"New" Tundra Owner - Suspension Recs

Hey All - Stoked to join the community here and be part of the Toyota family! So I purchased my first Toyota (long time Ford fanboy lol) about 5 months ago. A practically new 2020 Tundra Platinum. I've logged about 12-15k miles on it and so far - really loving the truck. Including a 500 mile (each way) trip down Baja, where the Toyota reliability/peace of mind really shined. However, like all things - there are a couple trade offs vs. my old truck (13 F-250 diesel) and things that I'm ready to upgrade now being fully familiar with the truck. So here's a quick rundown of my current setup + goals/more info:

Current setup: stock suspension w/ TRD Sway + TRD Pro 18" Wheels + Toyo Open Country AT2 (295/70/R18 E rated & ran at 55F + 65R PSI)
Goals: smooth out on and off road handling + manage rear sag when towing/hauling + retain current level look
Thinking: upgrade suspension components for better ride quality + add airbags (detached with the plates) to fix rear sag

To give a little insight on how the truck is used: 50% daily driver duties + 25% weekend warrior trips with bed/payload fully loaded + 25% weekend warrior trips towing 26' Airstream (weighs about 6k-7.5k w/ tongue weight about 1,200lbs). The factory suspension is fully taxed by the time we load myself + wife + 2 labs + camping gear + 38 gallons of fuel + trailer tongue weight. Have already bottomed out/bump-stopped bounced a few times. On-road looking to smooth out the bumps and road feedback as well as minimize tire steer. Honestly, the OEM Tundra ride isn't great or nearly as refined as others I've been in (not complaining just looking to fix). Off-road use is primarily on washboard fire trials in CA + CO + Baja so smoothing out high speed bumps would be huge!

So now with my long-winded first intro post out of the way lol - would love to hear everyone's suggestions + feedback + sample setups (especially those overlanders here)! Thanks in advance all and looking forward to the convo!!

 

Falcon Towing set or Eibach 2.0 with a Roadmaster active suspension kit.

 

Congrats and welcome. Nice clean Rig

 

If you’re considering airbags, I assume you’ll likely be running an arb onboard compressor…I’d recommend adding a tire pressure regulator system from updownair at the same time when you’re running airlines to the rear (can work with either onboard or portable compressor). Speedflate is another company that makes a tire up/down kit, but is portable versus installed in comparison to the updownair. This will help make deflation/inflation of all 4 tires a breeze, and serve you well when off-roading on washboard trails (while not towing); this is just as, if not more beneficial than a new suspension setup.

 

Indeed I am and great point about off-road benefit of airing down. Nothing like rolling through the washboards on Flintstone's tires (rock hard @65psi and gnarly sidewalls lol). Thanks for the suggestion on this as I haven't gotten as far as the onboard compressor selection. Which brings to another point - where to mount? Plenty of space in engine compartment - is this most peoples go-to?

 

Thanks for the recs - I actually haven't seen those Eibach's you mentioned until now. Was leaning towards Icon but those look nice. Any firsthand experience with the Roadmaster? Look very interesting maybe saves going airbag route.....

 

most of the engine bay mounts are installed either near the passenger side firewall behind the air box like this one: https://sdhqoffroad.com/products/07-21-toyota-tundra-arb-air-compressor-mount-kit or Rago fabrication makes a mount that I believe installs over the fuse box behind the battery.

I used the installed pressure regulator setup with a universal mount from updownair and a portable viair 400p for being able to take the compressor in either my truck or wife’s suv. Would’ve gone onboard if doing airbags though-just don’t tow anything of that weight frequently enough to warrant consideration…this is my post with the updownair: https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...5-gen-tundra-today.713/page-2142#post-2445327

Search sumo springs on here too—others have used those with success in the rear for towing…no personal experience on those though.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

Someone will figure out really quickly to run the 22 rear suspension in the 2.5 Tundras if it could be done that with a three inch lift might be the ticket?? But I do not know nothing about suspensions!!! Good luck nice rig!!!

 

What about a Icon add a leaf + upgrade front & rear shocks. Any firsthand experience with those?

 

Stock black shocks are pretty terrible. Those would be the first thing I’d look at replacing.

For load support you can go airbags, Roadmaster Active Suspension, or SumoSprings. I like the SumoSprings but I’m running about half the tongue weight you are. No air to worry about and it eliminates harsh bottoming out. The Roadmaster Active Suspension is also a pretty sweet setup and can be added with the SumoSprings. If I carried more weight than I do now I’d be adding the Roadmaster Active Suspension.

 

How does the setup ride not towing/fully loaded? Less moving parts (air) sounds nice but I would trade ride quality/the right solution for a few more pieces if need be. Thanks!!

 

SumoSprings ride like stock. The only noticeable difference empty is they don’t bottom out as hard.