Favorite Suspension w/Reservoirs

I’m debating on which route I want to go with my suspension build. My plan is to primarily use the truck for towing, camping, and off-roading. I’m going to go with JBA UCA’s. I want to get between 2-4” of lift. I don’t anticipate a .5” drop because of a metal bumper and winch I’ll install.

Right now on my list are Fox, Dobinson, King, and Bilstein. I’m leaning towards Fox. My biggest concern with Bilstein are that the reservoirs are pretty small. ​

 

Fox are good and there are plenty of people that run them. From what I remember, they fixed the issue with the bottom spring retainer chopping the brake line. I'm personally running ADS and absolutely love them. I would suggest deciding whether external reservoirs are necessary and worth it. Do you want suspension that will need to be sent in for a rebuild every couple years?
Plenty of people on here run King suspension and are happy with it. I would personally be inclined to go with King over Fox, and then Dobinson and Bilstein. But that's me. Good luck.

 

This ^^ is pretty much where I landed on my journey while picking folks' brains.

I wanted to go ADS myself, but was getting lots of push to go King or Fox from others, and ADS' lead time and my realistic absence of need for paying that much money based on my real-world usage (not just what I dreamt of going out and doing some day) is how I landed with Toytec. I at least knew of Elka and their reputation, so I knew the Toytecs I ordered should be solid quality, enough to last me the next 3-5 years.

Some day I'll like to revisit the situation, but for now, I'm generally happy with what I've got, and because I didn't break the bank (walked out the door at around $800 total for my fronts), I had ample cash to finish out everything else you need to do when lifting, which basically primed myself for an easier upgrade (coilovers only) later down the road, when I saved up the cash, and hopefully after my Toytec COs are about ready for rebuild.

I think the #1 problem people run into when they come on here looking to lift their truck is being absolutely unrealistic about their needs. i.e. Stuck on getting the "best" right away, as if budget isn't an option, and there wasn't a bigger picture to things, i.e. forgetting you need to order a bunch of stuff along with it, and the other stuff costs a LOT also. Getting stuck on having the top-tier name brands, or ordering things, like shocks with external rez when all they're going to do is mallcrawl.

I think the #2 problem we see on here is people being totally unrealistic about the value of their dollar. i.e Either thinking they're going to spend $1k and get a legit 3" lift (the people who ultimately go Rough Country and other shit brands), or those who buy shit stuff because they don't realize that for $1k you can actually have a pretty solid 1.5" lift, if not 2" which is really all they need.

 

Im leaning towards external res due to added longevity and reliability. I had Bilstein 5112(?) in the past and I kept having to service them annually. I’m hoping to get increased performance for a lot of the fast dirt trails out here. I’d like a 2” lift after bumper and winch install.

 

I don't think the external resi is going to add reliability or longevity. It will help with providing more travel and performance. I want to say that the Bilstein 6112 is can be serviced but I can't remember. I would suggest looking for something a little better built to last longer and hopefully get the performance you're looking for. Again, external resi may not be necessary, but to each their own. I think it's overkill for what I use mine for, but I wanted to give them a try. I probably wouldn't do it again because I'm not driving my truck that hard and it's one more thing to mess with.

 

Most of the trails out here have some pretty intense wash board trails and I was thinking the performance might be worth it? From what I remember the Bilsteins couldn’t be serviced like King or Fox and they had to be warrantied out each time. Don’t quote me on that tho lol, I just dropped it off at the shop.

Honestly if I can get similar performance for a decent price, without going the reservoir route, then I’d be interested in that.

 

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the whole purpose of the external rez is to allow more fluid storage, enable the option for more compact design, and reduce heat directly on the shock by keeping warm fluid (as heat builds from lots of woops/rapid travel) away from the shock body.

But the way it was described to me, "Unless you're at least semi-pro racer, doing long courses, you're probably not going to see the benefit, it just looks cool".

 

That makes sense. I was always told to go with the res upgrade for a few extra hundred bucks to save myself the cost down the road. It seems to make sense, but now I need to do more research and see.

 

I’m willing to spend $2,400 for the suspension. I’d prefer less if it’s not necessary. The hardest trails I’ve done so far are “hard” on AllTrails and I plan on doing some MOAB trails once I’ve increased my abilities and knowledge. I’m still primarily using this truck to tow.

 

Curious, what do you already have done suspension-wise?

Because I'm in for $2,400 starting from scratch, with my uppers, extended links, coilovers, rear shocks, and new leafs. And all of that stuff I got on sale, 10-30% below normal retail.

Then another $2,600 in wheels and tires, I think, but I don't want to add up the real number on those because the damage is probably worse. And that's only if we exclude the $1300 or so I dropped on these wheels I'm trying to sell for way less.

A couple of the brands you're talking about installing, you're not going to get in under $2,400 unless you leave out other essential things you need to get the amount of lift you want, OR you already have some stuff installed you haven't mentioned.

 

Ahh I forgot to account for needing extended links and AAL’s. I ordered JBA UCA’s. Im not counting the UCA towards the $2,400 because that desperately needed replacement anyway lol. Im looking at spending $2,400 before tax.

I currently have a 2” spacer lift from previous owner

 

I wouldn't screw with AAL when you can spend under $400 before shipping to get a new heavy duty leaf pack that will give you 1.5" - 2" lift. I had to learn that lesson the hard way.

Whatever you do, if you do go AAL, DO NOT get the Icon setup. Unless you like buying shit you can't use. Their AAL "51100" kit advertises great numbers. But gives you less than an inch IRL.

 

Do you have a recommendation for 2” AAL packs?

 

Is there such a thing? Learn from my fuckup - AAL is a band-aid when you can pay ~$150 more and have a fresh, new, full leaf pack.

 

That’s what I meant, lol I’m tired. Do you have a recommendation for a leaf pack?

 

All the knowledge I have on leafs is in the "suspension and wheels" section of the MEGATHREAD

 

Deaver will cost 2x as much as ATS.

 

^^^that. I always have wondered why in the heck anyone in a toyota truck (of any model) whose driving style is to simply slowpoke on a gravel road/trail require a need for reservoirs. If you're going to be driving fast and hitting multiple whoops, then sure. But at the same time, you'll probably shake loose the 360 degree camp awning that attached to the rain gutters, and the lazy susan spice rack will dump paprika all over the bedside MOLLE Teva sandal organizer. Lots and lots and lots of guys who actually wheel their 4x4s hard, still go with a tried and true emulsion shock. No doubt remote reservoirs look race ready rad, so if i had some spare $$$$, i'd install them as well...but i personally don't see myself benefiting from them.

 

Lots of 1st gen'ers including me. Just as high quality as Deaver imho, based on what I've seen.

 

I have the Toytec AAL on my truck. It's actually a progressive mini leaf pack by Deaver. But @shifty` is right that it's a bandaid. Getting some replacement leafs are going to give you better long-term results. I'll be buying some Archive Garage leafs once they are back in stock and hopefully having a Black Friday sale.

 

Im interested in going with a leaf pack but 1 grand on Deaver is mind blowing to me... @Shifty, were you able to get 2" or more from your ATS 90-221HD leaf packs? I'm looking at those.

 

I got exactly 2" per my before/after measurements, yes. Maybe a hair more, I did and still have extra weight in the rear, first with a heavier-weight Bakflip, and now with a full-on cap, which hasn't reduced my rear drop one bit. Others from all different cab types settled out with 1.75"-2" which is the only reason I felt pretty confident going with them. Thing is, even if you don't get 2", with 4 leafs and an overload, there's no problem with slapping a 1" block in there to nudge you up a hair more. They're stout enough you're not going to need to worry about leaf twist from slapping that block in as you would with AAL or stock springs.

I've watched too many folks on here get Archive and Deaver packs only to see them stinkbugging after. Sometimes that was the desire/goal, others it wasn't. And in @daveeasa's case he ended up with squat, if my memory is serving me well.

YMMV. But yeah. You don't need to spend $800-1,200 on leafs from some other name. ATS makes solid stuff, and what you'll get lift-wise is a "known quantity" because several others have already been there, and I can name them off if you need the proof

 

I'm hoping to find one closer to 2.5" or 3". Seems like they're hard to find out there without adding blocks or something like that.

 

Go ATS HD. Get extended U-bolts. Add a block.

 

Well after much debate, I'm stuck between going the Toytech Boss lift kit, Dobinson, or OME. I decided that I more than likely don't need res' based on my anticipated usage. Worst case scenario I go down the path of rebuilding them as needed. I've heard OME make a pretty rough ride. I'm not looking for cadillac feel, but something better than my OG shocks lmao

 

I've got the toytec boss. It rides good, and I put it though some decent punishment and it came out fine.

 

@805Tundra and I have the Aluma Boss 2.0 which is different from what BMF is running, but maybe an option? Aluma Boss is basically Elka's $2k+ setup, rebranded. I think they're running $1,200 for fronts at the moment and climbing the longer you wait, but they do have regular deals for 10% (sometimes more) off during major holidays, especially if it's somethign big like Black Friday, Veterans Day, etc. They also offer all forum members 5% off any time, coupon code is in their vendor forum here. I like em. General driving they're tight. They're a little stiff for my taste on washboard stuff (rumble strips, anything with lots of consecutive tiny-tiny bumps) but awesome on anything that would have the truck otherwise floating up and down, like I'd imagine they're exceptional on whoopdedoos.

 

I was actually thinking of doing that: waiting till black Friday and upgrading to the alumas since I upgraded to the rear aluma shocks when I bought mine. You know, just to make em match.

 

I mean, I'm sure you could get a good $500 for your pull-offs, right? That's paying for half, right?

 

That's the plan!