setting up my TRD ORP suspension for rural dirt road life.

[blackened_offroad]

what's up dudes. Have a 19 TRD ORP I bought new at the end of 19. Currently sitting with 56k on it. The first 6 months I owned it, it did 2 hours a day of bumper to bumper interstate rush hour work commuting (with a trip to Moab in the middle). When the pandemic hit, I spent a year and 40k+ miles offroading in the very deep wilderness with my dog in AZ, NM, UT, MT, WY, WA, CO, and a bit of ID. Spent a few months living in Moab and hitting all the trails there. My setup for all of this was spacer lift (caused zero issues, did some of the gnarliest trails in Moab, don't have a meltdown about it), BMC/fender mods/bodywork trim, and A/T 32's. Plus pulled out the rear seats and had a full size mattress in the back, and cargo box up top. oh, and SCS -38 wheels.

We've settled in a very small mountain town in a remote rural area. Been here about 6 months now. No plans to move. Really burnt out on road trips for obvious reasons. Love the town and my job and my house. plenty of wilderness and skiing and offroading and mountain biking here, that I don't plan on going anywhere, except maybe one or two long road trips a year for warmer weather in winter, or international travel. Thing is, well over half the roads here are dirt roads, ranging from regularly graded to full on offroading. plus, the speed limit here is low so my MPG is better than it ever has been. The current ride is pretty rough. I'd like to set up my 4runner for living here, with softer suspension, more clearance (we got a lot of snow, like...a LOT). SO I want to go to 33's or 34's, focus on capability for trails and snow, without so much worry about balancing it for highway driving. I don't want to lose all road handling, because I do have to drive on a lot of twisty mountain passes. and, like I said, I will occasionally do a long trip to go mountain biking or skiing somewhere else.

suggestions on setup? I'm aware of most of the mods I would have to do to fit 34's, and I'm fine with it. I can't go for the high end Icon or King stuff, but I am going to switch to a shocks/springs/etc setup rather than the hockey pucks that are currently on there.

 

[mbm112]

Sounds like you might like an adjustable setup. From what I’ve read OME BP-51 are among the cushiest riding out there.

A more affordable adjustable system is Dobinsons MRA. I have their IMS system which is not adjustable, but I’ve been really pleased with the soft ride of their progressive rate nature. On road Handling took a step back compared to the stock X-REAS on my Limited, but is probably on par with a stock Non- KDSS ride.


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[blackened_offroad]

Sounds like you might like an adjustable setup. From what I’ve read OME BP-51 are among the cushiest riding out there.

A more affordable adjustable system is Dobinsons MRA. I have their IMS system which is not adjustable, but I’ve been really pleased with the soft ride of their progressive rate nature. On road Handling took a step back compared to the stock X-REAS on my Limited, but is probably on par with a stock Non- KDSS ride.


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thanks. I have KDSS on mine.

 

[CO_ForeUnner]

I can't speak to your suspension question, but it sure sounds like you are living a dream life! Small mountain town with mountain biking and a lot of snow? Paradise.

Enjoy!

 

[honda250xtitan]

bilstein 6112 up front set on the top setting

Dirt King ball joint upper control arms

fox 2.0 in the rear

wheelers T13 1.5" lift spring in the rear.

 

[blackened_offroad]

I can't speak to your suspension question, but it sure sounds like you are living a dream life! Small mountain town with mountain biking and a lot of snow? Paradise.

Enjoy!

it's pretty good. I live in a town of 2000 people. Mountain bike, dirt bike, and backcountry skiing trails start literally at the back of the house I live in. I live 20 minutes from one ski resort and 40 minutes from one of the best ski resorts in the world. The town is between 3 mountain ranges, My house is at the base of one mountain range, there are two other ranges 15 minutes away, so I'm legit surrounded by offroading, mountain biking, hiking, dirt biking, skiing, and snowmobiling. I live alone and my cabin is $600/month, which is pretty good these days for mountain living. the tradeoffs are that the grocery store and gym are 20 minutes away and anything like walmart or discount tire or home depot are an hour and 20 mins away. and god forbid you end up single here. which of your friends' exes do you want to date?

all in all it's pretty great though.

 

[lewdog998]

sounds like the BP51 is the way to go. the bypass shock has a "comfort" zone that is supposed to really smooth out the ride on gravel and stuff like that.

that's what i am probably gonna go with.

 

[Jetboy]

My suggestion: For simplicity and reliability - I'd probably look for some TRD Pro FOX takeoffs and add a 1" additional lift front and then add a 1" rear spring spacer or find some 1" lift rear springs that have a 200lb spring rate or similar. That would be hard to beat for ride quality of bypass shocks and simplicity. Then add some 34" tires, body mount chop up front, and rubber bushing and ball joint design UCAs of your choice.

Other good options for suspension in the range you're looking for would be the 6100/5160 setup. Or maybe the Dobinson's or Ironman mid range stuff.

Why:

I would start by limiting your suspension choices to options without spherical bushings or bearings. They don't last long on constant corrugated/washaboard roads. So I'd immediately eliminate most of the high end shocks. Unless you want to do annual rebuilds?

It looks like some BP51 models use spherical bushings and some don't. Not sure if it changed during production years, or its different models, or I'm just not seeing what I think I see.

I would also avoid any upper control arms that don't use rubber bushings.

In all of the cases of hard mount points, the rubber bushings absorb a lot of the energy and reduce the wear on the rest of the components. They last a long time in the field. That's why Toyota uses them. They also extend the life of everything else from wheel bearings to steering gear to ball joints.

I would also try to keep your lift height as moderate as possible. The higher you go the worse the ride will be. The best ride on washboard will be something around stock or slightly over stock height. Maybe 1.5" or so. Stock height has about 4" of up and down travel from neutral. Go up 3" and even with extended travel shocks you only have about 2-3" of down travel. It's going to make for a harsh ride on gravel. I've adjusted mine from as high as 3.5" front, 2.5" rear and I'm not at around 1.5" front stock height rear. It's the best all-around ride for me. Sometimes the trade off makes sense when you need as much clearance as possible. I'm not doing as much rock crawling and more car camping "overlanding" lately. I'd personally shoot for around 2" front and 1" lift rear.

In a perfect world - you could add a second shock tower up front and run a non-valved air shock on each side that is empty normally and allows you adjustable ride height when you need it for rocks or whatever. I could never find someone who would custom make me a air bag for my Fox 2.5's or I would have gone for an airbag/coil spring combo up front and air suspension rear for fully adjustable height. But that's getting a little too far into the weeds for what you're looking for I'd guess.

For deep snow - the 4Runner isn't a great vehicle. It's just too heavy. So you're going to have to accept that it'll be marginal at best unless you want to run 40"+ tires. It can get around pretty well with 34" tires at lower pressure. But it's never going to hang with a 3,000 lb mini truck on 35's. Tires will make a big difference. Something like a Cooper ATW or AT3 4S would cover a lot of situations well and still work in summer. Suspension won't matter much. Beadlock wheels will allow you to run lower tire pressures for deeper snow. But I wouldn't spend the $ - it won't get you that much further with a 34" tire on a 5-6k lbs SUV.

And of course weight kills performance. With every mod - keep an eye on the weight. There's a lot of overloaded 4Rs on 33's with every bolt on accessory you can buy and $10k in suspension that are worse to drive on and off road than when they started because of all the extra weight.

 

[blackened_offroad]

My suggestion: For simplicity and reliability - I'd probably look for some TRD Pro FOX takeoffs and add a 1" additional lift front and then add a 1" rear spring spacer or find some 1" lift rear springs that have a 200lb spring rate or similar. That would be hard to beat for ride quality of bypass shocks and simplicity. Then add some 34" tires, body mount chop up front, and rubber bushing and ball joint design UCAs of your choice.

Other good options for suspension in the range you're looking for would be the 6100/5160 setup. Or maybe the Dobinson's or Ironman mid range stuff.

Why:

I would start by limiting your suspension choices to options without spherical bushings or bearings. They don't last long on constant corrugated/washaboard roads. So I'd immediately eliminate most of the high end shocks. Unless you want to do annual rebuilds?

It looks like some BP51 models use spherical bushings and some don't. Not sure if it changed during production years, or its different models, or I'm just not seeing what I think I see.

I would also avoid any upper control arms that don't use rubber bushings.

In all of the cases of hard mount points, the rubber bushings absorb a lot of the energy and reduce the wear on the rest of the components. They last a long time in the field. That's why Toyota uses them. They also extend the life of everything else from wheel bearings to steering gear to ball joints.

I would also try to keep your lift height as moderate as possible. The higher you go the worse the ride will be. The best ride on washboard will be something around stock or slightly over stock height. Maybe 1.5" or so. Stock height has about 4" of up and down travel from neutral. Go up 3" and even with extended travel shocks you only have about 2-3" of down travel. It's going to make for a harsh ride on gravel. I've adjusted mine from as high as 3.5" front, 2.5" rear and I'm not at around 1.5" front stock height rear. It's the best all-around ride for me. Sometimes the trade off makes sense when you need as much clearance as possible. I'm not doing as much rock crawling and more car camping "overlanding" lately. I'd personally shoot for around 2" front and 1" lift rear.

In a perfect world - you could add a second shock tower up front and run a non-valved air shock on each side that is empty normally and allows you adjustable ride height when you need it for rocks or whatever. I could never find someone who would custom make me a air bag for my Fox 2.5's or I would have gone for an airbag/coil spring combo up front and air suspension rear for fully adjustable height. But that's getting a little too far into the weeds for what you're looking for I'd guess.

For deep snow - the 4Runner isn't a great vehicle. It's just too heavy. So you're going to have to accept that it'll be marginal at best unless you want to run 40"+ tires. It can get around pretty well with 34" tires at lower pressure. But it's never going to hang with a 3,000 lb mini truck on 35's. Tires will make a big difference. Something like a Cooper ATW or AT3 4S would cover a lot of situations well and still work in summer. Suspension won't matter much. Beadlock wheels will allow you to run lower tire pressures for deeper snow. But I wouldn't spend the $ - it won't get you that much further with a 34" tire on a 5-6k lbs SUV.

And of course weight kills performance. With every mod - keep an eye on the weight. There's a lot of overloaded 4Rs on 33's with every bolt on accessory you can buy and $10k in suspension that are worse to drive on and off road than when they started because of all the extra weight.

I already have the BMC and fender removal and liner moved and some front plastic trimming. I also already have snowflake rated A/T tires. I'm not trying to go snow wheeling. In my experience in 4 high altitude and very snowy winters, the 4runner is great with snow tires. with snowflake rated A/T tires, it's just ok.

anyway. I'm not the bolt on mod type. I'm just going to do suspension and bigger tires. I'm probably not even going to do bumpers or a rack. it's heavy and slow enough as it is.

 

[Jetboy]

I already have the BMC and fender removal and liner moved and some front plastic trimming. I also already have snowflake rated A/T tires. I'm not trying to go snow wheeling. In my experience in 4 high altitude and very snowy winters, the 4runner is great with snow tires. with snowflake rated A/T tires, it's just ok.

anyway. I'm not the bolt on mod type. I'm just going to do suspension and bigger tires. I'm probably not even going to do bumpers or a rack. it's heavy and slow enough as it is.

Sounds like you're on a right track.

Deep snow can be a lot of different things to different people. I've lived in places where 5 feet of snow can fall in a 24 hr period. Add wind to it and you'd better have a big blower on a tractor and enough diesel fuel to get down to the county road or you're not leaving for a while.

Where I live now a foot of snow would be considered a lot.

There's not a lot of tire options in 34" height for 17" wheels. Either 285/75/17 or 34x10.5x17. Basically Cooper at3, BFG AT and MT and the Toyo AT3. I have the Cooper AT3s. They're just okay in snow. Not great. Not terrible.