Offroad Comfort

So the family and I have been getting into offroading more and more with the new tundra and we all love it! The only thing that is bothering the wife is on some of the extended running trails, her lower back/tailbone get sore from bouncing around. I dont think its a tundra seat style issue since she doesnt complain about the seats being uncomfortable or anything.

I was wondering if anyone on here has the same issue with the wife, or themselves and how do you deal with it? I was thinking about getting her some kind of offroading seat cushion/pad/donut or something but all i really see is some thin, generic type stuff on Amazon. Does anyone know of something like this specifically for offroading or impact absorbing?

 

air down the tires when going off road, it helps a ton. You should not be running street pressure. What pressure is best can depend on the terrain you are driving on.

 

I run 18-20 psi on even the lightest trails already. I should have mentioned that in the original post.

 

What tires do you have?

 

Not just tires, but wheels, suspension, etc. We don't know anything about your truck, OP, so it's hard to help.

 

What shocks do you have?

My wife uses this in our UTV so she can see better, but it is a big cushion:

https://www.prpseats.com/product/booster-cushion/

 

Sorry, here are more details.

2021 SR5 CM
275/65/18 BFG KO2 brand new running at 18-20 psi on the trails
Stock black shocks (Hitachi?)
Stock suspension except for added TRD sways front and back which remain connected.
Standard SR5 steelies

 

If she's not having an issue with the seats, I'd be gunning for an upgrade in the shocks. You could try a cushion as suggested above if you want to try and save money, but I think you'll see a bigger improvement from shocks.

 

Well those black shocks are marginal on the streets when new, pretty much worthless offroad. Even replacing them with the stock OR package shocks would be an improvement. You can often find them for cheap, newer takeoffs, when folks install a lift.

 

I have a set of new TRD Sport shocks, i am assuming here they would also be a big improvement over the black ones even though they are not the offroad variant?

 

They might be more of a lateral move. They are tuned (mildly) for on road stuff like cornering so I would think they would be stiffer and less forgiving on the bumps than the basic stock ones. The off road ones will be softer and absorb the bumps better.

 

You have a prime opportunity to upgrade your truck for the benefit of your family. On behalf of husbands everywhere: don't mess this up.

 

Right. Long travel time!

 

I was seriously thinking this same logic, it would be uncaring and illogical for her to deny my love for my family in this way.

 

Keep your eyes peeled in the Market Place section on this forum. It seems like once a week someone is pulling their lift off of a low mileage truck to sell it as stock since the value of our trucks is so high.

 

seeing as how this is not a build thread, ill just throw out there that im thinking of the iron man kit with a couple inch lift, that also upgrades the rear leaf springs, since their so bad stock.

 

I don't know how the iron man kit is but make sure that you research for a plush kit. Maybe call Toytech and get their input. I have the 5100 3/1 kit and I can tell you that your wife would not enjoy it one bit. It is very stiff.

 

^^ Fixed it for you.

In fact, this isn't about comfort. This is about the SAFETY of your family - which as we all know is not really up for debate. It's more of a question of "how" and "how soon" versus "if".

 

I like you. I would vote for you for office.

 

Would anyone be able to point me in the general direction of a company that has a softer suspension setup?

 

You really are not going to get any softer than stock coils with the stock black shocks. To me that setup is almost a boat like, floaty, ride. Now using them offroad, probably more bumpy because those shocks are soft and dont control off road oscillations well. Can get custom valved shocks, but they are costly.

Most of the lifted suspensions are firmer, for better control, handling off road. A firmer suspension will actually reduce the bounce and roll offroad.

 

Thanks, this is what i meant.

 

I would use the word "plush" to describe what I was looking for. "Soft" will just be overwhelmed off-road. For me, when someone uses the term "stiff" for a lift I think that it is going to feel like a straight axle leaf spring lift.

Years ago I had an S10 with a Trailmaster lift on it. It rode great on and off-road. It also articulated wonderfully on the trails. Too bad it always seemed to break.

 

Thanks for all the tips gents.

 

Just so it's said, a spacer lift won't help you here. You need to replace your front coilovers and rear shocks in order to change the bouncing. Changing the rear springs will, in most cases, make the ride less comfortable in the rear unless you have weight in the bed.

You're going to see lots of opinions on what suspension matches your needs the best. For the most part, people are happy with what they purchase because it's all they know and it's better than stock. I have owned and/or driven trucks with a number of different brands of suspension and they all have unique characteristics. Currently I have Elka suspension and I believe it's the balanced winner for my needs. I'm also a fan of OME, but again that's me.

Whichever way you go, I would suggest giving extra consideration to a suspension that allows you to adjust compression/rebound. It's usually extra money to get that feature but it will allow you to dial in the ride based on family feedback, terrain and weight.

 

There's also another alternative: drive slower

 

Said the guy with the 700 hp buggy and supersweet, supercharged Tundra!

 

Yes, and if I was monetarily conscious I would go a lot slower

 

Yeah, i was not going to go the spacer route. I was planning on going all out with some type of coilover system. Usually when we go, i have the back of the truck pretty fairly loaded as we have all of our crap (we have 2 small kids) with us since we go offroading up in the mountains when we go to stay at our cabin for a few days.

While this would be my first suspension upgrade for a truck, i have had enough cars with suspension upgrades to know that you need to pay a little more upfront to avoid going back and upgrading some things here and there and it ending up costing more than if i just did it up front.

 

Don't be silly, sir.