Bed Bounce Fix?

BED BOUNCE IN TUNDRA'S

Having owned multiple Tundra's (for some reason, homeless drunk people and texting teenagers love hitting my trucks), I can tell you that IT DOES NOT MATTER what shocks you have on your truck. You will see plenty of people that all have the same suggestions: "get Bilsteins," then the opposite, "get the cheapest, softest pair you can," and of course, all of the idiots in between, "there are specific vibration frequencies that only happen because of your speed and the spare tire, so wedge a pool noodle or tennis shoe in between your frame and the tire" (that was my favorite--lots of scientists online).

It's all BS. I have owned 2 brand new Crew Max's in ~3.5 years, and had a rental double cab for 6 weeks while waiting for the first to be repaired (yep, that's how many drunks, meth heads, and lunatics we have on our streets here in Thornton, CO). I've had the TRD package with the billsteins, and the base SR5 with the factory stock shocks, and tried everything I could aftermarket. Regardless of whether you are stock ride, or have the +3 +1 lift/level, these trucks will have the worst bed bounce of any truck in the country. Unfortunately, due to timing/seasons, and length of ownership, I did not realize how truly bad this was until truck number two.

Anyway, you will also notice about half the people on these forums simply reply "huh? bed bounce? Don't know what you're talking about."

That is also the same response you will get from anyone at a dealership (until you get to talk to one of the mechanics in the back). The other response, from the bigger jerk-offs at the dealership (usually the salesmen or service manager), will be "that sounds to me like it's a road problem. I've never heard one complaint about a Tundra and I've sold these trucks for XX years. You should complain to your county government." Oh, salesmen.

The reason for this is bed bounce only happens on washboard dirt roads, paved roads that are worn down pretty bad (similar to washboard), and of course, concrete roads (no matter how old or new)---which are now the preferred highway construction type across Southern CA, CO, the southwest, and of course, the vast majority of the south and (from what I understand), some of the midwest (as it lasts longer than pavement).

So really, it's only a problem for like, half the people in the country; not big enough to get Toyota to admit to or do anything (kind of like how every Tundra that has a FlexFuel V8 won't start in the winter after ~30k miles, and they try to blame it on "driving too fast for the first 2-3 miles after filling up your tank."...don't worry though, they will replace your fuel filter with the same filter they haven't had in stock for 2 years--just sign up on our waitlist, use only E-85, and hope your truck starts every morning from November to April).

Anyway, that brings up another type of solution you will hear from people: "if you drive under 55 on the highway, it'll go away," or "it only happens between 58 and 70, so drive 75-80."

Nope. Wish it was that easy. I've even gone as far as to drive 40 on I-25 (which is scary as shit, and only recommended when there is virtually no traffic), to 95 mph. If you are on a concrete road, you will have bed bounce basically at any speed above ~30-35 mph.

The real answer is: it will always bounce. The degree of the bounce (between slightly annoying and making your passengers sick/having other drivers give you strange looks on the highway), is entirely dependent upon the temperature and the spacing between concrete seams, or the degree of damage to paved and dirt roads. Undriveable in the winter on these road types, and not as big a deal in the summer.

The only solution is to add a ton of weight to the bed. You will need at least 300 lbs of sandbags in the winter to make it tolerable to drive on concrete highways. Some people have said 450-600...I tried that and it is a little better. Of course, your mpg will drop 10-15%, your acceleration will suck, and your tires will start to wear unevenly (or at least that is what I was told by several Tundra owners). Not ideal, but there you go.

During the summer, just deal with it...until you buy something else (which will be my solution in the next couple of years).

It's all a tradeoff, unfortunately. If you want a smooth ride, and don't mind catastrophic electrical system failures on new vehicles, get a Ram. Want a happy medium at 20% higher price with it's own mechanical problems on brand new trucks, get a GMC...want a POS, get a Titan.

 

its caused by the stock bushings in the leaf spring. they have teeth on them that prevent that joint from articulating. this is what is causing the rough ride and the bouncing.

replace them with these bushings:
https://shop-coachbuilder.myshopify...af-spring-eyelets?_pos=2&_sid=f117220e3&_ss=r

I just added the +2 coachbuilder shackles with those bushings and the ride totally smoothed out.

 

I have heard people a few say replacing the bushings helps a little--but I have also heard that buying billstiens helps...and those were the worst shocks I've ever had for city/highway use (I get that's not the intended purpose).

What was your opinion of the ride quality with the bushings prior to the shackles?

As I have the dealer-installed +3/+1.5 lift level kit, I am assuming adding the shackles is probably a no-go for me.

 

It will still bounce, shackles, bushings, shocks, nope still bounces. 1 of the members here (papasmurf??) Even still had bed bounce after going LT rear suspension.

 

Thanks for the heads up...

That's what I figured...just more aftermarket products to blow money on with little to no results. Honestly, if it didn't reduce the bounce by at least ~40-50%, I probably wouldn't notice enough anyway to justify all the time and money...I've sunk enough money and time into both my tundra's in the last 4 years, that I think I'm done. It seems like every solution has 1 or 2 people that swear by it, and then 10x that say it doesn't work (and lo and behold, none of them worked for me).

Between chasing around all of the insane dashboard rattles and vibrations (which started at 20k miles on the dot), the AC/Defrost venting burning fumes and smoke into the cab from 25K - 49K (which the dealership pretended was not happening, even though Toyota's owner satisfaction survey asks about this issue at length), the truck not starting in the winter for the last two years (20K - 49K), and the bed bounce on the highways in Colorado, I'm throwing in the towel and going back to GM next go-round.

 

I have a 2019 SR DC, and after a long highway trip I was ready to get rid of it because of the rough ride. I did several things: put on new Falken LT 275/70R18s, rear Bilstein 5100s, Toytec shackles and TRD rear sway bar. I think those alone improved the bed bounce but not completely.

As @2017tundraCrew mentioned - adding weight to the bed is what really solved the issue. I hauled 600 lbs of stuff on a pretty rough stretch of road and it rode great. No bed bounce at all.

 

2019 tundra crew max. Today I had my tundra at a shop all day to try and figure out my bed bounce. They road force balanced all the wheels, checked alignment, checked suspension, checked thrust angle And test drove it on the freeway. The shop called me and told me all tundras have bed bounce and they checked/tried everything they could think of but was unable to find a solution. This really made me want to get rid of it do to my bed bounce was worst then any tundra I had driven. My 2015 did not bounce like this even tho that truck had a 4 inch lift. I ended up having my lot tech pick it up and was thinking about trying the sand bag method after work. Went to Home Depot and picked up 4 bags of 60lb sand bags. I placed three bags long ways end to end right behind the tail gate and placed the 4th one right behind the middle bag. 60lbs on driver side/60lbs on passenger side/120lbs in the middle. Total weight for those who don’t know how to add is 240lbs. As I loaded the bags in the bed I had this hopeless doubt feeling that this was just a waist of time. Hit the freeway and it blew my titts away. No more bed bounce literally 100% resolved. The freeway I drive on is all cement and I have a 25 mile commute to work and another 25 miles back to home so bed bounce I could not live with as this was driving me insane thinking I needed to add more upgrades. My truck has never been this smooth on the freeway. Anyways I thought I would chime in to express what worked for me. 240lbs spread out evenly eliminated my bed bounce and I would encourage others to try it out. Shocks I think would have a effect on how much weight is going to eliminate the bounce due to different shocks have different load ratings. If 240lbs does not eliminate the bounce for you then keep adding weight and drive, eventually you will find the right amount of weight.

 

I have had both and my DC does not bounce near as much as my CM did. The CM bed bounce was significant and adding weight helped.

 

No doubt, there is a section of the I-5 going south, about 5 miles before the base of the Grapevine and then on up the mountain that has crazy bounce. Watching out the mirror, you can see the joints in the road just flying by, the cause of so much grief.

 

Guy who just taco'd his truck: The axles are all bent! What are these things made out of anyway?!?
Engineer: Ummmm....Steel....

 

I wonder if the Tundra owners who boxed in the rear open C channel part of the frame got rid of the bounce.

 

Bed bounce is more pronounced on short wheel base trucks, the solution on my RCSB was to install the rear only 3.25" lowering kit from SOS Performance. This leveled the truck and it improved the ride as well as how the truck handled.

 

I live in Cheyenne and drive down the I-25 corridor A LOT to Denver and CO Springs, and the bed bounce is horrible. It really is a bummer that no one can find a definitive fix, it's honestly a dealbreaker as far as further ownership goes. Love having a pickup (it's my first), but that the vaunted TRD Pro suspension gets its ass handed to it on so many stretches of road kind of blows me away. It's some weird combination of the lift, the suspension, the bed length, and the road itself that causes it? No other full-size truck from other manufacturers suffers from this?

 

In my 2019 crewmax I hauled 500lbs of faux stone in the bed along I-25 in Denver and that stretch of highway felt no difference. How much weight did you add to resolve it?

 

Maybe 150 pounds of tools. It’s never really gone. It’s got to do with the wheel base and the spaces in between the joints of concrete on the highway. Luckily I don’t have to travel section of road like that often.

 

Funny overloading chicks....Not cool.

 

Do believe the Ford Super Duty trucks suffer from similar issues... I have a long bed on dead stock shocks and notice it more on concrete sections of highway, and I usually have to either shift lanes, or slow down, or speed up to alleviate it... I usually find a sweet spot of 72mph in certain areas and in the middle lanes, far left lane is horrible, far right lane is slightly less horrible for CA roads... Also notice it in my lowered Celica KYB on Tein lowering springs, I'll start bouncing in certain areas, so it may be more of a way the concrete settles on the framed underpinnings and it may be other suspensions have a better tolerance to it, but I'm no engineer...

 

Tundra is the only 1/2 ton with a flexible open C frame under the bed. Isn’t this why it bounces? Seems to be the reason it twerks.

We have such a huge aftermarket for modifying and accessorizing our trucks. Why has no one has produced a kit of steel plates and a crossmember for boxing in the single C channel part of the frame? I know I would buy it. Maybe I’m one of a very few.

I saw such a kit for Tacomas...forgot the company name, and I’m not sure it’s still produced.

 

Found it! I would buy a kit like this for the Tundra in a heartbeat.

http://dmzfab.com/product/2005-tacoma-frame-boxing-kit/

 

All pickup trucks suffer from it. Some worse than others.

 

I have no bed bounce. Fab shop that did mine told me they can make the pieces, but I removed/replaced all the crossmembers with tube. Some of my friends kept them and used DMZ style boxing, but they still get the bounce. Mine is probably overkill

 

My 2019 Tundra DC is more solid than my 2012 F-150, the bed on the F-150 rattled like a screen door in a hurricane...

 

I had a '97 Chevy that did the same bounce as my Tundra CM. Like the post above said the sweet spot is around 72 mph here in SoCal. Especially on the 210 from La Canada to Glendora. My poor kids make that "AAAAAAAAA" sound when I don't have the speed sinked to the cracks in the highway concrete. Adding weight in the back when we go to Mammoth helps some but it is still in the speed and timing.

 

LMAO my kid used to do the same thing when he was little, and would raise his arms to mock me... lol..

 

Looks worth it to me

 

Did you go with the 3 inch wide SUA?

 

I have never felt this in my DC, is this mostly a CM problem?

 

It’s a 2nd and 3rd gen tundra problem

 

I had my mounts changed as well. Back in 2010. The bounce did not go away but they did help some.

 

I have 4-60lb sand bags laying in bed right over the axels. Smooths out the ride very well. They sell em at home depot for like 5 bucks a piece.
D'oh. I didn t notice this is a 2 year old post.