Old Man Emu - Tundra Lift - 2"? More like 4"!

beef tits

Well-known member
I just installed the OME leaf springs in the rear, as I am picking up a Four Wheel Camper Grandby Shell this weekend (Regular cab, long bed truck)

This lift is supposed to provide 60mm (2.25"~) of lift.

It actually gave me 4.25" of lift.

I'm a little upset about it, frankly, it's too much lift. Not only does it look dumber than ********, but the truck-bed is now very difficult to get into.

I don't anticipate the camper bringing it back down more than 1-1.5", it's just a shell model. All I wanted was for the truck to ride level with a load. ****** ARB??IMG_6594.jpg
 
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Kpack

Adventurer
I see you have a RCLB. I wonder what the difference in weight is between that and the more common double cab variants? It's possible the OME springs were set for the DC trucks, which would give yours more lift if it was lighter. Typically springs will settle over time but probably not enough in your case.

Any suspension changes on the front?
 

beef tits

Well-known member
Weight difference is likely 800 LBS or so, but in the middle... not over the axle. So maybe half that? I know my payload is about 800 lbs more than a double cab, so it would make sense that the double cab is 800 lbs heavier.

Front suspension is the OME 3" lift, probably settled out to more like 2-2.5" with the bumper and M12 winch (300+ lbs)

I agree that the RCLB may have something to do with it... but ARB shouldn't advertise it as a 60mm lift, they should say what is what with the different cab types. Luckily 4WP offered to take these back on a return. I'll end up using a shackle to get my 1-1.5" I really want.
 

jgallo1

Adventurer
I know with the Tacoma's the lift height is advertised the same across the models as well. When I have ordered ( I always use wheelers, cruiser outfitters, or rocky road). They have helped me dial in the height with the different models.
 

roving1

Well-known member
My 1st gen Taco with OME Dakars and the extra leafs were so arched at first I had to compress the springs on the lift to get the shocks to even bolt up to the point as I jacked up the axle the truck was hovering off of the lift. They had literally 1/4" of down travel at first. They will sag. The first pic is after the lift and it was easily almost 5". The front is also jacked to the moon but there is no diff, front CV shafts, skidplate or front bumper on in that picture and the parking spot is sloped away from the fence. Otherwise it would have the same ass high attitude as your truck.

I put a bunch of weight in the form for water dummies (simulated people ballast for vehicle testing) and drove around for awhile. After a week with about 12-1300 lbs in the back the leafs looked like the 3rd picture. After a lot of the weight was taking out the leafs continued to sag and even with 6-800 lbs of weight are actually sagging more than I want but probably around 2" over stock. I actually have added helper coil springs to get back a little of the sag I don't want. It is shocking how much the leafs will break in. You may find you come full circle and think you do not have enough ride height.

Throw a bunch of weight in there and put some miles on it before you make any decisions. It can take thousands of miles to settle at final ride height.
 

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arlindsay1992

New member
Leafs settle, just takes time. I put OME Dakars on my 1987 4Runner and got more lift that expected also. It did settle to just about what is advertised after about a year.
 

beef tits

Well-known member
Good to know they can settle that much.

I just ordered an Expedition One rear swing out bumper too. Maybe we will ride close to flat after all.

Spending a lot of money this week...
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
I think once you have all the weight in the bed/rear that will be one good looking truck

Lol Great user name by the way
 

Kpack

Adventurer
Good to know they can settle that much.

I just ordered an Expedition One rear swing out bumper too. Maybe we will ride close to flat after all.

Spending a lot of money this week...
I would add all the stuff you are going to add (camper, bumper, equipment, etc) and see where the ride height ends up. What you don't want to do is go with softer springs, then realize you made a mistake and end up having to change them again. A rear swing-out bumper is heavy, and puts even more strain on the rear suspension because of the weight hanging off the back of it, further from the axle (spare tire, jerry cans, jack, etc). You might find that with your typical load the leaf springs will compress to the right spot.

On my truck I went with an add-a-leaf, plus kept the overload leaf in, giving me at least 3.5" over stock. With the weight of the rear bumper/swing out/associated junk the springs compressed down to 2.5" over ride height. And I run with little to no weight in the bed most times. I have a totally different truck than you, but I share it as an example. Add the stuff and see where you are at with ride height.
 
I put Alcan leafsprings on my Tundra, +2 over stock pro and +600 over stock weight. While it was up on jacks my wife asked if that the way it would look while driving it's very ass high? I said no It's on jacks it will look better when I drop it. Well I dropped it and it didn't change much...... But after about a week it looked a lot better as they settled in and it looked more like I wanted. So give it a few days and it will settle
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Find a construction site and borrow about a dozen bags of Quikcrete for a weekend. That'll settle them right down. Heck, I see you have a skid steer you might already have the necessary ballast already.
 

beef tits

Well-known member
Find a construction site and borrow about a dozen bags of Quikcrete for a weekend. That'll settle them right down. Heck, I see you have a skid steer you might already have the necessary ballast already.

I'm heading to Jackson WY tomorrow to pick up my FWC. Hopefully the 500 mile ride back with that weight will settle them a bit.
 

beef tits

Well-known member
I would add all the stuff you are going to add (camper, bumper, equipment, etc) and see where the ride height ends up. What you don't want to do is go with softer springs, then realize you made a mistake and end up having to change them again. A rear swing-out bumper is heavy, and puts even more strain on the rear suspension because of the weight hanging off the back of it, further from the axle (spare tire, jerry cans, jack, etc). You might find that with your typical load the leaf springs will compress to the right spot.

On my truck I went with an add-a-leaf, plus kept the overload leaf in, giving me at least 3.5" over stock. With the weight of the rear bumper/swing out/associated junk the springs compressed down to 2.5" over ride height. And I run with little to no weight in the bed most times. I have a totally different truck than you, but I share it as an example. Add the stuff and see where you are at with ride height.

Agreed, I'll wait it out.

Just picked up a 2000 Tundra TRD for my Dad last weekend. 70k miles. Love those trucks, I'd prefer one over the 2007+ to be honest. So damn hard to find RCLB 4x4 with the 04+ higher power motor though!
 

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