Long Wheel Travel

[Tooltime19]

Who has and is using what kit with long wheel travel for fast desert running or wheeling and why? My rig is a 4x4. When I do so, I plan on purchasing the longer front axle shafts for the cv's ect. Im considering the Total Chaos 2" Race kit, or the Camburg system. I want to run the FOX shocks, the ones with the DSC adjusters. If I dont go with FOX, then I will go with the Kings with their adjusters. Not sure what Im doing for the rear exactly, but I do have some ideas. Lets hear from you guys and gals out there to see whats happening in the real world.

 

[Troymclure]

Im one of the few that does. Have a kit I built myself on, 4.5" wider per side. Currently no axle in the front since Im getting them built and lead time is 5 weeks. Im running Swayaway 8" since its the only off the shelf stock that is the right extended collapsed length for my application.

If I were to buy one though, Id get the Camburg over the Total chaos anyday. The Camburg uses uniballs for the LCA pivot on the frame, which is way stronger and more reliable than the total chaos' bushings. Also can be ordered with axles for 4x4, and coilovers too

 

[BlairB]

Love my Total Chaos Race +2" kit (w/ bushings, not the heims). TC is great to deal with and I love the added clearance under the LCA w/ the race kit. I went w/ King over Fox for my setup.

After I had two Camburg UCA bolts fail on a non-LT kit I was done with their company. Also used to run Fox when I had non-LT, and blew two rear shocks (normal since I wasn't running boots and the shafts became pitted), but I also had one upper mount shear right off the shaft on a rear shock. In their defense, Fox customer service was awesome to deal with! :guitar2:

 

[Tooltime19]

Thanks for the replies. How does the TC Race kit handle on and off? What kind of running do you do? Whats the hot ticket for rear wheel travel?

 

[having fun]

Ditto for the rear.... Been on a search for shocks to match up to my Overland 3" springs now.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Whats the hot ticket for rear wheel travel?

A 3-link setup. FJ guys are a step ahead of the T4R dudes when it comes to suspension from what I've seen. The only way to get more down travel in the rear is to find a shock that doesn't limit it (obviously). All the 12"+ travel shocks I've seen have too long of compressed length. (Think MT long travel shocks that need the 3" bump stop spacer.). These MT LT shocks are great for those with 35's and low amounts of trimming/ incorrectly spaced wheels. But they really limit your up travel with 33's and good spacing and trimming.

The way around this is to find a previously mentioned shock with 12"+ travel and raise the shock mount higher so the compressed length is identical to stock or exactly where your tires rub. That way you won't lose any up travel and have more down travel than the MT LT kits assuming you have offset lower links and no sway bar. If you find or build the right shock then you will be limited only by your linkage geometry.

 

[Tooltime19]

Has anyone seen the 15" travel cantilever system for the rear of our rigs? You can find it in the Classified section of Race Dezert.com
The system a King Coilover on each side coupled with a single King Bypass on each side. The kit cost is aboout 5k. If we consider having 15" of good working rear travel and the Total Chaos kit with up to 14" of front travel, our rigs would be bad ass! Im seriously considering it, unless I can get convinced the Metal Tech system with upgraded upper and lower arms by Icon or TC has as much travel and works great, I would consider that system as well.
If you guys know anyone who has pics or videos of a good rear long travel system let us know.

 

[Bumbo]

Most of the off-road round me is all desert and not hard to find sand washed areas and dunes...

I've peaked down this rabbit hole a few times... almost jumped in once but my ATV keeps my need-for-speed cravings at bay.

I think the entire thing that has kept me from going long travel is the rear setup.

To do it right, it seems like you need to cut into the back end of the cab to weld in some shock towers?

I also see people build these swing arm setups which look similar to the stuff you would see on a trophy truck. This seems like an insane amount of fabrication work too. (Picture below)

I really have no idea the right way to go about this. If I had to cut into the cab, I would hate having to combat all the dust and sand inside. I use my rig for a lot more than just desert prerunning and its setup more as a ExPo / Overland rig than a go-fast truck.

I might have to save this type of work for a Tacoma instead of a 4Runner.

Edit: For some reason I thought that picture was a 4Runner but its actually a Tacoma. Ill keep it up anyways as a visual example of what I was referring to.

 

[Tooltime19]

Seriously, check out that under the body cantilever kit I found in the Classifieds of Race Dezert.com. Im seriously considering this kit. If it does what they claim, this is the best bet for our rigs in my opinion, and we wouldnt lose our rear cargo area.

 

[Tooltime19]

So this is the rear cantilever kit I found. It looks like some of the FJ guys have been playing with this kit. It appears the kit came out in late 2014. For those out there like me who like fast desert running, this sounds lik the way to go without going into the cab of our rigs. I like the fact that it has 15" of useable travel. And with the coil overs and bypass shocks, this kit is 100% adjustable to your liking. Im seriously considering this system. This coupled with the TC 2" race kit and I should be a very happy fast camper! Check this out!

New option for the rear suspension

Rear Cantilever Kit Complete

 

[Tooltime19]

Rear Cantilever kit - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

Here is the conversation on one of the FJ forums. There are a few pics as well. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Tooltime19]

New option for the rear suspension

 

[Nyc-Runner]

It all depends on what kind of wheeling you do. My buddy has been running the TC race LT on his 5th gen for the last year or so and i haven't been super impressed with it. At the same time back here in the northeast we do more tight trail wheeling/rock crawling Vs out west where a lot of you guys do more high speed stuff where it's going to be more beneficial. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it definitely has it's benifits in spots but from what i've seen on the trail back here it's nothing i haven't been able to keep up with with my regular coil over set up.

I also run the Metal Tech rear LT set up and it's been pretty awesome. I've been more that happy with it's capabilities. The down travel is pretty mazing and you don't really loose that much up travel or at least it's worth the trade off imo.

 

[Tooltime19]

Oh yeah, I totally understand. Different chassis setups for different terrains. No different than racing. You would never run the same setup at a completely different style track.
If I was in your area, I would not be looking for a long wheel travel high speed setup. Rather something higher off the ground. And something with much larger more aggressive tires for the big logs and deep mud ect. One of the very first questions I ask customers is, "what terrain will you be operating this thing in?" If they are truthful, then I can point them in the right direction. Thanks

 

[A.Wilson013]

So this is the rear cantilever kit I found.

I almost threw up at the price until I read this part...

"This is a complete kit including King coilover shocks, King 3 tube bypass shocks, and King bumpstops and mounts"

Seems pretty cool if you can install it all yourself. Otherwise it's going to be reallllll spendy.

 

[morphious]

If you run MT LT Coils and don't want to lose up travel due to the required bump stops, try using OME 60071L's. It gives 11.26" of shock travel with a compressed length of 15.23" and extended length of 26.49".

 

[gm350reratliff]

That kit is sweet but I would need to see and drive it in person before committing that kind of money.

For the time being, my extended length (2"-3") Fox shocks do just fine. I did have to extend the bumpstops a little though. 1" would've been perfect but all I had on hand was 1.5". I can only feel the bumpstops when really flexed out though. I need to redo them with some Wheelers Superbumps at some point.

 

[JimInTN]

What's your ultimate goal?

Personally, I'd never spend $5500 on the that rear setup. Maybe it'd make sense if my front was also capable of that much travel, but it's not. Maybe for another 6 or 7 grand it might be.

Anyway, I think if I was spending that kind of money I'd just do lockers and gears front and rear and be done with it. That much travel is useless if the tire that is dropping stays unloaded. It'll do no good to send power to it. Then again, maybe you like desert pre runner type of stuff.

 

[t-man]

here's a full thread about it: New option for the rear suspension
ok, first thing i noticed, they ditched the upper trailing arms and made a big, strong lower trailing arm with the upper connecting into the lower arm. get it? read, "radius arm". nothing wrong with that, it's what i've been planning for my sas, but you can build them cheap! so, really you are buying the cantilever arm itself since that is the only part that takes some scientific thinking on geometry and spring rates. you can buy just the cantilever parts for 2500, then make your own radius arms with stock location. you can buy their trailing arm setup (ahem,radius arm) for 1200. you can also add in everything for the full kit.
now, here's the thing. several have sas'ed there trucks. crozhawk for example has 14" shocks on the rear of his truck with a 3 link. his travel numbers are insane! no cutting into body btw. for myself i plan on making long radius arms, approximately 50-60" long. then i will have to measure but plan on running 14-16"travel ori struts. no needed bumpstops, limit straps, or sway bars as they are all built in, smaller package without all that extra stuff, cheaper than buying all those too. no hassle of figuring out the best spring rate because you adjust with nitrogen pressure. they also don't unload which keeps you stable. one disadvantage, if you blow one you have nothing on that corner holding the weight up. there have not been instances of this happening outside of full racing with extreme loads. either way, you could build a setup with the same or greater travel numbers for cheaper.

 

[t-man]

Here's my idea for the rear. Ballistic is the main site:

Then filthy Motorsports for 14" travel ori struts:

Should allow for some nice travel numbers!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.