December 3-4, 2018. Rear shock relocation day was finally here! Zane @Speedytech and I were up bright and early so we could be at ADS right around their opening time of 8:00am to pick up the rear shocks they'd been holding for me for the last couple of months. As generally seems to be the case when it comes to truck parts stores, we were both like kids in a candy store as we ogled around the ADS facility. Definitely quite the setup they've got going on there! Tyler, who'd been helping me with my shocks, walked us around for…
Leave a CommentTag: suspension
Shocks, leaf springs, bump stops, and more.
December 1-2, 2018. For years now I've run what I'd call "work shocks" in the rear of the truck. First a set of Gabriel Hi-Jackers that I put on to carry heavy loads, then a set of Monroe MaxAir MA820's when I installed the rear lift - these shocks were great for carrying heavy loads since I could add air pressure to push the rear of the truck higher. But as truck use has changed to more exploration (perhaps even the overused "overlanding), it's become clear that the ride provided by these shocks is not ideal. The rear end takes…
Leave a Comment
This question is asked often enough that I figured it was finally time to put together an answer that gives lots of information, but that doesn't have to be re-typed again and again. Because that will save everyone a bunch of time, hopefully! So, let's start with the basic question that gets asked: What's the biggest tire I can run on my 1st gen Toyota Tacoma? There are of course variations to this question - some people wonder "with no lift," or "with a 1-3 inch lift," or "without cutting" or "with wheel XYZ" - but in the end, the…
20 Comments
April 23, 2018. A 2000 Toyota Tacoma only comes with so many safety features. Built two decades ago, there was no traction control; no forward, backward and side cameras; no blind spot radar; and definitely no Toyota Safety Sense™. These were the days of kids riding in pickup beds for fun, seat belt warning chimes that buzzed twice and shut the hell up since they realized that if you were going to wear the belt, you'd have put it on already, and ABS-as-an-option. These were the days before SMS; before we needed our cars to protect us from ourselves. Of…
7 Comments
I've never been a car guy. I can tell you all about the details of construction and woodworking - how the various bits of a house work, how to precision tune a saw or plane. But when I looked down and saw two flaking, worn bushings that were connected to "some bar" and my lower control arms, I wondered, "What the heck is that, and how screwed am I?" As it turns out, that was my stabilizer bar, and I wasn't really all that screwed at all. But I'm getting ahead of myself. See, the first thing I did was consult…
2 Comments
It's not uncommon to be asked the question: I'm about to upgrade my rear suspension. Should I get an AAL (add-a-leaf) or a whole new (possibly custom) leaf pack? Since there's never an easy answer, here's what I'd say... it depends. Actually, there are two easy answers: If your existing leaf pack is in reasonable shape and you're not regularly hauling heavy loads (several hundred pounds) in the back of your truck, go with the AAL. It'll give you a lifted look, will work fine for the occasional load, and will be the most economical option. If your existing (probably stock/original)…
3 Comments
January 3, 2018 When I got my Alcan leaf pack, I knew it was top quality. I really liked how the guys at Alcan asked what I wanted from the pack, as far as "every day" weight in the back, as well as "loaded" weight for adventures. So far, I've been really happy with how it has held the weight in the bed, provided a better ride than my OEM leafs (which were perpetually riding on the overloads and bump stops), and have given the truck back it's aggressive stance, even when loaded. Once I got bigger tires however, I…
2 Comments
July 15, 2017. The truck has always had a bit of rake, with the rear being ~2-3” higher than the front. And I like it that way - it looks good. Until the constant weight of the bed rack and CVT, the combination of stock leafs, Deaver AALs, and air shocks that I installed as part of the suspension overhaul were working reasonably OK. “OK” because I’ve never been able to get the air shocks to hold pressure - they lose about 10lbs a day, so I’m constantly filling them (which is easier with the ARB compressor installed). But with…
4 Comments
February 2016. Or March. Sort of April. If you're going to lift your truck, there are two ways to do it. You can do it for looks, or you can do it for real. For looks, you're talking about a spacer lift or a body lift - something that raises the truck but doesn't raise the performance. For real, you're talking about a suspension lift - replacing all the parts that make up the suspension on the truck, and in doing so, improving the performance - both on and off road. Clearly, you want a suspension lift. But, we're getting…
Leave a Comment
June 23, 2008. There was a time when I was working with Dad on some job site when we went and filled up the back of his Jeep (1989 Cherokee Laredo) with bags of concrete, and he pulled out a bike pump to inflate his rear shocks. I was hooked. It took me 8 years, and lots of heavy trips to the dump (from home renovations) but I finally bit the bullet and bought some Gabriel air shocks. Installation was straight forward for a pro, but I was far from a pro, having only ever disabled the daytime running lights.…
Leave a Comment