Bottoming out on speed humps... Shocks?

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Manhattan

Manhattan

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I'm wondering if this is normal, or if the rear shocks are shot.

Stock '06 100, 3rd row in place, no bumpers, nothing but the 3rd row in the back (no tool boxes, fridge, etc.); 58,000 miles. 3/4" stock torsion bar "lift".

With only me in the truck, if I hit the speed humps at 25 mph, the ass-end will occasionally bottom out. This probably happens on 1 out of 5 speed humps. Never over 25 mph. The thud comes as the back wheels clear the hump - as they "land" on the street. The truck definitely unweights over the hump... then thud.

Just feels like the stock/original shocks are toast. Thoughts? Is this just normal on these lux trucks?
 
25 mph is pretty fast to take even a modest speed bump. That said I'm surprised you are hitting bump stops in the rear. Put chalk on the bump stops and go drive your fave speed bumps to make the clunk. If there is transfer of the chalk then you know you are hitting the stops. I would then look at shocks and your driving style :). I presume your 06 has AHC?

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RobRed said:
25 mph is pretty fast to take even a modest speed bump. That said I'm surprised you are hitting bump stops in the rear. Put chalk on the bump stops and go drive your fave speed bumps to make the clunk. If there is transfer of the chalk then you know you are hitting the stops. I would then look at shocks and your driving style :). I presume your 06 has AHC?

Sent from my iPad 2 using IH8MUD
Click to expand...

No AHC. Point of clarification - they're speed "humps" not speed "bumps". The humps are probably 12 feet across vs. a speed bump which is more like 2 feet across.

I'll do the chalk thing to verify. If nothing else, I'll confirm it's both sides.

Thanks.
 
My guess is either the shocks are toast or the springs have gone a little saggy, or maybe a combination of both. I wouldn't think the springs would allow you to compress that far just over speed humps.

Seems odd for a truck with as few miles as yours.
 
Thanks guys. It's probably worth mentioning the PO did some towing. What and how much - no idea. Well, I guess I have an idea on the what - the truck had a Harley sticker in the window and the cargo area was greasy and rusty as hell. So, could've been a single Sportster or 4 FatBoys and a giant toolbox. That'll kill shocks faster right?

And while I'm on the subject - grease stains everywhere, several cigarette burns, smoke smell, towing Harleys... did someone buy the wrong *^$#ing truck? I thought that's what F250s and Surburbans were for. Why the $*#& would someone buy a $68,000 SUV to do this to it? Rant over.
 
We have those speed humps here in Arkansas as well. I'll agree that 25 mpg is pretty fast to take them on a regular basis. My 4runner with Bilstein shocks and FJ Cruiser coils took them pretty well, but with a lighter vehicle than our Cruiser's it didn't come near bottoming out. The way those speed humps are designed, as the front end is coming off of it (which raises the rear) the rear gets "kicked" up. I would say you very well could bottom-or top-out the suspension if you hit it just right. I also would think there is nothing wrong with your vehicle if that is what you are feeling. Some of those humps are HUGE and really do put alot of stress on your suspension, especially the rear, if you hit them fast.
Does your rear end keep bouncing up/down/up/down? Or does it settle back down quickly? If your shocks are busted, lots of times it will keep bouncing up and down. I wouldn't think the coils are worn out or anything. It would take daily towing of a heavy load to wear out a coil like that.
Good luck, hope it's nothing major.

Oh, and don't worry about buying the "wrong" vehicle...no matter how clean a vehicle is, there are always a few things we find that need some attention. If you like it, then it's right for you!
 
12guns... you're right about how those can be just the right length essentially time it perfectly, e.g. leading edge of hump kicks back end up, trailing edge arrives as the back end is coming back down. Sort of like jumping in an elevator on the way down, and timing the landing with the landing of the elevator. And no - there's no bounce after the fact... good call. Thinking it's just a 5,000lb lux truck that I should drive slower... I guess ;)

That last part - I meant the PO bought the wrong truck. He shoulda been in an F250. I know I'm in the right truck ;)
 
5,000lb? that might be the lightest here.
 
i have the same problem, however my lc gets bottomed out when moderately slow over speed bumps.

mine is a 2003 vx100 sahara with t bars front and coil springs at rear. purchased it in 2008, stock shocks changed with billstein & ome last year.
then the front right side shock was broken (still under 1 year..this surprised me big time, i think it's one of the ome in the front), then replaced all the shocks with brand new oem around february 2015.
i travelled with the car for around 5000miles in about 2 weeks. That time the rear bottomed out only when the car was fullly loaded (about 400kgs / 850lbs). now driving on uneven roads the ride has become too bouncy like a ship in storms even when lightly loaded. the rollover when turning at low speed is enough to scare ppl in the back seat.
i tried to "slow-slalom test the car" zig zaged it right to left at low speed, easily noticed the ride has become so soft. the car doesnt dive too much when braking though.
i'm still confused whether to replace all the shocks or the rear springs, because i feel the shocks are still able to work well on straight ways at high speed.

the stock springs never been replaced so it's about 13 years now. would this be the problem? say i changed the rear coils with ome, they're kinda harder than stock, would i have to replace the t bars as well?
 
eazyride, I solved it: 2" IronMan coils, TBs, SPC UCAs, Foam Cell shocks... okay, that would've been overkill if it was for the speed humps, but it doesn't bottom out any more.
 
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ended up replacing the old stock coil springs with OME. car feels quite sturdy over bumps. cuts corner better.
ome springs are little bit shorter than the stock ones. the rear end drops about 1-2cm, front end is still lower though. maybe i should lower the torsion bar to compensate when riding fully loaded.
 
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