Red_Chili

On the way back from Moab, I had worsening trailer sway/truck rocking going down the road. Pretty spooky at times, really starts up at 65 and above. The only trouble is, I wasn't towing a trailer! The guy traveling with me rocked the Chili at a gas stop while I looked under, and sure enough, it rocked another time or two after he stopped. Methinks my 9012s are shot in back. This may explain why I experienced more tow issues last year hunting... ya think? I am thinking the 9012s are probably going to be warranteed (limited lifetime warranty, a good reason to go Rancho - that may be the deciding factor for me, free is good). But another issue I would like to resolve is load levelling when I am packed up or towing. Flexy soft rear springs are great, but for towing, not so much - 4Runner Buttdrag. Another club member suggested Fox Air Shox as adjustable helper springs. So I did a search on the web. YIKE$. And from what I see they are not so adjustable, at least not on the road - they require nitrogen and at high pressures, so I would need to carry a tank. I thought about air bags after reading that article in Toyota Trails where the guy in the 80 used them to replace his coils. A club member who rarely wheels uses them with his Taco, and they work great. But other info I read suggests that wheeling them tears them up - not a good choice. Affordable though. The goal: easy and affordable adjustability to compensate for load without compromising wheeling ability. I know there is an innovative solution out there. So start the brain storming!

Etype R

What about the adjustable rancho shocks? You can increase the dampening when you load it down. Might be worth calling Rancho and talking to their customer service, maybe with your warranty you can pay the upgrade difference?

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

The 9012s are adjustable, but like you say they may be worn out. Rancho does have some new remote reservoir (Pro Series) versions of the 9012s. I put a set on my '85 and they ride a lot nicer than the old 9012s.


I am also working on a center air bag for the rear axle to take up the load of camping gear.

Might also look into a rear sway bar, I put one on my '85 last summer and wow, it really settles it down at high speed. Before it was almost a white knuckle experience above 65 and now it just cruises down the road.

Red_Chili

At one time the Chili was stable to 80mph! Not anymore. I have not actually pulled the shocks to see what kind of damping they have left but I think I know what I will find.

How much was that rear swaybar? From where? Do I see disconnects for it, and does it clank around offroad when disconnected?

I thought about the center airbag but would be concerned it would increase body roll. I suppose your swaybar eliminates that though.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Bar from Addco, I think they run ~$150 or so. Just disconnect one side and it eliminates the bar off-road. On my '85, I think a lot of the rear handling issues have to do with the way the springs ride. When I first put my current springs on, they had a decent arch and rode well. But as they have settled with time and flattened out more, they tend to get a lot of side-side action on the road. My thinking is the center air bag will lift the back end up a few inches, restoring the arch to the springs and letting them work better. As is, unloaded, the truck handles decent, it is just when you load down the rear end with gear that it gets a little sketchy. I lose about 2" of height in back loaded and that is when it starts to act up.

Newest end links use heim joints and are super easy to disconnect as you can just pop one side out without touching the other side. No noise that I can hear connected or disconnected:





More info:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#DisconnectsV3

Red_Chili

That's a slick setup. No pain to disconnect.

Red_Chili

All I can say is, WOW. The new RS999012X shocks are a whole new shock compared to the 9012s. WAY beefier, as well as the 9-way adjustability. They are gas filled too, so they extend all by themselves - be sure to get the upper eye in position, then turn until they unlock, and slip the lower one on as they extend or you will have a bear of a time compressing them to get it on. LOL, the old ones had a little damping left but were NOTHING like the new ones.

I have 9-ways on the front, which were another warranty replacement for the original 5-ways. The new 9-ways are a whole new shock compared even to them, way fatter.



The verdict? I have a set of test bumps between Wadsworth and Kipling on C470 in Littleton. If it's gonna sway, it will do it there. It worked for fixing the trailer sway, that was the acid test.

No more sway.

Now I'm excited for the front shocks to start leaking...

The sway bar is still a great idea for towing though. We will see what I can fab up with my new $30 airbags (for a coil spring 4Runner) for load levelling, that a guy in our club needed to get rid of.