Coachbuilder vs Toytec Shackles

Hey all,

I'm piecing together the parts for my lift over the next few months, thinking about placing the order for the shackles next week. I have the rear Boss shocks in my possession already (courtesy of Toytec and @Sean266). As far as the shackles go, it appears to me that the main difference between the Toytec and CB ones is the former is adjustable between 1-1.5", whereas the latter is a set height. The goal is 3" in front and 1-1.5" in back, and keep some rake for the times I pull a trailer or have a load in the bed.

Basically, is there anything else about the two shackle options that makes one a better choice than the other? Or anything else I don't know about going the shackles route? Any advice is appreciated.

 

I think they're both solid shackles.

Coach builder is bigger than toytec and forged, toytec isn't. That's the only other difference I can think of.

I'm still on the fence about that also.

 

Brian, don't you have yours set at 1.25"?

 

looks meaty ..look at that little boy next to it.

 

I have the +2 Coachbuilers. They are BEEFY. Wouldn't buy anything else. Call David and talk to him. You'll be convinced. He's a stand up guy. If you have any questions during installation you can simply text him and he'll walk you through anything.

 

I've got the Toytecs, I like them a lot. They are beefy for sure, and allows for changes down the road if needed. The ones in the pics above are set at 1". The shackles have 3 holes, the bottom isn't used, the middle one is 1" of lift, and the top is 1.5" of lift.

 

Another option is the TC shackles. I'm running them and they've worked great for me for the past few months. IIRC they're between 3/4" and 1" rear lift

 

Are new bushings a must?

 

I'd go with ToyTec. Solid weld. No weak point where bolted together. Not so sure about them being smaller than CB's either. The ToyTec's are pretty frigging beefy big. Mine are set at 1" inch. At that setting plus AAL I have kept a decent rake. Without AAL's you'd probably have to set them at 1.5" to maintain rake.

 

What do you have on the front?

 

Brian, whats your experience at the 3.25" height? The fact I may be able to extend the boss kit a little higher than 3" is a real selling point for me.

 

Have you done this yet? Can you show before and after pics?

 

I have coachbuilder rear shackles by Ekstrom Design on my 2017 Tundra. David at ekstrom is very knowledgeable and helpful. In my opinion he has worked out the weak links in most lifted Tundras. I would also suggest looking into the coachbuilder steering ends. I wasn't sure how big of a difference the shackles and steering ends would really make until I drove my new truck on 37" tires. Talk to David and ask him for yourself. He also sells shim kits for larger lifts to help correct alignment issues. Here are photos of the rear shackles and steering ends.

 

looks meaty..

 

@joonbug

 

I've had quite a few ask the same question and wanted to reply to these threads.. Our Coachbuilder Shackles are quite different than anything else available for the 2007+ Tundra, Back in 2009 We originally built our shackles in 3 sizes and used .50" laser cut steel. Hand welded, sand blasted and then powder coated. Yes they were incredibly strong.. looked great and provided the lift we were looking for but didn't address any of the flaws we all share being Tundra owners. The rear suspension is not very functional nor does it provide much for overall ride quality and allows a huge amount of side to side flex creating a bound up pivot. Myself being a Tundra owner with 20+ years in manufacturing and knowing we were using the same technology from the 70's in our original steel shackle design we had a lot of room for improvement. With strong lightweight billet material and cutting edge finishes available We set out to engineer the strongest most functional and precise product we could dream up. Addressing the flaws the Tundra was cursed with from its factory design and knowing it had to last as long as Toyotas are famous for. I won't go into design specifics but know our Billet Coachbuilder Shackles are specifically engineered and designed for the weight of the Tundra, the amount this vehicle is capable of towing and exactly what was needed to improve ride quality. Keep in mind.. the larger the lift.. the larger the tires and the more power we make the pivoting links that hold our trucks together need to handle this added stress without hesitation. This was also the mind set when designing our Poly bushings. You may ask yourself why we don't build a set of shackles with multiple holes providing different ride height options and adaptors for the hardware? Its simple.. By creating a part that used in a universal application we are defeating its primary purpose all together.

Hope this helps answer a few questions many have.
https://shopcoachbuilder.com

 

I have the @Coachbuilder1 +2's (wish i got the +3's with the weight i have in the back) but these shackles are a big upgrade from stock. They minimize bed bounce with the added poly bushings. Very heavy duty and very well made. I can't give David (The owner) enough compliments on his customer service. He answered all calls and all texts right away with all the patience in the world.

 

Hope David doesn’t mind me posting our convo, but this also helped me in my decision.

 

What lift are you running front and back beside the CB shackles?

 

I have readylift 3" in the front. Fox 2.0 resi in back. Waiting to pull the trigger on fox 2.5 for front.

 

Just a note... a two piece shackle, factory or total chaos, does allow for more binding due to side loads. Is that an issue? I haven't ever seen it to be. Could it be better? Absolutely. Coachbuilder billet shackles, as well as the toytec both address this.

There is no doubt the coachbuilder product is a good one. Its billet aluminum and beautiful. I have a set currently that I use with factory springs. That being said, there is no noticeable difference in driveabiliity, functionality, or anything else between coachbuilder, (beautiful bling bling you cant see unless you have a giant lift), total chaos (which in my opinion are built very cheaply), or toytec (in my opinion greatest bang for the buck and adjustable which is really nice to have). I have owned all three for various applications on my tundra. Pick based on budget, and go from there. ALWAYS replace the bushings. I did notice a difference in allowing the shackle to move. The factory bushing with the splines on the side keeps the shackle bound which sucks. There are several manufacturers of those bushings as well. Again have not noticed any being better than any of the others. This is being said with fairly extensive on and off road experience with all of them on factory leafs and Deaver K37s with 35s and 37s.

 

Brian, just reading through some older posts but you seem to be one of the most knowledgeable. I am looking at removing a ReadyLift 3/2 spacer kit from my 13 DC 2wd with the 4.6. I am running 285/70/18 Ridge Grapplers on a 18x9 +1 offset. I am looking at going with the Toytec Boss coils, Boss rear shocks, Toytec shackles at 1.5, and 1/2 block (shim) if needed for final level. Sound like a good plan? My goal is to have a better ride and keep at least the same lift height as the 3/2 kit. Also, why does Toytec say dont go over 3" on the coilovers but a few people are running at 3.5? Thanks for any inputs.

 

You can’t go wrong with either Toytec or the Coachbuilder shackles. Both are great products!!!