Payload weight for 30k mile expedition
- Thread starter aawolf
- Start date
A.Wilson013
New member
Really? I was thinking it didn't seem like much for living out of your 4Runner in Central/Southern America. Where would you make cuts?
I would run heavier springs. I have had ome springs in my trucks since 2001 and they have all sagged over time and with weight. I would go heavier and not need it than need it and not have it. Esp that far from home.
You Have tundra brakes? Lot more weight is going to be a lot harder on stock brakes.
You Have tundra brakes? Lot more weight is going to be a lot harder on stock brakes.
diverscale
Member
He probably won't even notice the difference in braking. Again, why put bigger brakes when you are still within manufacturer's limits.
My empty trailer weight 1000 pounds, even with a 500lbs payload, I hardly feel it when braking, and never ever had any braking/fading problem with it at those loads. Stocks brakes are fine for within stock load limit.
At the end of this thread, probably that if he follows all the recommendations, he's going to roll with heavy duty springs, airbags, long travel suspension, a V8 supercharged with F-350 brakes and a nuclear shelter pinned to the back and 20 000$ less in his pockets lol.
Oh, and OP: talking about brakes, don't do the same mistake as I did, going on a 10 000 miles road trip, and didn't check the brakes before leaving, just to discover in the middle of the trip that they were now totally shot!
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aawolf
New member
Eh, gotta disagree on this one. I've already performed the Tundra Brake Upgrade and it indeed was a noticeable difference. Then again, I do a lot of city driving in super-hilly San Francisco.
diverscale
Member
That was not my point. Stock brakes sucks, even unloaded, but I don't feel they suck any more with a light payload.
That is one thing I do consider to do to my truck, but I would not do it for the sake a holding 1300 pounds.
Let's say that I do abuse my trucks more than the average person though, I've gotten to know their limits.
aawolf
New member
I think people underestimate the importance of good gear for your day-to-day routine. For example, a standard 2 person tent and backpacking stove would save us ~150 lbs in weight, but add an enormous amount of cumulative hassle and stress to our trip when compared to our RTT and quality propane partner stove.
What exactly would cut? To be honest, the only thing I'm eyeing for cutting is the Hi-lift jack and accouterment. That's a lot of weight for something we'll end up using between 0 and 1 time.
Still impassable. Requires a container shipment from Panama to Colombia. We're shipping from Houston to Colombia though, bypassing the entire question of the Darien. Interestingly, it's pretty much the same cost from Houston as it is from Panama.
aawolf
New member
If I did decide to go beefier, which springs would you guys recommend in that case? Would they end up giving the truck more lift? Because that would be very undesirable given how top heavy it already is.
A.Wilson013
New member
Really your only option for a stiffer spring that wouldn't have you riding sky high would be the 891. It is a little taller than the 906, however.
Honestly, if you took your trip to Baja and didn't have any issues, you likely won't have any issues. The beauty of Old Man Emu/ARB is that they're such a big company that if you decided you needed to you could likely (surely) source the 891 in Central / South America and probably have them installed for dirt cheap mientras bebes unas cervezas.
aawolf
New member
Hmm, actually it seems like the 906 is beefier if I'm reading this application guide's specifications correctly (page 136-137).
2891 free height A: 425mm B: 415mm, spring weight: 210 lbf/in or 37 N/mm, OE Spring Rate Lbs: 150
2906 free height A: 390mm B: 380mm, spring weight: 220 / 270 lbf/in or 38 N/mm, OE Spring Rate Lbs: 160
I might be misunderstanding the meaning of these numbers though. I don't see why the 906's spring weight is listed as two vaues (220 / 270) in lbf/in and a single value in N/mm. I do see also that the 891 is taller, so perhaps the added height more than makes up for less spring weight distributed through that height? Either way though, the difference does seem to be pretty small between the two. If I'm not going to get a big whack of weight handling from an upgrade it's probably not worth the cost / higher center of gravity.
Yah, I'm thinking you're right. Our baja test run didn't include the rear bumper / extra fuel and a few other items, so probably at least 300lbs less than our real maximum. On the other hand we did about 200-300 off-road, some of it fairly high speed on washboard, and some moderate difficult ravine trails requiring (barely) 4wd. The suspension seemed to handle all of that well.
Aside from the springs, and brakes, are there any other components I should keep an eye on due to weight considerations. Does weight effect CV longevity?
A.Wilson013
New member
In regard to the spring stuff, I'd recommend a call to ARB or Toytec. They should be able to give you a pretty good idea without wasting any of your time.
Aside from the springs, brakes, and tires I cannot think of any other components that weight will have too much of a factor on.
My 4Runner weighs more than yours and is lifted more than yours. I am still running my Autozone CV axles that I bought as a temporary fix 3ish years ago. My intent was to run them while I re-booted my OEM CVs, and swap them out when one broke, or a boot tore. Neither has happened with literally thousands of miles of offroad use, both fast and slow.
pjbrownva
New member
I think that's the best advice yet.
Mgyver1
Member
I would definitely recommend doing the 231mm Tundra brake upgrade. The stock brakes may be fine for an unloaded rig, but hauling even half that weight I would suggest the upgrade. You will be less likely to warp anything due to the thicker rotor and have more pad surface which will mean less likely to wear out during the trip. The factory brakes in my '02 Tacoma would only last 25k miles until I finally did the 199mm TBU.
Bottom line, the 231mm TBU is a very worthwhile upgrade, not only for this trip but in general. It requires very little modification (Trimming a small area of the dust shield) and gives you peace of mind, extended intervals between service and less chance of warping and fading.
diverscale
Member
Again, you got my point wrong. I am totally for this upgrade, I'll probably do it down the road when I'll have to do my front brakes.
But I would not do it for the sole reason of road-tripping with 1000 pounds, and I would never say that it is insecure to travel with that load and stock brake.
This forum represents probably 0.001% of total 4runner owner population. So mostly nobody knows about tundra brake upgrades and all these people have been travelling with their 3rd gens loaded and stock, within the manuf. limitations since 1996
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aawolf
New member
I'm pretty sure I'm not getting your point wrong and I still disagree.
People who take this trip talk about how many brake pads they burn through along the way and that's in vehicles with normal brake-to-stock-weight ratios. As we all know, 3rd gen stock brakes are underpowered from the get-go. Add 1400 lbs and 2,000 miles per week in mountainous terrain and I'd probably be changing my brake pads once a month on stock brakes.
Is it "insecure" to drive on stock brakes hauling 1400 extra pounds day in day out? No. But that's not what we're talking about in this thread. We're talking about what components would be a good idea to upgrade / repair ahead of time given the unique stress I'll be putting on the vehicle.
