Which rear springs and why?

Agent_Outside

New member
I’m looking for some input. I have a 5th gen 4Runner, family hauler, road trip, camping, overland type build. It gets used and abused pretty hard but it’s not definitely not a rock crawler.

Current suspension is extended travel remote res Kings with custom length rears, Ikon 2” rear springs, OME trim pack spacer for the rear to correct the lean, durabumps, JBA control arms. About a 2” lift all the way around maintaining rake when not loaded.

I have a steel rear bumper on order.

The bumper alone is 225 lbs, and the full size 33” spare will go from under the truck to out back, no extra weight there but it’s leveraged further out. it has RCI sliders and Their aluminum plate armor so I’d gray see probably guess 50-75 pounds to the rear axle. I also have a small Dometic fridge. So I figure with the new rear bumper I figure 300-350 pounds static year round weight added. When it’s not ski season I have a 160-170 pounds distributed across a full length roof rack for the rear of the year from an iKamper Skycamp that’s bed lined.

What rear springs would you go with for my application and why?
 
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How about air bags? Considering the varying weight throughout the year, it may be ideal to have air bags since it’s adjustable.
 
How about air bags? Considering the varying weight throughout the year, it may be ideal to have air bags since it’s adjustable.

That might something to consider if need be but honestly I didn’t think airbags will be necessary when the only real variance in weight is the tent and when it’s mounted the weight is distributed relatively evenly.
 
Been running OME medium rates for awhile. Going to switch up to the Dobinson 749V. I think it's good for constant weight of 700+. With the hauler I'm not sure if you'll want more of if that'll work.
 
I’ve run a lot of rear coils. With that weight I’d go with Dobinsons “heavy” progressive or OME 899.

I prefer a linear coil, so OME 899 is my first suggestion. I’m on Dob’s super heavy coils now, mainly for height and downtravel, but if keeping at 2-3” of lift for your custom shocks I’d go OME.

Don’t be afraid of the 880lb constant load, they ride good on a 4Runner with armor, bumper, tent, fridge, and other gear (I know cause I ran them). I believe the last page of my build thread shows them if you wanna check them out. Dobinsons may have a linear option too, haven’t checked their page out in awhile!
 
I’ve run a lot of rear coils. With that weight I’d go with Dobinsons “heavy” progressive or OME 899.

I prefer a linear coil, so OME 899 is my first suggestion. I’m on Dob’s super heavy coils now, mainly for height and downtravel, but if keeping at 2-3” of lift for your custom shocks I’d go OME.

Don’t be afraid of the 880lb constant load, they ride good on a 4Runner with armor, bumper, tent, fridge, and other gear (I know cause I ran them). I believe the last page of my build thread shows them if you wanna check them out. Dobinsons may have a linear option too, haven’t checked their page out in awhile!

JSparky - curious what specifically you like more about a linear coil vs progressive.
 
JSparky - curious what specifically you like more about a linear coil vs progressive.

They both have their benefits, but from a road handling perspective I feel that linear coils behave more predictably, especially in turns on windy roads. It’s not a huge deal (I am happily running progressives) but it is a consideration.
 
Dobinsonssssssss.

Buy them through Apex Overland, shoot them an email, DM on instagram, or call Jill and tell them your setup and what you want. They will pair you with springs loaded for additional weight based on your needs.
 
After monkeying around with different rear springs over the years I’m super happy with my OME 899s. I’m a similar weight to where you will be at and I wish they were a little stiffer to be honest. When I’m fully loaded I even turn up my rear compression dampening pretty high to stay off of my bump stops when moving briskly off road.

Here’s how I sit fully loaded with about two weeks of food and water loaded up. The front end is a bit low because I adjusted them down before this trip.
08a5b2cecfad5f748d8bc3d3eb7556a7.jpg



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I run Bilstein heavies and happy.

Proline bumper, dual swingouts, dual cans, Dometic fridge, RSG plate sliders, RCI Steel skids including tank, Rhino Rack Pioneer platform and full sized batwing, Thule XT Pro bike rack and A Cannondale mountain bike. I also have an APOC steel expo trailer - zero squat
 
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Bilstein Heavy Load (400lb) #36-281831 would work great on your type of setup, but they provide only 1.5" lift. You could run a small spacer with these to get to 2" if that is the height you really want to achieve.

OME Options:
889 - 2.5 - 3" lift - Medium Rear Coils
898 - 2.5 - 3" lift - Heavy Load - 440 lbs constant load
899 - 2.5-3" lift - Heavy Load - 880 lbs constant load

All OME's are 2.5-3" Lift which may be a little tall for what your wanting to do. Either way, I would stick around the 400lb added load rating.

Both the Bilstein's and the OME's are linear, which I prefer.
 
Bilstein Heavy Load (400lb) #36-281831 would work great on your type of setup, but they provide only 1.5" lift. You could run a small spacer with these to get to 2" if that is the height you really want to achieve.

OME Options:
889 - 2.5 - 3" lift - Medium Rear Coils
898 - 2.5 - 3" lift - Heavy Load - 440 lbs constant load
899 - 2.5-3" lift - Heavy Load - 880 lbs constant load

All OME's are 2.5-3" Lift which may be a little tall for what your wanting to do. Either way, I would stick around the 400lb added load rating.

Both the Bilstein's and the OME's are linear, which I prefer.

He might get more lift. I have same springs and had 2.5” of lift over weighted OEMs. Above load minus bike and rack

Before Hub center to fender
-driver 20”
-passenger 19.5

Afterward hub center to fender
Driver 22.5
Passenger 22.5
 
I got a similar set-up as you, steel rear with sliders, skids, and Gobi rack and I ended up going with OME 898's and they are perfect. Mine is my daily and only loaded when we traveling, so I did not want to go with a high constant load spring (ei. OME 899's) since from what I've read, they give an extremely harsh ride. But...since I've never tried those...I can't say the do from experience, just from what I've read. I have OME BP-51's and had a medium spring before and I could feel the "bounce" on the back way too much even when I adjusted the settings on the shocks, which is why I went with the 898's. Just my experience, hope this helps. Cheers!
 
Dobinsonssssssss.

Buy them through Apex Overland, shoot them an email, DM on instagram, or call Jill and tell them your setup and what you want. They will pair you with springs loaded for additional weight based on your needs.


I contacted Jill but she didn’t bother to respond. I’m guessing it’s because a month or so ago I sent her a list of stuff I was looking for to get quotes and didn’t buy any of it through them (their pricing wasn’t competitive or they didn’t carry the brand).
 
I contacted Jill but she didn’t bother to respond. I’m guessing it’s because a month or so ago I sent her a list of stuff I was looking for to get quotes and didn’t buy any of it through them (their pricing wasn’t competitive or they didn’t carry the brand).
I'm on here every day and happy to help.

Forum members get a discount too. PM me for the code.
 
I'm on here every day and happy to help.

Forum members get a discount too. PM me for the code.

You would have made a significantly stronger first impression had you actually replied with info relating to the original post instead of just PM for a discount code. I asked a specific questions with a lot of detail and your response is I have a discount code if you buy from me.

When I know exactly what I want, price is King. When I’m looking for experienced input on what will fit my needs, service takes priority over price point.
 
You would have made a significantly stronger first impression had you actually replied with info relating to the original post instead of just PM for a discount code. I asked a specific questions with a lot of detail and your response is I have a discount code if you buy from me.

When I know exactly what I want, price is King. When I’m looking for experienced input on what will fit my needs, service takes priority over price point.

I thought you had already sorted out what you wanted after the comment about Apex, plus the comments of the other people who have run the various Dobinsons rear coils and given their own experience. Jsparky has a lot of experience with the different Dobinsons coils as he has used a few different ones plus other brands too, as he already mentioned.

I'd suggest the C59-329 linear heavy rate 2" coils if that's the sort of height you're looking for or the 701V variable rates if you want a full 3" rear lift and your shocks can handle that lift height
 
OP probably already had this issue resolved but I thought I’d share some input since a lot peeps here have helped me out. I had the same weight issues so I went with the Eibach Load Leveling System HD +400lbs and it has worked out perfectly for what I needed. Obviously going full suspension is the best option but I guess if you didn’t want to swap everything out this is a adequate option.


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