Dobinsons Suspension Review

I’m going to Colorado with the camper in June new bumpers and the bike

 

@Skey44 What bumpers did you get? I know you were HD in the rear. Was weight a consideration for your front end?

 

This style for front, @BashFab is knocking out bumpers
Front and rear. No worries on rear weight, interested to see how much she goes nose down in the front. Apex badland winch will go on. Either way I’ll figure it out

 

Will update with front nose dive. Think it’ll be minimal

 

I picked up my kit from Main Line in West Chester this afternoon. Aaron was a big help and answered all of my relentless questions. He swapped out for the 778 springs for me even after everything arrived at their shop for me.

I got the regular load leaf springs as well and they are plenty beefy. Mevotech adjustable "SPC" control arms and new upper strut mounts are on their way from Rock Auto. I'll get the struts built as soon as I can. Wheels and tires are still on their way, so hopefully in the next month or so I'll find time to install all of this.

The truck was occupied with a trailer and bed full of wood from 2 dropped trees, so the Outback got the pleasure of being put to work.

 

quick pic...



I'm planning to run the stock bumpers and stock wheels/tires for awhile.

Next mods are:
-trans cooler
-scene lights on the rack
-battery upgrade

 

What battery you going with? Northstar recently got bought out sad. I have an x2 and it’s been great but know some on the forums have had issues lately.

 

Yes way to do it the right way. Aaron sold me my front suspension and FWC!

 

She is sitting right bro! That’s how it’s done. Get some e rated tires and smash stuff.

 

Know it’s off topic, and I’m sure there’s a love hate around here with my constant chatter... but here ya go. I’ve had good luck so far. It’ll run the camper and fridge for at least two days in moderate temps and cranks like a champ.

 

Dobinsons are great! They also provide great customer service.

 

@Skey44, those bumpers are killer. Thanks, I'm gotta say I'm pretty excited. I feel its absolutely just right for my needs. John at MLO was excellent to work with. I had a chance to look over a couple nice rigs they worked up with Norweld flatbeds which were pretty sick.

I haven't taken the dive researching batts yet but I will keep your pick in mind.

I'll go e-rated tires as soon as I replenish my truck fund, maybe stock size or a touch bigger. So far I like the Toyota rims.

 

How are your regular load leaf springs? Mine are STIFF still after 500 miles.

 

Not sure yet, they are sitting on the garage floor lol.

It might take a month or two until I have time to put the suspension on the truck.

 

@TundraLaw Do you ride with added weight or empty bed?

 

100 lb Kaut rack + pivot v2 swing hitch on at all times, with a 95lb Yakima rack in the bed, a full size spare... so all in all 210 lbs of extra weight in the bed/on the hitch

 

Gotcha. Again just curious for sake of sharing if you don't mind- what are your driving conditions like, and also do you ever tow?

I'm just getting a feel for mine, but for reference I have 450lb constant plus usually 50+lbs of gear, and I occasionally tow stuff. Also I am transitioning from an F-350 which was super stiff in the rear.

I like the feel of these Tundra Dobs leafs, but I would imagine it would feel stiff with empty bed especially in certain driving conditions.

 

Never tow, but I do have a rtt that goes on occasionally. Spirited driving lol. I drive it hard.

I think the dobs leafs help keep the truck planted, but it bounces a good amount. I imagine it wouldn’t if I had 500 lbs in the bed at all times, but then per dobinson’s reccs id need the hd leafs.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I haven't reallt driven with them enough yet to compare, but I am at the other end as a driver- I happen to enjoy going slow, a habit I developed trailering horses.

One thing about the Dobs medium vs HD leafs is that their weight specs are not accurate for the Tundra. I spoke in length to Main Line Overland which has done a lot of these installs and they advise HD for 700+lbs, not 500. I was torn in deciding due to the Dobs 500lb spec, but MLO along with first hand experience shared here by @Skey44 about the HDs convinced me to go with mediums.

I wonder how much added weight it would take to feel smoother...do you have a full Dobs suspension kit?

 

agreed. I’ve got the full kit.

 

Hello Tundra Fam. I recently installed Dobinsons IMS front and rear struts paired with Dobinsons heavy coils and heavy leaf springs on my 2018 tundra. With the plan on adding a winch, steel bumper and sliders in the future.

I currently carry a constant load of approximently 300+lbs in the rear (RTT, bed rack and gear).

The ride has definitely gotten stiffer compared to my previous Bilstein 6112/5160 and stock leaf springs.

Does anyone know if adding more weight with a steel bumper and winch will make the truck ride less stiff?

 

I recently installed IMS with 610 coils. It was a bit stiffer without the winch. Feels great now.

 

Your truck looks awesome! I’ll know more next week sometime. My girl is off getting bumpers as we speak. My bumper guy says it’ll ride better with the added bumpers and winch.

 

Thanks. Which bumper did you buy? Keep us posted on the ride quality after install.

 

I've put about 700 miles on my IMS shocks/778 coils and I'm still running at about 2.75" of lift. I took the truck to the desert this weekend for a bit before the weather got too shitty. The suspension rides really well on washboard roads with roller whoops and g-outs. I was able to comfortably drive these roads at 50-60mph for 30+ minutes without experiencing any shock fade or bottoming out. On the slow rocky trails is where things got a little rougher. I could feel every rock/rut on the road but the shocks did a good job keeping the truck in control. I really feel a lighter spring rate would made this front end much better overall. The rear shocks just seem to stiff a majority of time even with full tank of gas and 200lbs of tools/gear in the bed.

 

That's good to hear. It will be a purchase justification to get mine sooner lol.

 

@BroTun13 what's your setup like in the rear?

 

It seems like these IMS shocks shine at speeds, but are generally stiffer everywhere else. I'm definitely anxious to get my old fashioned twin tubes installed as see how they feel. Part of me wanted to ball out and go remote reservoir Elka, or the the OME BP-51 kit, but I knew for what I do, and living in the rust belt, it just didn't make sense.

Unfortunately I'll also be switching from a 6 ply P rated highway tire, to a 10 ply E rated mud terrain at the same time. Soooo it won't be a perfect comparison.

 

Stock leaf springs/shackles and poly bushings. When I changed out to the poly bushings with the stock shocks the rear end rode really smooth. Now it just seems to be rough most of the time

 

@BroTun13 good to know. I went with the 780 springs and like you said rides a little stiff at lower speeds but so far big bumps at higher speeds feel really good. I ended up doing the deaver f85 in the rear and removed the overload leaf since I never tow. I haven't had a chance to get out to the desert yet, but even just riding around town it already feels much better than stock springs with stock shocks.