Dobinsons Suspension Review

This is done correctly

 

Anyone else still waiting on their Dobis from the november black friday sale?

 

No, I got mine from Exit and they were shipped quick. Been on my truck a few weeks now, really loving them.

 

Same here. Came pretty fast after placing the order with Exit.

 

I ordered the IMS kit with the HD spring assembled about 6 weeks ago. The retailer told me it typically takes 2 weeks or a little longer with assembly. Since its been so long I just checked with Dobinson and they told me they have the kit in stock and it takes 2 weeks with assembly. So then when I told them I put in an order 6 weeks ago and they are telling me there is a back log. Lol, so I don't know when mine are coming in.

 

Well look what showed up today Never got the tracking number or shipping notification... And yeah Dobs gives no F's for packaging. But dayum do they look purdy! Can't wait to get them on. Will be replacing Bilsteins with this set up!

 

Okay, well I'm super bummed. After checking my order, it appears they did not install the right spring. Ordered the HD spring because I'm running a winch and aftermarket bumper but they put the standard spring on. Highly disappointed after waiting this long. I hope they make it right.

 

They gave you the 778s?

 

Yep, ordered the 578 but received 778.

 

Looking for input on my dilemma. As I posted above, I ordered the IMS kit with the HD lift sping assembly for my set up with aftermarket winch and bumper. I received the standard springs assembled instead of the heavy duty. So i reached out to the retailer and they have been slow to respond and no action has been taken. I reached out to dobinsons and they are stating that instead of swapping out the springs, the coil seat clip can be moved to achieve the same results. Not sure how I feel considering the springs aren't the same and I didn't want to mess with assembly at all which is why I paid for it. What do you guys think? Should I push back on the retailer to make this right?

 

C59-778 and C59-578 are different spring rates. You can achieve the same lift height by changing the clip heights, but you won't have the stronger spring rate.

EDIT: Now Dobinsons is telling me that they're not different spring rates, even though that's what I was told when these springs came out a few years ago, and the same info has been online ever since.

Who was the retailer? They should just ship back what you got, change the springs out, and ship them back to you.

 

Dobinsons is making it sound like they are the same spring. I emailed them back and they are telling me the spring rate is the same just a different spring height thus changing the clip "makes it the same." Not sure why they would tell me something other than the truth but my assumption was the spring rate was different as well.

edit: here is their reply

No the spring rate is the same, the only difference is the free height. I know it's hard to understand but think about it like this. The coils C59-578 are taller in free height so with the extra weight they are designed for is on it, it will compress to the same load height as the C59-778 without any extra weight.

 

Even if that is the case, the retailer shipped you the wrong item and should make it right. Simple as that. I would keep pressing them hard until they make it right.

 

Yes, what was their excuse as to WHY it happened?

 

I emailed the retailer when i got the package to let them know it was wrong. It being the holidays I wasn't expecting a quick response so after 4 business days with no reply I emailed them again. They then only apologized for not responding saying they are short staffed, no apology for the wrong part being sent but assured me they would look into it. Its been 10 additional business days today with no further response. Dobinsions told me the retailer ordered the wrong springs which is why I was invoiced incorrectly.

I don't want to call out the retailer for the time being, I get it $hit happens but see if their customer service steps up. Dobininsons response just has me stuck at a crossroad since they are essentially saying I can achieve the same thing with these springs. Just means I'll have to pay for reassembly...

 

So these things weren’t even shipped by the retailer, they were drop shipped from the factory? No wonder so many orders are getting messed up.

 

Its pretty common practice that items get drop shipped from manufacturers and retailers never touch the product. And when there is an issue its common for finger pointing between the retailer and manufacturer leaving the customer out like I am. I'm about to email the retailer again and see what they come up with. I'm leaning toward getting the right springs installed since its what I ordered and paid extra for assembly so I didn't have to mess with it. I ordered these things nearly 2 months ago and I still don't have these installed. Starting to feel like covid delays all over again

 

Just updating for anyone that cares. I'm pretty chapped at the moment and holding back firing out against the retailer who I got these from. They never got back to me so I initiated a paypal claim to get things rolling and that magically spawned a phone call from the retailer in about 5 minutes. Never once did they ever apologize for their mistake but seemed willing to make things right. They offered to send me the right springs so I could reassemble local and shop wrong springs back or have me ship out the struts to them for correction or refund. Seeing as they didn't seem to want to respond to my messages once I found their mistake there was no way I was shipping these to them. I told them I wanted them sent to dobinson for them to do it.

They said that would be viable (despite talking bad about how slow they are, being one of the top worst companies they deal with etc)

So after a few days they call me back and tell me what dobinsons said about moving the collar up. At this point I'm pretty irritated and just want to move along with my install so I said I'd stop in my local 4x4 shop and have them move the collar. After they saw the struts and how coiled up they are told me they didn't feel like they could move the collar up in a safe manner which I totally respect and they suggested dobinson should do it.

I called the retailer back and they said they would coordinate me getting them back to dobinsons. That was nearly 2 weeks ago with no further follow ups. Paypal gave me a deadline of tomorrow to either escalate further or close the case. Naturally I escalated it and now my only option for resolution with paypal is to send these back for a full refund. Not the result I was looking for, can't get these for the black friday deal any more not to mention they had a price increase on Jan 1.

So I just reached out to dobinsons again (which the retailer was supposed to do). They offered to swap out the springs for me at no charge as long as I cover shipping. Its pretty awesome of them to go out of their way to fix the retailers screw up but at the end of the day this is going to cost me another ~$120 or so for shipping.

Edit: I just want to clarify as far as I know the retailer is not a vendor or active on this site

 

Well in the end I'm a happy camper. Just got my struts back from dobinsons directly they swapped out the coils and got them back very quickly. Can't wait to get these bad boys on after all I had to go through. Can't thank dobinsons team enough for helping me out. As for the retailer I got them from, SUCCCCCCCCCCCCKITTTTT

 

Nice! Now please tell us who the retailer is so others can avoid being put through that nightmare.

 

In the end they refunded me my assembly fee but only after I closed the paypal escalation since the funds were "tied up". Despite their crappy customer service I'm not going to call them out publicly but can share more details in private. Hell he didn't even apologize for the mix up which to me would have been a huge step in reconciliation.

While I've never dealt with Exit Offroad he seems like a stand up guy and had the right attitude about my issue. I wouldn't hesitate dealing with him or Dobinson directly in the future.

 

I guess we will wait for others to have bad results and not share the info as well. Honestly they don't deserve the business from others if they are selling the wrong parts with terrible service and zero follow up.

 

So what is the difference between the three shocks that Dobinson offers? I am looking to go with Dobinson to replace the stock coilovers and bracket lift I have on my 2016 CM.

 

https://exitoffroad.com/different-shock-types/

I wrote about it in depth here

 

Awesome. Thank you that article is very helpful. I can't do it it yet but when I am ready I will be ordering from you guys.

 

The new Dobinsons billet aluminum adjustable UCA's for 2nd Gen Tundras and Sequoias have finally hit the warehouse. Any backorders and new orders will ship out next week.

https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-billet-aluminum-ucas-07-21-tundra-and-08-22-sequoia/

 

Just some initial impressions since I finally got to install my IMS Dobis this past weekend. Coming from the bilstein 6112/5160, the dobis look beefier and feel heavier due to more spring. Initially the Dobis aren't quite as soft riding as I would hope but they are definitely less firm than the bilsteins. I seem to feel more feedback on the road as I can feel each wheel independently when going over bumps. They are also quite a bit less noisy than the bilsteins which is a plus. I used spacers with the bilsteins but not with the dobi's and I achieved the same lift without the spacers (I didn't measure before and after). I'm getting a lot of bouncing with the Dobis which I did initially have with the bilsteins as well but the bilsteins seemed to have mellowed out with wear and tear. Overall I'm happier with the Dobis so far, just hoping they break in after more miles and soften up. FWIW, I'm on 18 inch 35's running 33 psi.

 

What are you doing with those old worn out Bilstein 6112s and 5160s? I would be interested in possibly taking then off your hands.