Honestly, saving money and having patience on a build. My younger self would buy the cheapest options of everything (spacer lift etc.) just to fit in to the community. TIRES!! I’m in the Denver area and have run about every type of rubber out there. Know your region and driving style before dropping $2k on knobby boi’s when you will be in snow/highway conditions. Currently running Wildpeak AT/3’s and they’ve performed best all around, jack of all trades.
Find the limits of your rig before strapping on 1000lbs of expensive armor that will never get touched by an obstacle and will start a wormhole of upgrades to support the extra weight.
I’m just waiting for the “minimalist” movement to hit overlanding. I agree with the comment about being a good driver. Yeah…if you’re in certain rock piles or other technical spots having more lift and bigger tires definitely helps. Especially when you need all the help you can get with improved approach, break over and departure angles…but the reality is an extra few inches of lift plus trying to fit 35s over skinny 32s or 33s really doesn’t matter in the real world. I’ve got an inch lift on my Turd-Gen Taco and only bumped it an inch on the tires. It drives great, it wheels pretty good and my fuel range doesn’t suck.
I have a friend that runs a stock Tacoma in Baja and does better than most the $150K trucks... he just has a lot of patience and isn't trying to prove anything.
I don’t doubt it one bit, it’s all about the driver. I built a few XJs in the past that were also daily drivers. I won’t go into full build specs but it was on 33s with 4.56s, a Detroit in the rear and Locrite in the front, 4:1 t case and all stock drivetrain. The rear was a factory D44 from an 89 XJ and the front was a high pinion with out a disconnecting axle from a 90s XJ. I wheeled Moab, Rubicon and the gnarliest trails in the Nevada desert. I got about 200k out of that drive train and never broke on the trail. But I also never let it bounce on rocks or bind it up like crazy. On the flip side how many drivers have you seen totally blow out built axles because they don’t have any patience? I think doing more with less is part of the fun!
Not sure if you figured it out but they’re actually 1st gen Tacos, Toyota fixed the bad design of the lower ball joints in the 2nd gens Awesome video!!
Thanks - that was a new style for me... never tried to edit a video like that, definitely took a while to get it to flow. I am still pretty new to editing so always thankful for the feedback and everyones patience.
my biggest pet peeve. I was recently watching a big/popular RUclips channel with a supposedly suspension expert explaining the difference between high end coilovers for truck but he kept saying "dampening"...I couldn't take him seriously.
I think of them as an automotive variety show... definitely not where I go to learn to be a better mechanic... but I do watch a lot of their stuff for entertainment.
Outstanding video. I’ve built 3 Toyota’s (currently testing my wife’s unconditional love with a JT build) and you nailed it on this video. I appreciate you being kind as the overland/off-road community can be so incredibly pretentious and unapproachable. Saying “Oh you’ve only got a rough country lift..” to a 22 year old with a 3rd gen 4R it’s like the movie Mean Girls. I do lose it seeing 22” wheels with MT’s 😂
Your wife sounds super patient (Thankfully mine is too 😳 ) - I agree with you 100%... we all started somewhere with varying degrees of knowledge and all made plenty of mistakes... I still feel like a noob compared to so many people.
Having been a mechanic for almost half my life and having owned all kinds of fun toys I generally can’t stand “car people” lol. I love everything from dual sport motorcycles, air cooled Porsches, muscle cars and wheeling. When I go watch racing it’s for the machines and not the drivers, just like going to car shows and other events. I just love the different technology and innovations. I feel liked most “car people” have rigid opinions on certain things and that’s that. Also, 22s aren’t nearly as bad as the whole “stance” movement and stupid popping exhaust. lol I guess that’s my line in the sand.
Agree with the when in doubt go heavy. When I put the Old Man Emu suspension on my Colorado, I wanted the heavy leaf springs. ARB talked me out of it. I ran their “regular” rate leaf pack for a very short time before I purchased the extra leaf to make it the heavy leaf pack. Definitely helped my ride and handling on and off road.
Thanks Nathan, I’m working out leaf springs right now as I put a decked system in the back of my tundra and it’s sagging badly. I wish you were closer, I would bring my truck to your shop.
I think people get confused with springs in general. You can gain lift using the same spring rate. On a leaf it just has more arch, coils will just be longer. Back in the day you could go to a local spring shop and have leafs re-arched. Typically done when they were overloaded and started sagging, but you could have them arch them more and get basically cheap lift springs. Many times people would get extra leafs in the pack to increase spring rate also. Which leads to your point, adding weight to stock spring rate will make it sag just as it did with no lift. Adding spring rate in the pack or coils will help with carrying that extra load while maintaining the desired lift. Look at some of the old mud trucks, most of the crazy leaf packs were made at those local spring shops. They got pretty wild. Crazy arches with tons of leafs in the pack.
just to add to this the icon 3 leaf pack they used in the video actually has less spring rate than the single deaver leaf. it also cant be used with the factory overload leaf so when loaded down the single leaf is a much better choice. and while im here those bilsteins may have an extended length 3" longer but shaft travel is only about an inch or so more. paired with the longer compressed length bottoming the shock before hitting bump stop you could actually end up with less overall suspension travel. ALSO many people say shocks dont affect ride height but when you start getting into 7/8" shafts and 250psi charge pressure your adding hundreds of pounds of upwards force that can raise a lightweight tacoma rear end quite a bit
Great video Nathan keep up the good work, are you still happy with your old man emu suspension setup on your Tundra I have the same Tundra I believe mine's a year older
As long as that system is installed right with the notches and you get the a correctly rated leaf pack for your setup... I think that is my favorite setup out there without going full triple bypass and long travel.... those are really great shocks.
Great video. I have often toyed with the idea of addressing this same topic. They got so much wrong, I had a tough time watching them argue about lockers on their finale trip to colorado, and the winching ordeal.... Well done! You made a great video evaluating this, and I'm sure you had to watch TONS of footage and scrub it all. Hello from Idaho as well!
Hey.. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos. We should catch up sometime. Love your stuff. I’ve always wanted to do a prerunner build on a 1st gen tundra. Email me if you ever want to meet up. Natejmueller@gmail.com
suspension lifts, make room for larger tires, which will ultimately increase the clearance of that shock mount and that rear differential. that is why there are saying like "you can't loose on 42's"
There is a whole camp of “gotcha commenters” that will say a suspension lift does not make biggger tires fit… because if it is all suspension and an increase to travel the larger tires would rub… so it is the addition of a suspension lift with preload or some kind of spacer or a sawzall that actually make bigger tires fit.
Dude, I literally said in the video "This is something Everybody like to fight about"... THank you for proving that point. But you missed the main point - Some suspension lifts allow you to fit larger tires... some do NOT. Some only increase the amount of travel you have... and that does not allow you to fit bigger tires because at full bump and full stuff the tires would rub... just like they did before.... that was the point and that is not debatable. That is a fact and many channels have made whole video just to show this.
most ifs lifts without a drop bracket dont help with tire clearance. just because you have more at static ride hight doesnt mean you have more when flexed out on the bump stops. people seem to forget the wheel still moves upward through the same range of travel
What super common build mistakes do you see where you wish you could have helped someone save money and get out more?
Honestly, saving money and having patience on a build. My younger self would buy the cheapest options of everything (spacer lift etc.) just to fit in to the community.
TIRES!! I’m in the Denver area and have run about every type of rubber out there. Know your region and driving style before dropping $2k on knobby boi’s when you will be in snow/highway conditions. Currently running Wildpeak AT/3’s and they’ve performed best all around, jack of all trades.
the bling factor kills a lot of the fun, get a rust bucket and have fun
Find the limits of your rig before strapping on 1000lbs of expensive armor that will never get touched by an obstacle and will start a wormhole of upgrades to support the extra weight.
I’m just waiting for the “minimalist” movement to hit overlanding. I agree with the comment about being a good driver. Yeah…if you’re in certain rock piles or other technical spots having more lift and bigger tires definitely helps. Especially when you need all the help you can get with improved approach, break over and departure angles…but the reality is an extra few inches of lift plus trying to fit 35s over skinny 32s or 33s really doesn’t matter in the real world. I’ve got an inch lift on my Turd-Gen Taco and only bumped it an inch on the tires. It drives great, it wheels pretty good and my fuel range doesn’t suck.
I have a friend that runs a stock Tacoma in Baja and does better than most the $150K trucks... he just has a lot of patience and isn't trying to prove anything.
I don’t doubt it one bit, it’s all about the driver. I built a few XJs in the past that were also daily drivers. I won’t go into full build specs but it was on 33s with 4.56s, a Detroit in the rear and Locrite in the front, 4:1 t case and all stock drivetrain. The rear was a factory D44 from an 89 XJ and the front was a high pinion with out a disconnecting axle from a 90s XJ. I wheeled Moab, Rubicon and the gnarliest trails in the Nevada desert. I got about 200k out of that drive train and never broke on the trail. But I also never let it bounce on rocks or bind it up like crazy. On the flip side how many drivers have you seen totally blow out built axles because they don’t have any patience? I think doing more with less is part of the fun!
That hi low series made me buy a toyota landcruiser. And started doing overlanding last year.
It really was great series… it captured the learning curve of first time off-roading super well.
So true
Great video! Thanks! That was a great series from Donut!
Found your Channel through nate the guy from originally bleepin jeep can't remember the name of his current channel but I watch it regularly
Hi.
Very informative. I liked it.
Great vid!! Love the breakdowns and more info given
Thanks for watching 🙏
Not sure if you figured it out but they’re actually 1st gen Tacos, Toyota fixed the bad design of the lower ball joints in the 2nd gens
Awesome video!!
Oh damn you are right. I wasn’t actually paying much attention to it till I had to think about how old they were… so there are even older.
that was really well done
Thanks - that was a new style for me... never tried to edit a video like that, definitely took a while to get it to flow. I am still pretty new to editing so always thankful for the feedback and everyones patience.
Well, I thought it was perfectly done, Content and presentation! 1/2 the time I click off videos like this. Not this one@@OutdoorAuto
Where do we buy your Merch I want a hat!
I thought that was a first gen tacoma
It was… I didn’t notice the knuckles… 😳…. Point still stands… but they are even older
If we’re going to get specific, a shock provides damping, not dampening.
Dang, I learn something new everyday. Guess I’ve said that wrong my whole life 😳
Thanks 🙏
my biggest pet peeve. I was recently watching a big/popular RUclips channel with a supposedly suspension expert explaining the difference between high end coilovers for truck but he kept saying "dampening"...I couldn't take him seriously.
Hi
👋
Gotta say it, Donut is just terrible.
I think of them as an automotive variety show... definitely not where I go to learn to be a better mechanic... but I do watch a lot of their stuff for entertainment.
Mine is 16 Tundra, I'm still debating on Old Man emu suspension for my Tundra
Outstanding video. I’ve built 3 Toyota’s (currently testing my wife’s unconditional love with a JT build) and you nailed it on this video. I appreciate you being kind as the overland/off-road community can be so incredibly pretentious and unapproachable. Saying “Oh you’ve only got a rough country lift..” to a 22 year old with a 3rd gen 4R it’s like the movie Mean Girls.
I do lose it seeing 22” wheels with MT’s 😂
Your wife sounds super patient (Thankfully mine is too 😳 ) - I agree with you 100%... we all started somewhere with varying degrees of knowledge and all made plenty of mistakes... I still feel like a noob compared to so many people.
Having been a mechanic for almost half my life and having owned all kinds of fun toys I generally can’t stand “car people” lol. I love everything from dual sport motorcycles, air cooled Porsches, muscle cars and wheeling. When I go watch racing it’s for the machines and not the drivers, just like going to car shows and other events. I just love the different technology and innovations. I feel liked most “car people” have rigid opinions on certain things and that’s that. Also, 22s aren’t nearly as bad as the whole “stance” movement and stupid popping exhaust. lol I guess that’s my line in the sand.
Agree with the when in doubt go heavy. When I put the Old Man Emu suspension on my Colorado, I wanted the heavy leaf springs. ARB talked me out of it. I ran their “regular” rate leaf pack for a very short time before I purchased the extra leaf to make it the heavy leaf pack. Definitely helped my ride and handling on and off road.
Thanks Nathan, I’m working out leaf springs right now as I put a decked system in the back of my tundra and it’s sagging badly. I wish you were closer, I would bring my truck to your shop.
great video!! *First gen Tacoma 5:55/14:36
I can't believe I missed that 🤦♂️
I think people get confused with springs in general. You can gain lift using the same spring rate. On a leaf it just has more arch, coils will just be longer. Back in the day you could go to a local spring shop and have leafs re-arched. Typically done when they were overloaded and started sagging, but you could have them arch them more and get basically cheap lift springs. Many times people would get extra leafs in the pack to increase spring rate also. Which leads to your point, adding weight to stock spring rate will make it sag just as it did with no lift. Adding spring rate in the pack or coils will help with carrying that extra load while maintaining the desired lift.
Look at some of the old mud trucks, most of the crazy leaf packs were made at those local spring shops. They got pretty wild. Crazy arches with tons of leafs in the pack.
I’m pretty lucky, I still have 2 of the old spring shops where I live so I can get all kinds of custom options done.
just to add to this the icon 3 leaf pack they used in the video actually has less spring rate than the single deaver leaf. it also cant be used with the factory overload leaf so when loaded down the single leaf is a much better choice. and while im here those bilsteins may have an extended length 3" longer but shaft travel is only about an inch or so more. paired with the longer compressed length bottoming the shock before hitting bump stop you could actually end up with less overall suspension travel. ALSO many people say shocks dont affect ride height but when you start getting into 7/8" shafts and 250psi charge pressure your adding hundreds of pounds of upwards force that can raise a lightweight tacoma rear end quite a bit
Great video Nathan keep up the good work, are you still happy with your old man emu suspension setup on your Tundra I have the same Tundra I believe mine's a year older
As long as that system is installed right with the notches and you get the a correctly rated leaf pack for your setup... I think that is my favorite setup out there without going full triple bypass and long travel.... those are really great shocks.
That was interesting!
I had fun making that one…
@OutdoorAuto can you do a video on pre-load collars vs spacer lifts? since you mentioned it in this video, thanks
Picky
My channel teaches… so I would say teach-y
Hi!
Hi MOM
Solid breakdown bud!
Call video I just wanted to comment to help you, so I’m just gonna tell you I like tomatoes
Think those are first gen Tacos
Yeah, you are right. I should have noticed the lower ball joints.
Great video. I have often toyed with the idea of addressing this same topic. They got so much wrong, I had a tough time watching them argue about lockers on their finale trip to colorado, and the winching ordeal.... Well done! You made a great video evaluating this, and I'm sure you had to watch TONS of footage and scrub it all. Hello from Idaho as well!
Hey.. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos. We should catch up sometime. Love your stuff. I’ve always wanted to do a prerunner build on a 1st gen tundra. Email me if you ever want to meet up. Natejmueller@gmail.com
Hi
Really appreciate the support for the channel... especially the people like you that actually watched to the end. Thank you 🙏
suspension lifts, make room for larger tires, which will ultimately increase the clearance of that shock mount and that rear differential. that is why there are saying like "you can't loose on 42's"
There is a whole camp of “gotcha commenters” that will say a suspension lift does not make biggger tires fit… because if it is all suspension and an increase to travel the larger tires would rub… so it is the addition of a suspension lift with preload or some kind of spacer or a sawzall that actually make bigger tires fit.
@@OutdoorAuto this is why a proper suspension has bump stops and limit straps
Hi.
I do like your vids and I did see this donut series a while ago. Appreciate the way you deliver a lot of information in an understandable way. Thanks
Thanks 🙏 and 👋
Come on man you know that a suspension lift you add taller tires which will give you more clearemce all the way around.
Dude, I literally said in the video "This is something Everybody like to fight about"... THank you for proving that point. But you missed the main point - Some suspension lifts allow you to fit larger tires... some do NOT. Some only increase the amount of travel you have... and that does not allow you to fit bigger tires because at full bump and full stuff the tires would rub... just like they did before.... that was the point and that is not debatable. That is a fact and many channels have made whole video just to show this.
most ifs lifts without a drop bracket dont help with tire clearance. just because you have more at static ride hight doesnt mean you have more when flexed out on the bump stops. people seem to forget the wheel still moves upward through the same range of travel