Dobinsons Suspension Review

I’m looking forward to pictures and review.

 

I have the 2.25” lift and running 285/75r18 Falken AT3W in stock rims. Barely rubs the front sway at full lock. I’m a satisfied customer so far.

 

Glad to have this info, guess I can get that off road bumper and winch I’ve always wanted. Have the 2.25” springs. IMO they are not too stiff. Love the more controlled ride.

 

Do you have any pictures of clearance with the UCA? I just ordered a set of 295/70/18 Falken Wildpeaks which should work with this setup. I'm still between a 3" or 2.25" setup though. 3" would require UCA's but i may get a winch bumper in the future. How does your ride quality now compare to stock?

 

Ride is better IMO. More controlled and firmer. Takes hits more composed and really shines on rough roads.There’s room for the uca with my tires, just don’t have a pic.
With the lift and the tires it makes what felt big and slightly scary stock comfortable in off-road situations. Amazing the difference a small change makes.

 

Im glad to know im not the only one dealing with issues. My ucs’s were suppose to be here today, but they’re M.I.A. Called the guys at Pro Form Fab about the shackles, and was told that the place that bends the shackles was closed due to all this mess going on..BUT they told him that they were suppose to open next week, so fingers crossed.

 

Well I'm getting closer, got the rear sleeved bushings out the leaf springs and the now the poly bushings I got are the wrong size. Will have to wait till Monday till I can get the right size and continue the install.

 

Got everything installed, disappointed that with the 1.5” shackles I’m still about 1.5” lower in the rear. Honestly think my stock leafs are done, truck has 120k. Really want the Dobinson leafs but the shipping is killer, going to get some OME Dakar springs from Cruiser Outfitters this week and install this weekend.

 

Got any pics? My truck has the same mileage and now i'm worried that may be an issue. How's it drive?

 

Still need to install the UCA and get an alignment so have only gone around the block, I’m going to wait till that’s done and I have a few miles on it before I give another opinion on the ride. Picked up the rear OME leafs this morning here is how it sits now with the stock leaf and 1.5” shackle.

 

Just finished the install, and have issues. 1, i cannot pull out of the garage. 2, i had a 2” spacer previously in which the front end sat at 23 3/8”. Now im at 27 1/4” with just the Dobinsons..so im pretty much at 5 1/2” -6” from stock just the 3 inch coils. 3, i cant even drive the truck if i wanted too because im afraid id rip an axle.

 

Get those dang spacers out of there!

 

They’re not in there.

 

Still really happy with my 2.25”

 

That seems like alot of lift, did you get the heavier weight set; that's around 5-6 inches of lift if I have my stock ride height correct. Any pics of the lower and upper control arms with the axles?

 

Sadly, no. My wife and i talked and we both decided that they need to come out. So i have them out already. I did take this before disassembly.

 

Just to compare, stock Bilstein with 2” ToyTec spacer..and the Dobinsons GS59-710 shocks with C59-578 coils.

 

Yeah, that's not that much of a difference at fill length between those two. That's a bummer that they didn't work.

 

Agreed! Was super stoked about this setup, now im just wondering if i can exchange these for the smaller coils or something else.

 

I'm at the same measurements. I'm still going to install my UCA, get an alignment and drive around for a bit and hope it settles.

 

Here is a 3” kit from Mainline Overland, from the pics the angles and fender gap look similar to mine. If mine settles 1” and ends up being 4” up front I’ll be happy with that. I’ll be finishing up my install over the next couple evenings.

 

That seems like a very large discrepancy between the 2.25" kit and 3" kit. The 2.25" seems to be pretty accurate in lift provided. The 3" seems far greater in actual lift.

 

I agree. They need to state that when you buy the 3” that its going to be way above the 3” mark before it settles. A 1/4”-1/2” would be acceptable as far at settling goes, not 2” of settling.

 

Made some inquiries here is what I found:

Exit Offroad - Install the UCA, drive around they will settle.
Dobinson Direct - They will settle, brake hard to compress coils.
Mainline Overland - We don't typically see that much lift on our installs but didn't have exact measurements.

So like I said previously I will finish my install and pray for the best, hopefully if they don't settle I can work something out with Dobinson to get the 2.25" springs.

And so its all in one place:

2.25"



3"

 

HUGE difference between the 2.25” and 3” coils. I should have got the 2.25” coils to begin with just by looking at these comparison shots.

 

My hub center to fender with 2.25” coils measures 24” for another reference here.

 

glad to see you can run a bumper with the 2.25” coils. I was afraid I shoulda gone 3” now that I aspire to be an over-loaded Overlander
But dang @BashFab is killing me with this bumper. He should be getting materials in for my sliders and skids as we speak
Just barely off-topic, not sorry.

 

Excellent write up! How do you like them a year on?

I will have bilstein 5100s wrapped around my truck.

 

Update: Finally installed my 3inch springs with the matching struts. About 60 miles in and the heights are 26.25 inch on both driver and passenger side... Hopefully they settle down some more after break in, dobinsons informed me that it is 100-200 miles. Currently looking at around a 5 inch lift... over 3 inches from my leveling kit. Also my Icon UCAs were missing washers so I did not get around to installing them.

Tip: Check your top hat mounting nut and tighten as necessary...

 

Any updates to share?