Anybody have a pickup truck?

[JoshSloane]

I think what the OP is asking is if a stock suspension is going to be able to get him to hunting spots. The answer is YES. If you are asking if a 4x2 is going to get you there, the answer is probably/maybe not. As an avid hunter I can tell you that rarely will you encounter ideal conditions on a hunting trail. It's going to be wet, snowy, muddy etc. I'm pretty sure that October and November in Illinois is not going to yield very easy terrain when reaching deer. There is no reason not to get a 4x4. You can keep the truck in 2wd when you are driving around town, and throw it into 4wd when you need. My ram gets awesome gas mileage in 2wd, so its not like there is a real downside to having 4x4 capabilities. But there is a serious downside to not having a 4x4 when you begin sliding back down a slick muddy hill. Trust me, you don't want to be that guy with the inadequate rig when you are out in the backcountry. No one is going to be happy to winch you out of mud because you didn't come prepared with the right truck.

As for suspension upgrades its not really necessary with a full sized truck. Your ground clearance will be plenty. I use Bilstein ride height adjustable shocks to level up the front of my truck, but this is more for esthetic reasons. Some use a level to 'stuff' 35s on the truck, but wouldn't recommend that for any intensive four wheeling. Do not use spacer kits, they are mostly junk and compress over time. You also run the risk of blowing out CV joints and other hardware.

A quality suspension lift is highly variable in price, depending on how big and what brand. Zone and BDS are the industry standard for quality. I am getting a 6" Zone lift, and it runs $1400 before install. So don't think you can turn just any truck into a backcountry beast on the cheap.

If I were you I would test drive as many trucks as possible, and stick with a quality stock suspension. There is always room for upgrades in the future. Typical "offroad" packages usually give you something like 1" increase in ride height, and some other worthless features.

Also, keep in mind that Tundras are notorious for horrific gas mileage. With similar sized engines I get at least 6 mpg more than my buddy's Toyota.

[jclaiborne]

I think what the OP is asking is if a stock suspension is going to be able to get him to hunting spots. The answer is YES. If you are asking if a 4x2 is going to get you there, the answer is probably/maybe not. As an avid hunter I can tell you that rarely will you encounter ideal conditions on a hunting trail. It's going to be wet, snowy, muddy etc. I'm pretty sure that October and November in Illinois is not going to yield very easy terrain when reaching deer. There is no reason not to get a 4x4. You can keep the truck in 2wd when you are driving around town, and throw it into 4wd when you need. My ram gets awesome gas mileage in 2wd, so its not like there is a real downside to having 4x4 capabilities. But there is a serious downside to not having a 4x4 when you begin sliding back down a slick muddy hill. Trust me, you don't want to be that guy with the inadequate rig when you are out in the backcountry. No one is going to be happy to winch you out of mud because you didn't come prepared with the right truck.

As for suspension upgrades its not really necessary with a full sized truck. Your ground clearance will be plenty. I use Bilstein ride height adjustable shocks to level up the front of my truck, but this is more for esthetic reasons. Some use a level to 'stuff' 35s on the truck, but wouldn't recommend that for any intensive four wheeling. Do not use spacer kits, they are mostly junk and compress over time. You also run the risk of blowing out CV joints and other hardware.

A quality suspension lift is highly variable in price, depending on how big and what brand. Zone and BDS are the industry standard for quality. I am getting a 6" Zone lift, and it runs $1400 before install. So don't think you can turn just any truck into a backcountry beast on the cheap.

If I were you I would test drive as many trucks as possible, and stick with a quality stock suspension. There is always room for upgrades in the future. Typical "offroad" packages usually give you something like 1" increase in ride height, and some other worthless features.

Also, keep in mind that Tundras are notorious for horrific gas mileage. With similar sized engines I get at least 6 mpg more than my buddy's Toyota.

I agree with almost everything you listed. At this point the OP mentioned a Tacoma, which is why I started referencing everything I did because it is not a full sized truck, it utilizes almost everything the FJ does, basically take your pick, truck bed or SUV, most other things are the same and while the stock suspension will suffice for moderate stuff it is not the same as a full sized truck which is where things start to differ. Second thing that is if he is going with a Toyota I can tell you for a fact that Zone and BDS are not the industry standard for quality or performance (they may be for Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and since I currently own none of the 3 listed I can't speak to the quality on that). What I can tell you is on the Toyota side of it after looking at their websites they offer nice shocks (not MFG by them) with a drop bracket for the front, essentially not increasing ground clearance at all in the front diff area, this is a weak point in most IFS systems, some Ubolts and shackles for the rear. For a Toyota the top of the line for quality and performance when talking about a FJ or Tacoma (mind you again not full sized) would be Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Total Chaos Fabrication, and Camburg (these are the big 3 for the actual tubular suspension components), now shocks again would be Icon, King, Fox, Sway a way, King being in my personal opinion the best quality.

[JoshSloane]

I agree with almost everything you listed. At this point the OP mentioned a Tacoma, which is why I started referencing everything I did because it is not a full sized truck, it utilizes almost everything the FJ does, basically take your pick, truck bed or SUV, most other things are the same and while the stock suspension will suffice for moderate stuff it is not the same as a full sized truck which is where things start to differ. Second thing that is if he is going with a Toyota I can tell you for a fact that Zone and BDS are not the industry standard for quality or performance (they may be for Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and since I currently own none of the 3 listed I can't speak to the quality on that). What I can tell you is on the Toyota side of it after looking at their websites they offer nice shocks (not MFG by them) with a drop bracket for the front, essentially not increasing ground clearance at all in the front diff area, this is a weak point in most IFS systems, some Ubolts and shackles for the rear. For a Toyota the top of the line for quality and performance when talking about a FJ or Tacoma (mind you again not full sized) would be Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Total Chaos Fabrication, and Camburg (these are the big 3 for the actual tubular suspension components), now shocks again would be Icon, King, Fox, Sway a way, King being in my personal opinion the best quality.

Thanks for the add on. I looked on Zone's site and they make a 5" suspension lift kit for tundra. I do know absolutely that BDS and Zone are renowned as the top of the line for Ram, Ford, Chevy and GMC. Maybe there's a technical issue with tundra that precludes Zone from having a good fitment?

[jclaiborne]

Thanks for the add on. I looked on Zone's site and they make a 5" suspension lift kit for tundra. I do know absolutely that BDS and Zone are renowned as the top of the line for Ram, Ford, Chevy and GMC. Maybe there's a technical issue with tundra that precludes Zone from having a good fitment?

It isn't so much the fitment as it is a clearance issue. With full sized trucks you have decent ground clearance as it is, so generally when you do a lift it is to increase space between the axle and body allowing bigger shocks and tires. However when you start dealing with non-full sized trucks, rangers, tacomas, FJs (SUV) your stock ground clearance is just not there (and it really is lacking with IFS in general). With lifts like BDS, Zone, Rough Country, etc if you look at the image they include a front member that goes between the tires, basically a "drop down" bracket, this allows you to put bigger shocks on because you are lifting the vehicle and frame up, bolting this "drop bracket" onto the bottom so you get increased shock length but you clearance (on the front end) is not changed from stock because of said bracket. So the best that you can do is avoid systems that utilize this bracket and basically go with better LCAs and UCAs that give you a greater angle to lift.

So if you look at this link: http://cdn.roughcountry.com/media/ca...nstalled-1.jpg This is an FJ with a 6 inch lift. You can see how tall the vehicle sits, but if you look at the front you see the big bracket sitting at stock height between the tires just asking to get hit. This kit allows you to run 35 inch tires.

Now if you look at this link and scroll down: http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118498 the drop box is gone, the angle on the control arms and the length are increased to allow for bigger shocks, more lift, stability, etc and you still get the clearance. This kit will give you around 4 inches of lift and with proper spacing and alignment will let you run 35s as well. (33s are recommended for high speed allowing full travel, but low speeds not so much), now this picture there is obviously more going on with the shocks, but what I am saying to focus on is the middle section comparing a bracket to non-bracket.

[JoshSloane]

I think its also important to point out that both Tacoma and Tundra run a C-frame rather than a box frame like Ram. Loses a lot of rigidity and structural stability.

Also, if you look at recall issues, new Tacoma and Tundra issues have had horrible issues with frame rust, causing major hassle and issues for brand new owners. Combined with awful fuel economy, very little cab room in Tacoma, I really don't see any reason to pick this truck over a full sized ram.

[Monty's_Mom]

My suggestion is if you buy from a dealership, pick the best dealership and not the make. Ask for references, bug people at a parking lot if you see a local dealership's logo on their truck. Ask them how the customer service is at their dealership. Any issues with trying to get warranty work approved etc. You can buy used from a dealership and still have some choice in the Make if you have some patience to wait for a trade-in being sold. Also, a good time to buy new is when the next year's models are coming out. Dealerships often have better sales on last year's model and be more willing to haggle.

I really don't think a lift kit is needed. A half ton 150/1500 series truck will be fine for what you want but you will have to change the tires. They put passenger tires on half ton trucks now. Switch to LT tires ASAP. I like Toyo M55s. A little noisier on highway and a drop in mileage but they get you out of trouble and rarely get holes.

I think a better package to get is a towing package. The best reason for this package is a transmission cooler. Base models may not have one at all or be too small for when you are towing.

[JoshSloane]

Yep, like I said earlier, with a half ton full sized truck no lift is needed to reach 99% of hunting spots. If you are looking at a truck and it doesn't have a tow package as standard, turn around and walk away.

[lilnash0]

I have a hummer h3. It's not really a pick up but its a nice strong vehicle.

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[frostysBP]

99f150 5.4 3 inch lift riding on 34in bfg all terrains. This truck has not me down yet. Weather its mud holes deep enough to flood the floor boards to trail blazing to hunting locations... Only other truck I would buy would be a TRD tundra.

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[JoshSloane]

Good stuff. What do you hunt? I usually hunt deer, but pulled my first elk tag this year.