Since there doesn't seem to be a ton of info or end user reports yet out on there on the 60 series Tough Dog suspensions available from Trail Tailor ( @reevesci )I will post up, since I just installed one.
My 1989 FJ62 is my DD, and has a lot of miles. Rolled over 391k as of this morning to be more exact. I'm not sure what the original design life of the suspension was, but I'm pretty sure It has been exceeded several times over.
The truck takes me to work, gets wheeled, takes trips on the highway, goes camping and hauls stuff. It's got an ARB front bumper and 9500 lb winch up front as well. Without some creative assistance, the old suspension was nearly touching the bump stops all the way around.
Driving around town it wasn't that bad, but potholes or anything off the pavement required gritting your teeth and going at a snails pace.
I have been thinking about a new suspension for a bit, and decided to go for the Tough Dog. I got the bullbar+winch front springs, 0-660lb rears, 41mm foam cell shocks, steering damper, and greasable shackles. I got in touch with Jason on Thursday, and when I got home from work Saturday everything was at my door. That was quick!
Everything was packaged well and arrived unscathed.
First thoughts-wow those shocks are beefy! Heavy too.
Everything went on smoothly. I had the suspension apart about 2 years ago to replace the bushings with new OEM, so everything had been cleaned and anti-seized somewhat recently.
The front went on first:
I need some sway bar extensions now.
Rear was next. I reused the OEM rubber spring isolated/locator pads as they were in good shape and fit the TD springs perfectly.
I also built a bracket this morning to locate the axle end of the load sensing brake proportioning unit back to its original spot. That brought my brakes back to normal. I still need to re center my steering wheel as well.
I got out this morning and ran it down the highway to hit some forest service roads and see how it was going to perform. The first thing I really noticed was the immense improvement over drops, logs, rocks, etc. Before when I drove over a 5 or 6 inch log I would bottom out harshly no matter how slow I went. Now it is still a bump, but it's completely controlled and not harsh at all. I went over a handful of down trees like this, and not at a crawl.
I ran the truck pretty hard and fast (well, for a '62
) down some forest roads for a couple miles and was very impressed with the shocks. They do a great job on big hits and those fast-appearing drainage cuts. I never bottomed out once.
I'm at my limit for pictures. Continued in the next post!
My 1989 FJ62 is my DD, and has a lot of miles. Rolled over 391k as of this morning to be more exact. I'm not sure what the original design life of the suspension was, but I'm pretty sure It has been exceeded several times over.
The truck takes me to work, gets wheeled, takes trips on the highway, goes camping and hauls stuff. It's got an ARB front bumper and 9500 lb winch up front as well. Without some creative assistance, the old suspension was nearly touching the bump stops all the way around.
Driving around town it wasn't that bad, but potholes or anything off the pavement required gritting your teeth and going at a snails pace.
I have been thinking about a new suspension for a bit, and decided to go for the Tough Dog. I got the bullbar+winch front springs, 0-660lb rears, 41mm foam cell shocks, steering damper, and greasable shackles. I got in touch with Jason on Thursday, and when I got home from work Saturday everything was at my door. That was quick!
Everything was packaged well and arrived unscathed.
First thoughts-wow those shocks are beefy! Heavy too.
Everything went on smoothly. I had the suspension apart about 2 years ago to replace the bushings with new OEM, so everything had been cleaned and anti-seized somewhat recently.
The front went on first:
I need some sway bar extensions now.
Rear was next. I reused the OEM rubber spring isolated/locator pads as they were in good shape and fit the TD springs perfectly.
I also built a bracket this morning to locate the axle end of the load sensing brake proportioning unit back to its original spot. That brought my brakes back to normal. I still need to re center my steering wheel as well.
I got out this morning and ran it down the highway to hit some forest service roads and see how it was going to perform. The first thing I really noticed was the immense improvement over drops, logs, rocks, etc. Before when I drove over a 5 or 6 inch log I would bottom out harshly no matter how slow I went. Now it is still a bump, but it's completely controlled and not harsh at all. I went over a handful of down trees like this, and not at a crawl.
I ran the truck pretty hard and fast (well, for a '62
) down some forest roads for a couple miles and was very impressed with the shocks. They do a great job on big hits and those fast-appearing drainage cuts. I never bottomed out once.I'm at my limit for pictures. Continued in the next post!
