added weight, and provide a level of adjustability for changing extra weight loads.  I went with a mid-travel suspension lift set-up for added clearance and articulation off-road, without lifting the truck too high as to make it unstable in the environments where we plan of off-roading.

 

On the way home through the mountains with the new camper last weekend, the Dakar leaf packs handled the dry weight of the camper without really relying on the airbags at all. The truck barely squatted at all with the camper on it.  I had about 20psi in the bags, just as a precaution. Once I add the extra Dakar leaf to the mix and knowing I have the airbags as a supplemental load bearing part, I am pretty confident my set-yup will work for me as I need it to.


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