Dobinsons Suspension Review

Yeah that’s a lot of tire stuffed in there. Think you needed the Dobinsons “over lift” for that tire size.

 

Pickup day Friday. Bumper ended up 110 pounds. Don’t think the HD leafs care very much. Think it’ll be hard to ever drag the rear again unless I back into a wall? Can’t wait to get her back!

 

Update on my setup with twin tubes, medium leafs and 778 springs. Went out for our first camping trip of the season and am really happy with how it handles washboard and bigger hits at speed. Keeps the tires on the ground and it has much more grip and composure (even with 40psi in the tires) whereas before the whole truck would skid across washboard and get very unsettled even when aired down to 25. Stoked to get out more and keep using it.

 

That's great to hear!! But more importantly, how did your heater perform? Looks like it's cold up there!!! hahah

 

Update on my ims setup with 778s. The truck has settled to 3" of lift on second clip. What I was looking for. The suspension rides a little stiff for everyday driving but it did great out in the sand dunes. I spent the weekend up in eureka ca. Overall very happy with the setup. My first truck and I've only had it for about 3 months now. Excited to keep building it out and pushing the suspension even harder.

 

Our four legged furry heater performed great and was also happy to be out with in the woods with us hahha

 

Great to hear it has settled nicely!!

 

My twin tubes, 778 springs, and regular load rear leaf springs are all get installed this Saturday by me and a few buddies. In addition to Rock Auto "SPC" upper control arms, and some adjustable Boss off-road shackles, and new wheels and tires. This is the longest. week. ever.

 

More like the longest year ever!! Been a while that you've been waiting to get this stuff on!!

 

Haha quite true. Life gets so busy it took a long time to lock in a good weekend to get this all done. It has been agony seeing all of it sitting there in the garage just taunting me. Literally thousands of dollars in basically paperweights lol.

 

Quick update don’t think the rear bumper did anything for the rear high attitude considering we took out the factory tow hitch. Got the camper in and it’s still raked! Maybe I need to exchange for some longer coils? I think it’s good and I can still tow with the camper in. HD dobs leafs don’t care. It rides amazing with the load. Definitely serves it’s intended purpose. I’ll post a pic in a few. Honestly all this just makes me wanna camp and wheel. Love the Dobinson’s platform. Don’t let the few with bad experiences sway you away. Just do your own research and see what’s best with you. IMO the ride of the Dobinsons kit I have with the camper on is better than the LC 200 series I just gave back to my dad. And without the camper it just begs to be pushed.

 

she’s getting there. I’m not one for the most BD lights or matchup in color patterns, but damn she serves a purpose. Feel like we could go/camp almost anywhere... except black bear pass or super tight jeep trails.

 

You might need these 778 springs up front now

Your truck is looking fantastic! I love the finished looked with the bumpers. Function over form is always something that applies to my life, and anything I build.

 

Thanks man. I’m loving the bumpers and chopped rear end. Think I’m gonna stay with the coils I have for now. They ride great and fit my tires fine. Next tire size I want is 315/70r17 so think they’ll be fine. Just absurd how heavy the heavy leaf pack is. Note the camper is empty in this pic. Just loaded.

 

Haha I understand. I'm actually putting the same size tires on that you have now, 285/75r18. I'm a big fan of pizza cutters, the ones I chose a just a bit more aggressive. But yeah that heavy leaf pack is impressive! I considered getting that, but I'm definitely glad I chose the regular one lol. I load my truck up often, but probably no where near what that camper weighs. The fact that you still have a decent rake with the camper installed is pretty impressive.

 

These tires never limit me. The size and design of them work great. I just want a little more puffy look and the 17” tires are a lot cheaper so once I get some rims price wise I’ll be good! I’ve also considered wheel spacers too. I tried them before but now with the bumper there won’t be the same clearance issues as before. And new tires will be a while I’m at 12/32nds after 20k+ mi. Maybe a Black Friday deal or if I come across some TRD forged rims along the way.

 

Yeah I considering the Wildpeaks, but I couldn't help myself and Yolo'd it and got super aggressive Maxxis Razr M/T. Plus the price was about $270 a tire when I picked them up. I only drive about 5k miles a year so I'll probably age them out before they actually wear out anyway lol.

However yeah you'll have way more options with 17s. I was close to pulling the trigger on some 17" wheels, but ended up falling in love with the 18" wheels I found.

 

Can’t wait to see your setup. I’m maxxis for life in the mountain bike world! Interested to hear more about their truck tires.

 

I saw your tire pics earlier in this thread, those are some sweet looking tires. What wheels are you gonna pair with them?

 

I've had this set up from Mike for a couple months now. I didn't order leafs (leaves?) initially because I already had CB +2's on hand. Ended up throwing some leafs after a while and it's settled pretty nicely. Haven't had the chance to take it off-road but I'm pretty excited. The on-road experience is a little stiffer than I'm used to but I've never had a leaf-sprung vehicle before so it make be completely normal. Overall, I like this kit for the design, the price, and probably most importantly, the customer service and availability. Mike is quick to email back regarding any questions and I had these on my truck in just over a week from when I ordered them.

 

Same here, love the traction but they're wearing faster than I thought they would. Probably shouldn't derail this thread but curious what Maxxis your running front and rear on your bike. DHF II on the front, Aggressor on the rear on mine. The Aggressor is super tacky but weeps tubeless sealant (Orange) like a sieve. Love everything about them but that.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/bikes-and-tundra.9268/ There’s a lot of tire chatter mixed in here. I prefer DHF/dhr in winter and DHF/aggressor in summer. I definitely spend as much on bike tires as truck tires. the DHR isn’t a bad front tire it’s just not as good as the DHF to me in the front. It’s a bomb rear tire though.

 

Thanks man, I appreciate the feedback.

The suspension really shines offroad, so I'm looking forward to hearing back from you when you get the chance to go kick up some dust!!

 

I went with the new generation of FN BFD wheels in matte bronze. They are 18x9" +18 offset and my favorite part.....they only weigh about 23 pounds. That'll help offset the heavier tires which can never hurt.

I'm not 100% sold on the center cap, so I'll probably run them without it for now. I looked at a ton of wheels, and got super close to pulling the trigger on a few different Method wheels, but I also really like how these looked. They are a Volk TE37 lookalike; a little OG Japanese car culture style, which I think is kind of cool too. And being the fact that they were 10-12 pounds lighter than most other wheel options, was a big perk.

 

Forget to mention in my other post, I got the IMS front and rears, along with the 778's and some DK UCA's.

 

My Dobinsons IMS are up for sale if anyone is looking for a set at a great price. I wanted to like these but the higher ride height and not finding anyone to revalve them killed it for me.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/dobinsons-ims-coilovers-rear-shocks.87489/

 

I'll make another post later with more details and how the day went, but here is a quick picture dump and basic details. Immediate impression is great, but I'll know more soon.

Twin tubes
778 springs
2 Boss 4x4 shim driver side
1 shim passenger side
Mevotech "SPC" adjustable upper control arms
Regular load rear leaf springs
Boss 4x4 adjustable shackle (1" setting)
Diff drop and carrier bearing drop done as well
18x9 +18 FN BFD wheels - Matte bronze
285/75r18 Maxxis Razr MT

 

That lift looks huge, is that 2.5”?

 

Not 100% sure yet what it'll actually yeild. The 778s say 2.5", but real world seems to be closer to 3" after they settle. I wanted 3.5", hench the shims.

Once she was on the ground before I even backed it up I was at 4.5" of lift up front. I have no doubt it'll settle, and it already looks like it settled a bit just from moving it around.

I'll get proper measurements tomorrow. I did forget to get real world before measurements, so I have to go off the average hub to fender measurements people normally see on a stock truck.