Tundra is bad on the highway

I have been round trip to Taos NM.twice in the last 2 weeks... I do have the camper shell and bedslide so that may add the extra weight most recommend. My truck was very smooth/responsive and I could use one finger to drive with... now there were some roads that were not the best since 18 wheelers have driven ruts into the pavement and I did experience the "boat feeling" so when that happened I would stratle* the right groove with the center of my truck... problem solved... I drive a lot and put many miles on my trucks 12k so far and shes only a few months old to me.. OP have you checked to see if you have a shock thats gone to crap? that and tire pressure would be my first guesses... and try to stay out of 18 wheeler ruts..

 

I just completed a 200 mile round trip with my sway bar equipped 4WD 2002. The ride on the roads I travel to and from this destination is normally controlled & supple in this truck, this was not the case today. The reason for this change is because my 250 lb LEER 122 cap is temporarily off the truck for repairs, the lighted bed does bounce a bit on certain surfaces at certain speeds.

 

I have an '08 5.7 V8. This June I drove from San Antonio TX to Galveaton AND BACK one one tank. Upon return, dropped it off at a body shop for repairs and paint. They drove it to a less busy shop.. And back 2 weeks later. Then I drove to to get gas. 575 miles total. OVER 26MPG.. On an 11 yr old Tundra - no mods. Cruise control 60 MPH there. 63MPH back.

I WILL say my Tundra MPG is NOT consistant. I can drive the same 70 mile hwy round trip at the same speed and get 24 MPG one week and 21.5MPG another week, but I would say my average city/ hwy mixed driving is over 20MPG. I am in neutral A LOT. I find that on some hwy declines, the Tundra will ACCELERATE in neutral. At that time you are doing well over 100MPG.

 

Replace those OEM shackles with some CB shackles and your issue will be fixed.

 

I have a 2008 SR5 2WD TRD Crewmax. I used a 3 step solution. 1. Installed Sulatic rubber shackle suspension in the rear. 2. TRD rear sway bar, 3. Custom flat weights 4x100 # bolted to the rear of the bed. The dealership couldn't believe the ride and handling to solve bed bounce.

 

I really like nearly everything about the Tundra I bought. However, it was immediately apparent when I got it that the handling was not as good as the F150 it replaced. The F150 had a heavier front sway bar and a less flexible frame, along with a variable rate rack. So I added the TRD front and rear sway bars and it now handles the Missouri roads I drive on pretty well. Nothing I can do about the rack though. As far as ride quality it's middle of the pack, not bad but not as good as some. The stability the factory 4600 shocks give on the road is traded in a little harsher ride. However, after having driven COE semis years back I tend to think all light vehicles ride good.

 

I have a 13 crewmax with 3/1 level kit and 305 /55/20 nitto ridge grapplers and I just installed as TRD rear sway bar on mine last week.I couldn't be happier!! No wandering in curves and stays solid on the interstate at 80 mph.Much more solid shifting lanes on the interstate. Strange that your having that problem?

 

My experience is that my Tundra is sprung like a truck. When driving on bad road, it will ride like a truck, jouncy and moving the passengers around. Drive it on a well-maintained interstate highway, and it cruises like a car. It's almost as if the spring rate varies with spring compression, i.e. has lighter spring rate for short spring travel (no bumps or minor bumps), and heavy spring rate for greater travel (major bumps, heavier loads)...but that would be totally speculative. Try it on some interstate type highways before you spend a bunch of money, it may be your roads.

 

Do you thing the sulatic shackle replacements will work on and off road?

 

Something is not right. I have a 2015 crewmax with 3/1 level spacers and 275/65 stock 20s. When I drive Nashville to Houston I can go 85-95 for HOURS and its solid as a rock. 1. Check alignment. 2. A sway bar with pre-load on it CAN affect ride a lot in a straight line. 3. Bilstein non adjustables blow. They look great in pics and signatures, but have all bump and no rebound damping.... which feels like shit. Dont give up. Your truck is the bomb. You'll figure out what's up.

 

2019 with swaybar here....mine is smooth as silk on shitty interstate 75.....60 miles a day

 

My is a 2015 Crewmax 1794 - with 5.7 and 4x4- it drives like a dream very smooth my tires are 275/55R20 with a leveling kit. Maybe something is different with the 1794. It is like a Cadillac super smooth.

 

Mine does get the bad bed hop on the 405 in LA. It is forsure better with weight in the bed.



2.5 icons front
2.0 icons rears
OME Rear leafs

 

I’m sure my truck can use an alignment but I’ve taken it on road trips spanning multiple states hitting 90+ mph on stretches where you’re in the middle of no where and it handled smooth.

 

Both of my tundras have been fantastic on the highway, it was part of the reason I stuck with toyota instead of jumping to Ford, the 2017 F150 Platinum I drove had a jittery ride.

 

I'm assuming the OP is referring to segmented concrete highways. My 15 SR5 did the same thing, it would bounce up and down so severely that my wife would need to hold her tits in place. About 250lbs in sand tubes in the bed between the rear cargo divider and tailgate fixed it.

 

Love your truck. Which bed rack is that?

 

Yeah same here. I drive the highway to work everyday and the ride is super smooth. When I test drove a Tundra Crewmax I couldn't even tell the difference on how smooth it is

 

05 tundra crewmax 4x4 here icons front and rear, UCA's and grwasable .5 inch lift shackles. NO Front or Rear sway bar on mine and she is planted and smooth as silk. Dont buy a 4x4 if you want a sports car feel.

 

Sounds like you prefer the ride of a SUV over a truck.

I have TRD sways front and rear with SUMO springs in the rear and my truck stays planted. Sway bars matter most when cornering...they reduce bodyroll by linking both sides of the frame. Straight and level going down the highway, a rear sway will not make the bed bounce like a boat. Maybe wrong tire pressures or bad shocks? 35lbs air pressure on the stock Michelins, no more, no less.

That said, the ride of a truck will naturally be rougher than a lifted FJ...apples and oranges. All trucks have some amount of bed bounce when empty...shitty highway expansion joints accentuate this. My Tundra rides much better than my 2500 GMC Duramax.

The best riding vehicle I’ve ever owned was a Yukon XL Denali (Suburban).

You should go back to the dealer and test drive a new truck to compare and help determine if there is something wrong with your truck. If it rides the same, I recommend selling the truck before wasting money on “major mods” to improve the ride quality.

 

Leitner designs. Very well built and also very modular.

 

Have ya had an alignment check? Most shops do a free one off the bat. Could be something there. If anything it’s free lol mine does t do anything what you’ve stated and I’ve had her since new. Even after my toytec lift and Camburg uca’s it made the ride even smoother since Camburg added few more degrees of caster.

 

.....lose the OEM rear leaf pressed in bushings and swap in Energy Suspension poly bushings. Can't hurt.

 

If ya got same dimensions you can buy a ford rack and put them on anything. The module is attached to the rack and it’s a simple three wire hookup. It wouldn’t be variable since the steering angle sensor is different. But you would have electric steering. I added one to my 69’ z10 bb Camaro. Lol easy turning for the old girl.

 

This doesn’t sound right. Something is off more than the sway bar add-on. I had BMWs before this, and my truck, I kid you not, feels really good on the road. I have pushed it on corners (added the sway bar for a little edge) hard without braking and it feels solid to me. On the highway and even on uneven pavement and rough roads it surprised me how stable it is. Loaded, unloaded, it should be fine. I wouldn’t drag extra weight around to smooth the ride out. I mean, it’s a heavy half ton pickup with leaf springs and will take the bumps with more chatter. Wandering on the highway is more concerning to me and that cannot feel good.
The truck weighs about 6k pounds which is quite heavy. OEM tires are not a true truck tire IMO. Handling that much weight at speed puts tremendous pressure on tires, especially the sidewall. I would start with where the rubber meets the road and check tire pressure and a bad sidewall. Then move up the suspension from there.
All that being said, I quickly replaced the stock coil overs, rear shocks and shackles which improved performance, but as OEM, the truck was never like what you describe.

 

With approximately 800 lbs. of supplies in the bed, my 2002 stays planted to the road surface.
It hugs the road so well that I averaged 65 - 70 through the twists & turns marked 35 mph...
Those 50 lb. salt blocks were beginning to shift, but it was no problem. Great ride.

 

Easy and cheap experiment. I had something similar with the back, it felt like a hard ride the back. It didn’t seem to stick to road with bumps around turns. I have a 14 crew max TRD with the rear swaybar. I put my tire presure at 32 front 32 rear. It definitely rides less harsh on the return bounce from the suspension system and the truck is much more predictable and confident around turns.

 

Tires and air pressure make a huge difference in how the truck feels and handles traveling at velocities that remain well above typical rockmall crawler off-roader speeds. Off road, lifted, lowered ... the balancing act of ride & performance remains the same, so set your truck up for how You will drive it most of the time.



Your typical rockmall crawler off-roader speed.

 

How does this relate to anything in this thread?