The Plan
This was the big one: suspension. Here's what went on Indy:
Front: Bilstein 8112 coilovers and new upper control arms
Rear: Bilstein 8100 shocks and a custom Alcan leaf spring pack, plus Alcan's adjustable shackles
The 8100s in the back were fully adjustable, which was something we'd never had before. I was eager to try them, especially in the rear where all the weight of the camper was going to sit.
Rachael was pretty nervous about this one. She was starting from scratch, and reading the instructions didn't help much (her words: "this is gibberish to me"). My answer: that's what questions are for.
We had to be really methodical. Suspension is a safety component. If a bolt backed out, that could be really dangerous, so every bolt got torqued to spec. The plan of attack was to do the rear first.
The Rear: Alcan Leaf Springs & Bilstein 8100s
We went with a custom Alcan leaf pack rated 1,200 lb over stock payload, with 1 inch of lift in the rear. The Tundra already had a pretty good rake to it, so we didn't need much. We also got Alcan's adjustable shackles so we could fine-tune it later.
We jacked up the truck and got it on stands. Officially airborne.
We loosened the U-bolts and dropped the old leaf pack. The new leaf spring was huge (Rachael pointed out it was as tall as she is).
We installed the new leaf pack and shackles.
We installed the Bilstein 8100s. The instructions had pictures, which helped a lot. Rachael installed the first shock pretty much by herself and tightened everything down.
We torqued everything to spec.
We got one leaf spring in on day one, and then it got too dark, too cold, and we got too tired. I started making dumb mistakes, like trying to turn the bolt side instead of the nut side. That was a sign to stop.
That first night, we also broke a lot of things: two breaker bars (one 3/4-inch drive and one 1/2-inch drive) and a 1/2-to-3/8 adapter. We couldn't torque anything down until I got a new adapter, so that was the first of many trips to the auto parts store this week.
The next day, Rachael had a meeting, so I finished the driver side while she was gone. When she got back about two hours later, the rear suspension was done and the wheels were back on.
Rachael's takeaway from the rear: shocks were totally doable, even for a complete novice.
The Front: Bilstein 8112s & Upper Control Arms
I'd never done front suspension work before. I'd just watched about a million hours of YouTube videos on it. Honestly, the part I was most intimidated by was getting the upper control arm bolts in and out, because there just wasn't much room to work in the engine bay.
The front ended up taking four days. Here's roughly how the passenger side went (the driver side was the same):
We pulled the upper control arm. We removed the big bolt (and didn't lose the washer). This turned out to be way less bad than we expected, and Rachael said she felt way less stressed once it was out.
I prepped the new upper control arms. I pressed the bushings and inner sleeves into the new arms.
We removed the OEM strut. We had to disconnect the sway bar to get the strut out. That was fine, because it's really easy to reconnect.
We installed the 8112. That was a bear. I got the lower shock bolt in and the two bolts that hold the lower control arm to the knuckle, but I had to pry things around and support everything with the jack to get it all lined up.
Rachael mounted the reservoir brackets. She assembled the brackets for the remote reservoirs and drilled and mounted them inside the wheel well on her own. She was nervous about pushing the fender liner out of the way because it felt like something was behind it, but it was just plastic back there.
We installed the new upper control arm and torqued everything to spec.
We reconnected the sway bar.
The driver side went faster, apart from one more trip to the store. I didn't own a 22mm wrench, so that was somewhere around the sixth or seventh trip of the week. We officially opened a tab with the auto parts store. We went to Advance Auto three times in one day, and by the last trip, the guy behind the counter said, "You guys must be doing a big project or something." I also finally bought a proper 1/2-inch drive socket set, so hopefully no more broken breaker bars.
Then we lowered it down to see how it sat. It looked good, front to back.
Wheels & Tires
This was our third set of Toyos. We bought two sets of mud terrains for the Tacoma on our own, and this time Toyo sent us their Open Country R/T Trail. It's an all-terrain pattern with a more aggressive, mud-terrain-style sidewall, and it was purpose-built for exactly what we do.
A few specs on the wheels and why we chose them:
18-inch Method 701s: We wanted to be able to do a big brake kit upgrade down the road, and 18s left room for that.
True 35s with no cab mount chop: We wanted to fit true 35-inch tires without cutting the cab mount.
+25mm offset: Plenty of Tundras out there run negative offsets with the wheels poking way out past the fenders. To me they looked a little squatty. Part of it was also practical: some trails in West Virginia are really tight, and we didn't want anything sticking out further than the truck was wide.
We got the truck aligned the following Monday and drove it home.
Rachael's Takeaways
The front end was a lot more watch-and-learn for Rachael, partly because there just wasn't room for both of us to work at the same time. But she said it was really helpful to see me work through some complex parts, and she did most of the reservoir brackets herself, using a lot of the skills she'd picked up earlier in the build. At the end of the last day, we were both exhausted and our arms were shot.
What Would I Do Differently
[Eric to fill in.]
Tips, Tricks, and Resources
Do the rear first. It's more forgiving and builds confidence for the front.
Suspension is a safety system. Look up every torque spec and torque every bolt.
Buy quality 1/2-inch drive tools before you start. Cheap breaker bars and adapters will break.
Check that you have every socket and wrench size before you start (we needed a 22mm).
When you get tired and start making dumb mistakes, stop for the day.
Disconnecting the sway bar makes it much easier to get the front strut out.
Use a jack to support and position the knuckle when you're lining up bolts.
Get an alignment right after a suspension install.
Parts List:
Suspension
Bilstein 8112 front coilovers
Bilstein 8100 rear shocks
Alcan custom rear leaf spring pack
Alcan adjustable shackles
Upper control arms
Wheels & Tires
Toyo Open Country R/T Trail (35x12.5)
Method 701 wheels (18-inch, bead grip, +25mm offset)
Tools
Floor jack and jack stands
1/2-inch drive socket set
Breaker bar
Torque wrench
22mm wrench
Drill (reservoir brackets)
Up Next
You can watch this whole episode, and the rest of the 10-part series, on the Mountain State Overland YouTube channel. The series is free to watch thanks to OK4WD, with additional support from Bilstein, Toyo Tires, Blue Ridge Overland Gear, GP Factor, and Midland. And if you want to see a build like this out on the trail, come join us on a Mountain State Overland guided trip!