100 series suspension kit to achieve 2' lift

Which suspension route should i go

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Another thing to keep in mind is if you go ICON or similar, you’ll have to send your shocks back to the manufacturer at specific intervals to have them rebuilt. That’s what, a 2-3wk downtime where your truck is just sitting on jack stands? Personally I cannot afford to do that as my truck is my DD, so IMHO Tough Dog has some of (if not the best) shocks out there for your money that don’t require them to be rebuilt. I cannot comment on Iron Man Foam Cell shocks but I’ve heard excellent reviews from them as well so it seems they are comparable. I don’t think you could go wrong with either TD or IM, just remember if you go TD you’ll have @reevesci at your disposal for any questions you might have. He helped me a ton when I had a few questions about my front shocks and I pm’d him real time in the middle of installing them and he responded within 5-10min every time. Not saying IM doesn’t have good customer service because they definitely do as I’ve used them multiple times, they just don’t have an authorized dealer on this forum who is as knowledgeable and willing to help as Jason is.
 
I agree Jason has sold me on the shocks im just considering my spring options now. I see alot of people going for the dobinsons just wondering if theres any benefit to eith td or dobinson springs. Thanks everyone cant wait to place the order and document the install!
 
LS1FJ40 said:
26k miles now. Not 10k. On my TD setup. I’ve run Rancho, Bilstein, and OME. None of them compare to the Tough Dog.

My point was that I took a “leap of faith” with Jason on the Tough Dog setup. But it really wasn’t a leap of faith because I trusted his expertise. I do not want to make the time to research every product I use, I rely on experts that I trust for that.

FWIW, I’ve been able to notice fairly quickly if something was junk. Rancho, Bilstein, and OME all were pretty obvious.

The foam cell shocks are not the same at conventional shocks.

Now, if you compare TD to a King setup then yes, there is a difference. But the King setup would cost more than my entire cost of my 93 80 Series.
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I guess if you dont want to know what your getting into then yeah its a no brainer buy whatever you’d like. I dont have money to gamble with, i agree Jason has proven to me the best customer service ive ever encountered and has sold me on the TD shocks. Maybe im overthinking it but it just feels good to research a big purchase imho . Also ive never heard someone consider blisteins to be “junk”
 
fisherman978 said:
I agree Jason has sold me on the shocks im just considering my spring options now. I see alot of people going for the dobinsons just wondering if theres any benefit to eith td or dobinson springs. Thanks everyone cant wait to place the order and document the install!
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Springs are more cut and dry than shocks. Your overthinking it. Springs are based off their spring rate which is pretty similar across all brands because it’s based on the weight of the vehicle. I also read that most companies springs are produced by the same manufacturer, so take that for what it’s worth.

Hell, I’d rather have Jason’s tourflex springs or slinky springs over the Dobinsons because they are dual or variable rate.
fisherman978 said:
I guess if you dont want to know what your getting into then yeah its a no brainer buy whatever you’d like. I dont have money to gamble with, i agree Jason has proven to me the best customer service ive ever encountered and has sold me on the TD shocks. Maybe im overthinking it but it just feels good to research a big purchase imho . Also ive never heard someone consider blisteins to be “junk”
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All of the bad reviews I could find on TD are from like 2012... so I would think that Mud would be your best resource for recent reviews. So please take when the review was written into consideration, companies change over time and improve or degrade. Your not gambling with your money, Jason will back his products and make sure that you don’t get screwed or anything. Going with a full kit through him would also be beneficial over going with just shocks and Dobinsons springs.

Bilsteins are considered “junk” because AFAIK they never got the shock length down correctly.
 
Do a search here for bilsteins......

You say you do a bunch of research but you didn't know that bilsteins are not a good shock for the 100..... There are practically no one running dobinsons.... Doesn't that tell you some things?
 
fisherman978 said:
I guess if you dont want to know what your getting into then yeah its a no brainer buy whatever you’d like. I dont have money to gamble with, i agree Jason has proven to me the best customer service ive ever encountered and has sold me on the TD shocks. Maybe im overthinking it but it just feels good to research a big purchase imho . Also ive never heard someone consider blisteins to be “junk”
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krice118 said:
Do a search here for bilsteins......

You say you do a bunch of research but you didn't know that bilsteins are not a good shock for the 100..... There are practically no one running dobinsons.... Doesn't that tell you some things?
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I wouldn’t put Bilsteins on a Radio Flyer. I had zero good experiences. Had them on two different vehicles. A 2000 4Runner and my 92 80 Series.
 
sold me on the tough dogs ill contact jason tomorrow !!!! thanks all :)
 
DirtDawg said:
Springs are more cut and dry than shocks. Your overthinking it. Springs are based off their spring rate which is pretty similar across all brands because it’s based on the weight of the vehicle. I also read that most companies springs are produced by the same manufacturer, so take that for what it’s worth.

Hell, I’d rather have Jason’s tourflex springs or slinky springs over the Dobinsons because they are dual or variable rate.

All of the bad reviews I could find on TD are from like 2012... so I would think that Mud would be your best resource for recent reviews. So please take when the review was written into consideration, companies change over time and improve or degrade. Your not gambling with your money, Jason will back his products and make sure that you don’t get screwed or anything. Going with a full kit through him would also be beneficial over going with just shocks and Dobinsons springs.

Bilsteins are considered “junk” because AFAIK they never got the shock length down correctly.
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was also looking AT THE 100 SERIES drawer kit from dobinsons as i can't find a company to ship to usa aussie drawer kit? any advice or leads?
 
Dozer18 said:
Is this the 100 out of PA that @BROKEROB1 was helping to sell?
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Im up in MA. 100 i believe was here all its life. Thankfully does. Not seem to have fell victim to the north east weather. Frames great , Body is great . I had time to wire brush the rear underbody and rusteloum bed liner it. Theres about a dime sized rust hole on the rear wheel arch. Waiting on Spring to pull the bumpers and really get into the rust prevenitive maintenance and address the current problematic areas. I was planning on sticking with the rustoleum. Dont have the funds to get anything line-x’d as i wish i could do the bottom of the doors
 
bump any final last calls :) TY
 
UPDATE: on my 1998 LC 100 series
After many days of consideration and going back and forth it became clear there was only one route i wanted to go and that was with The Tough Dog from Jason at Trail Tailor. I enjoy the process of making a purchase and doing my due research as a planned investment and Jason was so generous with information and just a all around amazing guy, truly a pleasure to speak and do business with him.

I landed on:


Tough Dog 53MM front shocks (Not adjustable)
Tough Dog 41MM rear shocks
Heavy Duty Constant Load TOURFLEX 2" coils
TD torsion bars and reinforced mounting brackets
Trail Tailor Diff Drop

ready to see some warmer weather here in MA , and installing this setup. will post some photos before/after install . before the suspension overhaul i still plan on pulling the front bumper to fabricate a new winch mount as the current one is rotted and also a small corner of the SLEE bumper has some surface rust bubbling. scraping and rusteloum truck bed painting the underbody . i can not afford to Line X it. if there are any other cost effective options out there to painting the frame/undercarriage please im all ears. i live in MA and rust is a serious rapid problem.

I also plan on picking up the 2" sway bar extenstions front and rear from Trail Tailor to compliment the setup when the bank account allows it.
 
Also i will be returning the SPC UCA i had purchased for this build. I installed the same exact set from SPC on my 2003 Toyota tundra and i had nothing but rubbing issues. yes i was using a larger tire but the stock UCA sat perfectly fine with the same setup. I had taken it to two wheel alignment places that were well regarded and there was nothing they could do. MY only options were to cut the front bumper( i pulled off the fender flares but this only gave me minimal clearance). so rather then take the risk with another pair or SPC i will be using the Stock UCA with new bushings till further notice. i just do not want to open up another can of worms with the SPC. they are highly regarded on here and people use them, SLEE pushes them hard also but i don't believe the hype with my experience. worth the money to get a better set like the Total Chaos or the Nitro.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing how your lift comes out. I'm currently on the hunt a LC100 and I'm coming from a well built tacoma that has many similarities to your Tundra. I did find that the SPC uca's I added made a remarkable improvement in my ability to correct my alignment numbers over when my stock uca's were still in. I'm sure there are many variables between different makes and models that dictates how much aftermarket UCA's affect the over all alignment specs, its too bad the SPC one's didn't offer much improvement.
 
bump! how do the shocks ride? I want something I can go relatively fast on washboard roads.
 
I just installed the tough dog kit. It rides really nice , definitly firm but ill wait till i put a few k on them before a review. My abs light came on after all the work i did uca also sway bar links, tie rod ends etc etc
 
fisherman978 said:
i can not afford to Line X it. if there are any other cost effective options out there to painting the frame/undercarriage please im all ears. i live in MA and rust is a serious rapid problem.
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Cool Cruisers of Texas sells (or used to sell) a product called Zero Rust. It is a spray can. I used it on my 40 almost 15 years ago and all I can say is it works. Every spot that was shot with this stuff, looks as good as the day I sprayed it. My most telling spots are places I sprayed my 40 frame and my hi-lift jack which sits exposed 24/7 on the outside of the truck. No rust in any of those spots.

If I were you, I would clean down to the metal, squirt it with Zero-Rust and follow up with 3M rubberized undercoating (available at Napa). This has been a working combo for me in Iowa salt, and now Colorado sand and mag-chloride. My 40's metal is vastly inferior by todays standards if it works for my 40, it'll work for your 100.
 
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