Dobinsons Suspension Review

@Jeremy323 so far, so good. The update shackles came with their own bushings, so I didn't use four of the six in the set I originally purchased. I did use two for the front pins.

 

Oddly, it seems more to be coming from the u-bolt area.

 

The only thing I can see as a cause is that the Dobinsons pack does not have shims between each leaf and below the pack, as was with my old pack.

One other note for others I noticed the e-brake line was in contact with one of the pack u-clamps. I was able to simply bend the line brackets to reposition. Something to look out for.

Photos comparing the packs:

 

I have some minor creaking at low speeds/stopped if I have my windows down. Always wondered what it was but just not loud enough to take notice. (Dobinsons leafs 2022 install). No issues at all. When I had stock leafs in my 2017 and 2021 if I offroaded alot without washing the leafs would creak and I think it was sand/dust between in the gaps.

 

Make sure they're torqued on the ground under full load. If they were done up in the air, when the leaf packs are more curve, they may not be tight properly, allowing movement, allowing noise. These things usually never make noise.

 

Following up on this, if anyone else has the issue, I may have solved the issue by following a suggestion @memario1214 posted. I inserted a piece of bicycle inner tube between the bottom leaf and the one above.

 

@crikeymike, longtime lurker with a question about achieving the perfect grandpa truck set up. Love the Dobinsons set up on my 4Runner, now for the Tundra.

I want to maintain factory rake and height, while adding the Dobinsons bumper. What Dobinsons shock/strut and coil combo that I can buy preassembled from ExitOffroad will end up at same factory height, or at least close with minimal lift occurring?

Dobinsons C59-778 Front 2.5″ Lift coils with Dobinsons GS59-710 Pair of Front Struts? Or is a stiffer spring needed for the bumper? No plans for a winch or other heavy accessories besides the bumper.

 

Hey bud. Unfortunately none of our options will be at stock height. 2" of lift is the minimum lift height you'll end up with. The C59-778 coils are the lighter spring rate, but depending on the bumper weight, they'll still probably sit at 2" of lift height.

If that would work for you, this page here is what you'd order from: https://exitoffroad.com/product/dob...bled-ims-coilovers-for-toyota-tundra-2007-21/

 

Good to know, thank you. I will consider but can probably work with that.

 

Hey @crikeymike, any Labor Day sales those of us needing Dobinsons kits can take advantage of?

 

All sales that we do are listed at the top of our website. We also email out a notification when there is some serious sales going on by subscribing to the email list at the bottom of any page on our website.

 

So no Labor Day sales. Bummer.

 

Yes the bumper ship for free and there's also a deal on drawers. There are no deals on suspension due until Black Friday.

 

I've got around 400 miles on my full Dobinson's kit and wanted to give my feedback here since this thread helped me decide:
I love it so far. It's exactly what I was looking for. My stock leafs were getting to be a little too wavy for my liking (only 86k but hauled cap & tools since new and occasional heavy towing) but by time I ordered it turned into a full suspension. The softness of the modern 1/2 ton is gone replaced by a firm but not hard feel. Body roll is noticeable reduced and it wants to grab the road like never before. I find myself not bothering to swerve around our rustbelt potholes anymore and it soaks them up easily. The stock suspension served me well but now I kinda wish I did this years ago.

Stuff:
778 coils, 710 strut, L59-120-R leafs, 711 rear shocks, SPC UCA's, greaseable bolts and shackles
Hub center to fender:
Before f22 3/8 and r23 3/4
After f24 5/8 and r25 7/8
Measurements taken in gravel driveway so could be off a bit.

 

Towed anything with this setup?

How are the dirt road washboards if you have encountered them?

This is the exact setup I have been looking at for my 2017. At 130k my leafs are flat and starting to wrap the axle. Shocks are Rough Country Vertex 2.5's I believe and while they are fine I can tell they are not in their prime anymore.

Edit: Also, where did you happen to order from?

 

I have basically the same set up (look back at posts #718 on page 24 and #724 on page 25). I've been on this set up for about two and half years now.

I have towed a lot with this suspension and I've been very, very happy with it. I've towed a ~8000lb camper, and multiple cars on my trailer. One trip was from PA to Maine, then right back to PA with a different car on the trailer. The rear leaf springs are fantastic and significantly better than the OEM springs. The shocks are not fancy, but they absolutely do the job. I bought this because I live in the Northeast so I didn't want fancy coilovers that would rust and need to be rebuilt every 30k miles. I wanted something bombproof, and these have fit the bill.

I haven't driven many "washboard" type roads, but mild off-roading through my father's farm it handles very well and is planted. Again, these aren't going to perform like nicer coilovers, but they are robust.

Also I ordered from Main Line Overland in West Chester, PA because they were only about an hour from my house, so I was able to save on shipping by picking everything up from there. Otherwise @crikeymike at Exit Offroad is extremely helpful and an approved vendor. You absolutely cannot go wrong ordering with him.

 

Man I want this suspension so bad but have been trying to save up for years and other stuff keeps getting in the way. $3,000 to get the kit, then going to want wheels and tires to go with it. Looking at a $5,000-$6,000 proposition, not including installation.

 

Yeah it's a hard bullet to bit lol. I warned my wife when I bought the truck that this was in the cards lol. I had to wait until bonus season so I wasn't eating into regular funds, but still, it's a good chunk of change. And I think I got lucky too before prices went up even more. I think I snagged the whole kit for $1300 after tax locally, then bought front spring mounts and Adjustable Mevortech (SPC) upper arms from Rock Auto, plus the lift shackle. So I think I spent about $2k, then just over $2k for wheels and tires. But again, prices have gone up on everything since then sadly.

Keep the faith! Or just sabotage your current suspension so you HAVE to buy this kit

 

I haven't towed with it yet and it's only seen pavement and smooth gravel.

Bought from Exit Offroad-crikeymike.

 

did you do the diff drop?

 

Yes I did. It doesn't drop very much at the axles maybe only 3/4" at most but anything is better than nothing I guess.

 

No vibes or weird noises?

 

Nope nothing. Drives smooth like stock just a tighter feel.

 

I just had it on the interstate for 130 miles this weekend. Up to 80 mph it's perfectly smooth

 

Looking at dobinson rear leaf packs, currently I have +2 Coachbuilder shackles with stock leaf packs.
The weight in the back is starting to make the truck sag a bit more than I like.

• bed rack: 80lbs
• softopper: 40lbs
• decked drawer system: 200lbs
• spare tire carrier+spare tire: 200lbs

So even with no cargo its about 520lb constant weight.

Below is Dobinson's option for my tundra,

• L59-120-R – 4 + 2 Leaves Raised Height (55mm, 2.25″ Lift) Heavy Duty for stock to medium loads
• L59-121-R – 5 + 2 Leaves Raised Height (55mm, 2.25″ Lift) Heavy Duty for heavy constant loads (400LBS+) (For campers, and heavy constant load rear ends)
• L59-122-R – 5 + 2 Leaves (7 leaf pack) Raised Height (55mm, 2.25″ Lift) Heavy Duty for a constant load of at least 1000LBS (450KG)

Would it be safe to assume the L59-121-R is the right choice for me even with my +2 CB shackles? And would the dobinson leave packs work with cb shackles without modification?

Thank you for your time.

 

I think the rear will be lifted too much with those new springs plus the extra height from the shackles.

Yes, the L59-121-R would be ideal with the added weight you have, unless you didn't want quite as much lift, you could run the L59-120-R's, as they have 1 leaf less.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention what I already have currently. This is how my truck sits now. 2 inch front and 1inch rear lift (with the 520lbs in the back it probably is even lower than stock?) and 37s. So I think it could actually look proper with the L59-121-R option.

 

OK cool. Yeah, I'd say go for the 121's and perhaps be prepared to remove the shackles if the lift height is more than you'd like.

 

Thank you, another question arose when I looked at the options.

Does 121 come with assembled or does it come with a 120 and require me to add a leaf on top of 120, or does it with 122 and require me to remove a leaf from 122?

Just trying to get things clear for my installer.

Thank you