SBSYNCRO
Well-known member
Well, I just returned last night from about a 1,700 mile round trip journey around Baja that included stops in Bahias Tortugas, Asuncion, and Los Angeles, & Punta San Francisquito, among other less well-known spots. if I get around to writing up a complete trip report, I'll post under the appropriate forum, but I did want to record some thoughts regarding the setup I'm currently running and my plans for some changes.
The truck is a 2005 DC Limited 4WD. I have Icon 2.5" coilovers with Camburg UCAs up front and a set of Deaver 3-pack AALs and an additional Wheeler's single (thick) AAL to stiffen up the rear. Rear shocks are Bilstein 5100s.
I'm running 285 series Revo II tires on ATX Mojave wheels.
I also brought along a Tiregate "Hitchgate Adventure Series" tire carrier with the dual can Jerry can mount and a pair of NATO cans from Lexington Container. The truck was HEAVILY loaded up with 75 liters of water, 3 guys, and spearfishing gear for both the Pacific and Cortez side.
Well, this was my first overland trip to Baja in about 20 years and BOY HAS IT CHANGED! Bottom line, you no longer even need a truck to get to some of the most remote places. There are paved roads EVERYWHERE now! Also, there is never more than about 100 miles between Pemex stations and in places where there was no gas 20 years ago, there are now TWO or THREE Pemex stations!
Needless to say, the jerry cans never even got used because the availability of gas was so good. I filled one of them before we headed off road on a long off-road drive, not knowing whether there would be gas at the other end. There was...
In my opinion, a lot of Baja no longer requires extensive planning and careful preparation. Any weekend schmuck could reach the spots we went in a Subaru Forrester or Kia Sorrento with little more thought than getting the time off work.
Impressions on my setup (and some questions)
(1) The truck swayed and wallowed BADLY when loaded up. I aired the rear tires from 28 psi up to 36 psi and this helped a lot, but the ride is still very unstable for my taste. If I braked into or accelerated out of a turn, the rear would unload or load up and cause yawing and swaying, which forced us to drive VERY conservatively on winding sections of road. It also just wallowed up and down a lot over rolling terrain.
(2) Going over topes (speed bumps) in some towns, or dips/rises off road would cause the back to bottom out unless we crept over them very slowly.
(3) The Tiregate is a very well-constructed piece of gear, but the license plate light doesn't work. It relies on making a ground from the frame of the unit itself through the receiver hitch connection. Power (+) is supplied by a direct line from the existing license place lamp. I tested everything with a volt meter and the only thing missing is (-) continuity between the truck's frame and the Hitchgate.
(4) The Tundra DC is a very comfortable rig for an overland Baja Expedition. It had sufficient clearance for everything we tried. We didn't do any recreational off-roading - just rough dirt roads to get to fish camps or remote beaches. I just need to figure out the rear suspension situation.
This leads me to my questions:
I use this truck a lot when it is very lightly loaded (solo trips to the sierras, etc) and want to preserve the good ride when lightly loaded. However, I want to be able to load it up like we did on this truck and not have such a scary, mushy ride wallowing all over like a drunk elephant. I think its a combination of worn out/under-valved shocks in the rear and being under-sprung.
The options I'm considering are (1) Custom spring pack (2) Airbags or (3) a "roadmaster" suspension kit. Along with a new set of shocks
I'm not very concerned with harming "off road performance" since this is not a recreational off-road vehicle (its a Tundra DC after all...). But I don't want something that CRIPPLES the ability to get to those remote fish camps....
(1) The custom spring pack would have to be built for the heaviest load I expect, then it would ride too rough, so its probably not the ideal solution
(2) The airbags seem like an easy, inexpensive fix, and have the flexibility of adding or removing air depending on the load I'm carrying
(3) The Roadmaster seems to be gimmicky, but I've seen some positive things about them, so I'm curious if there is any experience here with using them..
Any recommendations on good stout rear shocks that will accommodate the 2.5" lift in the rear?
Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome!
Also if anyone wants any current info on Baja conditions, hit me up and I'll share whatever I can.
Oh, I also destroyed the front bumper (a "Baja tattoo") hitting a hidden cement post one night. So I'm now in the market for a new aftermarket bumper too...
-Brent
The truck is a 2005 DC Limited 4WD. I have Icon 2.5" coilovers with Camburg UCAs up front and a set of Deaver 3-pack AALs and an additional Wheeler's single (thick) AAL to stiffen up the rear. Rear shocks are Bilstein 5100s.
I'm running 285 series Revo II tires on ATX Mojave wheels.
I also brought along a Tiregate "Hitchgate Adventure Series" tire carrier with the dual can Jerry can mount and a pair of NATO cans from Lexington Container. The truck was HEAVILY loaded up with 75 liters of water, 3 guys, and spearfishing gear for both the Pacific and Cortez side.
Well, this was my first overland trip to Baja in about 20 years and BOY HAS IT CHANGED! Bottom line, you no longer even need a truck to get to some of the most remote places. There are paved roads EVERYWHERE now! Also, there is never more than about 100 miles between Pemex stations and in places where there was no gas 20 years ago, there are now TWO or THREE Pemex stations!
Needless to say, the jerry cans never even got used because the availability of gas was so good. I filled one of them before we headed off road on a long off-road drive, not knowing whether there would be gas at the other end. There was...
In my opinion, a lot of Baja no longer requires extensive planning and careful preparation. Any weekend schmuck could reach the spots we went in a Subaru Forrester or Kia Sorrento with little more thought than getting the time off work.
Impressions on my setup (and some questions)
(1) The truck swayed and wallowed BADLY when loaded up. I aired the rear tires from 28 psi up to 36 psi and this helped a lot, but the ride is still very unstable for my taste. If I braked into or accelerated out of a turn, the rear would unload or load up and cause yawing and swaying, which forced us to drive VERY conservatively on winding sections of road. It also just wallowed up and down a lot over rolling terrain.
(2) Going over topes (speed bumps) in some towns, or dips/rises off road would cause the back to bottom out unless we crept over them very slowly.
(3) The Tiregate is a very well-constructed piece of gear, but the license plate light doesn't work. It relies on making a ground from the frame of the unit itself through the receiver hitch connection. Power (+) is supplied by a direct line from the existing license place lamp. I tested everything with a volt meter and the only thing missing is (-) continuity between the truck's frame and the Hitchgate.
(4) The Tundra DC is a very comfortable rig for an overland Baja Expedition. It had sufficient clearance for everything we tried. We didn't do any recreational off-roading - just rough dirt roads to get to fish camps or remote beaches. I just need to figure out the rear suspension situation.
This leads me to my questions:
I use this truck a lot when it is very lightly loaded (solo trips to the sierras, etc) and want to preserve the good ride when lightly loaded. However, I want to be able to load it up like we did on this truck and not have such a scary, mushy ride wallowing all over like a drunk elephant. I think its a combination of worn out/under-valved shocks in the rear and being under-sprung.
The options I'm considering are (1) Custom spring pack (2) Airbags or (3) a "roadmaster" suspension kit. Along with a new set of shocks
I'm not very concerned with harming "off road performance" since this is not a recreational off-road vehicle (its a Tundra DC after all...). But I don't want something that CRIPPLES the ability to get to those remote fish camps....
(1) The custom spring pack would have to be built for the heaviest load I expect, then it would ride too rough, so its probably not the ideal solution
(2) The airbags seem like an easy, inexpensive fix, and have the flexibility of adding or removing air depending on the load I'm carrying
(3) The Roadmaster seems to be gimmicky, but I've seen some positive things about them, so I'm curious if there is any experience here with using them..
Any recommendations on good stout rear shocks that will accommodate the 2.5" lift in the rear?
Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome!
Also if anyone wants any current info on Baja conditions, hit me up and I'll share whatever I can.
Oh, I also destroyed the front bumper (a "Baja tattoo") hitting a hidden cement post one night. So I'm now in the market for a new aftermarket bumper too...
-Brent
They are the former Donahoe which always have had a great rep. My experience may be atypical but it sure wasn't great!
