Rear Suspension - Need 1in More Lift

Cypher

Cypher

New member
I have had the Radflo 2.5 suspension on my truck for well over a year now and I love it. However, I need to get some rake back into the truck for a number of reasons. 1) I need the load carrying capacity when camping and exploring the back country. My current typical load leaves the rear sagging which is unacceptable. 2) I dislike the flat look and want the rear slightly taller than the front for daily driving. I have the 220lb rear coil springs that come with the Radflo kit. Slee offers a 250lb spring that might help, but not sure that it is going to give me the lift. This weekend I am going to remove one of the rear springs to get the free standing height measured and try to get a taller spring. I have considered added a small spacer but can't find anything that is small enough as most are 1.25in+ which I think will be a bit much. This is all going to get much worse when I get a rear bumper with tire carrier.

All that said, does anyone have any suggestions or solutions for me to research? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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flyrv9 said:
Air shocks? I had some on a station wagon years ago. Worked great with heavy loads.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to load assist air bags? If so, I looked into these and they would limit suspension down travel and articulation based on their design. I can't say that I looked at every airbag/airshock option out there, but all of the ones that I did research, would impact suspension performance. I definitely do not want to lose any articulation or travel. If you know of a set that would not negative impact performance let me know.

Thank you for the suggestion! Please keep them coming...
 
Not to change your mind, but to play devils advocate - you are looking for a 1" lift and you found spacers that are 1.25". Are you absolutely sure you couldn't live with a 1/4" extra rake especially considering the loads you intend to carry? Seems to me to be a low cost and easy to install solution to see if it fits your needs.
 
cutty01 said:
Not to change your mind, but to play devils advocate - you are looking for a 1" lift and you found spacers that are 1.25". Are you absolutely sure you couldn't live with a 1/4" extra rake especially considering the loads you intend to carry? Seems to me to be a low cost and easy to install solution to see if it fits your needs.
Click to expand...

Devil's Advocates are welcome!

One of the first things I had done was using floor jacks on the frame, raise the rear of the truck by varied amounts to determine what difference these increases would make. 1.25 inches was a shocking amount of rake. Honestly, it surprised the hell out of me. It is simply too much. The perfect range seemed to be 0.75-1.0 inches. One of the things that that I have found with most of the spacers out there is that they require me to ditch the factory bump stops. This isn't an option right now until I have the ability to research upgraded aftermarket bump stops, which needs to happen soon, I just haven't had the time to apply to that topic yet.
 
Mistaken said:
How about the Icon outlander springs? They give 3" or so.
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I saw those and need to call ICON to find out what their spring rate is. Do you by chance know? Also, once I have the free standing height of my springs, I should be able to determine if something like the Outlander springs will work. I have taken notice that ICON lifted 5th Gens do sit taller in the rear than mine. However, most of these have been mall crawlers with zero extra weight on the truck and more than likely a suspension that hasn't settled after articulation off-road. Sad to spend so much cash on a lift to cruise the local mall, LOL!
 
Cypher said:
I saw those and need to call ICON to find out what their spring rate is. Do you by chance know? Also, once I have the free standing height of my springs, I should be able to determine if something like the Outlander springs will work. I have taken notice that ICON lifted 5th Gens do sit taller in the rear than mine. However, most of these have been mall crawlers with zero extra weight on the truck and more than likely a suspension that hasn't settled after articulation off-road. Sad to spend so much cash on a lift to cruise the local mall, LOL!
Click to expand...

Good info here.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/156497-new-icon-multi-rate-rear-springs.html
 
Mistaken said:
Good info here.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/156497-new-icon-multi-rate-rear-springs.html
Click to expand...

Ahh yes... That is great info. I did not know about these multi-rate springs. I need to give ICON a call. I don't see the spring rate on their website. I like the idea of a multi rate spring especially since my truck is my daily driver, weekend wheeler, and week long camping rig all in one. Each of these scenarios resulting in different load weights.

Thank you!
 
No - not air bags. I don't think they existed in the late 70's. I mean an actual pair of shocks that hold an air charge. They have a line that connects to a tire valve for filling and reducing the charge of air. Mine was mounted in the rear bumper by the license plate. Adding air raises the rear end of the vehicle and makes the ride somewhat stiffer. Ride softens some as weight is added.
 
cbielat said:
Look into a stiffer spring.
Click to expand...

For sure! That is really what I am looking for in the end. However, it needs to be a taller spring in addition to being sifter. The current set from Radflo are 220lb springs. I am looking for a greater spring rate than that.
 
flyrv9 said:
No - not air bags. I don't think they existed in the late 70's. I mean an actual pair of shocks that hold an air charge. They have a line that connects to a tire valve for filling and reducing the charge of air. Mine was mounted in the rear bumper by the license plate. Adding air raises the rear end of the vehicle and makes the ride somewhat stiffer. Ride softens some as weight is added.
Click to expand...

Ahh got it... I did not consider them as an option. I wonder how much they would impact the overall suspension dampening. I the Radflo system I have has remote reservoirs with compression adjusters. Typically I keep them at the greatest amount of dampening for on-road driving and then some amount of less dampening for off-road, depending the situation, to soften the ride for more comfort. If the air shock increases the overall dampening of the system I may lose some of the off-road comfort. That said, this could all work well with the compressor and onboard air setup that I am working.
 
I don't know about dampening. But, I had those a long time ago; and surely there are newer better options out there now to get more lift.
 
[MENTION=110133]Cypher[/MENTION]

Look into the AllPro 3.5 rear springs. Have them and love the ride and look. Ride well with and without cargo and when towing. You will need longer shocks and brake lines. Check my signature for what I did.
 
You may also want to give metaltech a call, last time I talked with them they reccommended running their rear long travel coils without going full long travel.. Simply to get the height and rate I wanted. You'd have to figure out if the spring rates would work for your application.
 
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