Noob with Dobinson spring question

[DutchOven]

So heres my scenario; i have a trailhunter. I use it as my daily. I have a smartcap and some standard gear in the back that probably adds up to say 280lb permanent load.

This is probably fine, the ride does sometimes feel overly squishy but i honestly dont know if its related or not, but when i go camping and load up the back with cooler, water, wood etc etc if really squats a lot. Ive read a little bit and it seems like what might benefit me is a pair of Dobinsons. In particular, im looking for something that can help with the weight (maybe not entirely solve it, but helps), while not impacting my daily too much, so im thinking of adding Dobinsons C59-819V to the back.

I would like to hear from folks in a similar scenario as mine that did this, if they like the setup or if they would do it differently. Also just general advice around the 819 vs others for my setup, and also whether i need something in the front as well. Its mostly my back that squats obviously, but i see from others a lot of folks also replace the front, and im not actually too sure why tbh.

Thanks guys.

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[Arena]

Go for it! I added the 819s to my Off Road and am a fan. Got about 2.5 inches of lift on my truck. I came from full sized trucks and did a 6500 lb tow with a trailer and was basically riding on the bump stops. Not any more with the 819s. Not too difficult an install either as long as you have a little patience with the process.

 

[TacoBirdinNW]

If you're happy with how it rides and looks day to day but just want to support it for trips, might consider airbags.
Idk about the trailhunter suspension, but I don't think the stock suspension on other models is designed for any kind of lift over factory height. Up to you if you want to sacrifice your trucks performance off road - people do it all the time!
I used icon overland springs, but @ 400 ish lbs constant weight I'm about 1.5" to 2" over stock height in the rear and the weight pushes my front down about 1/2 (they are designed to sit 1/2" over stock with 600lbs). So the dilemma I have now is that my 5100s are only designed for 1.5" of lift over stock, so do I add more weight like a rear bumper and swingout to drop the rear a bit ? Or do I get a softer spring that will sit lower with 400 lbs ? Or do I get rear shocks that are designed to accommodate a higher lift and bring the front up to match ?
Just some stuff to consider! I'd get all the research dialed so you do it right the first time. It's not a hard job, but I've pulled the rear springs 3 times and I'd feel kind of annoyed to do it again.
Also, if you decide on lifting the rear with springs, check the track bar and consider the KDSS relocation kit.

 

[lauren01]

Our other option with the Trailhunter is an ARB spring change since we have OME suspension by ARB. Check out the thread by Marie / ARB through the Sponsors page.

 

[TacoBirdinNW]

Our other option with the Trailhunter is an ARB spring change since we have OME suspension by ARB. Check out the thread by Marie / ARB through the Sponsors page.

Oh yea forgot you all have that BANGIN setup! Couldn't be bothered with a quick Google search just curious, do you know how much lift the OEM TH suspension setup can accommodate ?

 

[DutchOven]

Our other option with the Trailhunter is an ARB spring change since we have OME suspension by ARB. Check out the thread by Marie / ARB through the Sponsors page.

thanks for the ref, i sent Marie basically the same question so ill see what they recommend for me

 

[lauren01]

Oh yea forgot you all have that BANGIN setup! Couldn't be bothered with a quick Google search just curious, do you know how much lift the OEM TH suspension setup can accommodate ?

I was told 3” by the lead tech at my local 4WP, maybe a little more.
More than that requires longer UCAs.

 

[TacoBirdinNW]

I was told 3” by the lead tech at my local 4WP, maybe a little more.
More than that requires longer UCAs.

That's surprising! I think the OME BP51 only accommodates up to a 2" lift.

 

[lauren01]

That's surprising! I think the OME BP51 only accommodates up to a 2" lift.

The shop guy says the TH UCA is pretty good sized to accommodate more lift but certainly he did not imply the TH stock OME setup could be adjusted to give more lift. As for me, I know very little beyond what compression and rebound mean.
The OME setup is not exactly the BP51; we got a version that lacks the external click adjustments. :( The TRD Pro got that, but we THers were not worthy….

 

[TacoBirdinNW]

The shop guy says the TH UCA is pretty good sized to accommodate more lift but certainly he did not imply the TH stock OME setup could be adjusted to give more lift. As for me, I know very little beyond what compression and rebound mean.
The OME setup is not exactly the BP51; we got a version that lacks the external click adjustments. :( The TRD Pro got that, but we THers were not worthy….

Haha got it! I'm only speaking to the rear too since OP wants to lift the rear.

If you go through the forum you see folks throwing on rear springs and lifting the rear of their trucks anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. But all of our stock shocks were not designed to accommodate more rear lift than what came from the factory (my understanding). And if you do it without getting longer shocks or moving mounting points then you're eating up down travel just for aesthetics (or in my case for intermittent weight which I'm going to have to fix by adding more constant weight or swapping springs again). Probably not a big deal for most of us who are always on pavement, but your shocks will bottom out easier off road or on big dips - could be jarring at the least, failure at the worst. Not the biggest deal if I blow out my $168 Bilstein 5100, but might be a little more annoying/spendy on your truck lol

 

[lauren01]

Haha got it! I'm only speaking to the rear too since OP wants to lift the rear.

If you go through the forum you see folks throwing on rear springs and lifting the rear of their trucks anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. But all of our stock shocks were not designed to accommodate more rear lift than what came from the factory (my understanding). And if you do it without getting longer shocks or moving mounting points then you're eating up down travel just for aesthetics (or in my case for intermittent weight which I'm going to have to fix by adding more constant weight or swapping springs again). Probably not a big deal for most of us who are always on pavement, but your shocks will bottom out easier off road or on big dips - could be jarring at the least, failure at the worst. Not the biggest deal if I blow out my $168 Bilstein 5100, but might be a little more annoying/spendy on your truck lol

Makes sense! I’d have a shop replace springs to handle whatever greater weight I might add…beef up butt end for towing, beef up front if we end up with installing our winch in a bumper (instead of using in our current hitch tray mount).

Not planning on any lifting for the sake of lifting.

 

[jetengr19]

I have a Trailhunter with about 300 lbs in the bed at all times. I installed the ARB 3320 springs in the rear. They work perfect for me. I like how they ride.

 

[rchrds]

24 Trailhunter here, if you are ok with how it rides empty, but not loaded, I would start with the air lift air bags. It gives you fine control over how high you want the truck to ride, and you can adjust it based on your load. It also doesn't give you the dumptruck feel when you are unloaded. The mounting is easy bolt on, to boot. From there, if you find you are loaded most of the time, then the springs are probably the next step. I just ordered the BP51 with 440 lb load from ARB, but it will be a couple of weeks before i get that on. I only went with the upgraded springs because I normally carry 1200 lbs in the vehicle including the tongue weight of an off road trailer.

https://www.airliftcompany.com/shop/57386

 

[FlyAngler]

I added the Dobinson 822 coils on the front of my 2024 Trailhunter after adding the ARB Zenith winch bumper and accessories. I did this accommodate the extra weight because it felt off with the added weight. I don' t often carry much weight in my bed, so I chose to install the AirLift 5000. I also haul an Airstream Basecamp 20x and the bags help there too. The bags let me keep my original suspension in the rear while giving me the added functionality to reduce the squat just when I really need it. I'm watching that ARB coil advice thread too...but for now, this setup is easily meeting my needs. Good luck dialing it all in!

 

[DutchOven]

....I don' t often carry much weight in my bed, so I chose to install the AirLift 5000....

Sorry man how do those airbags work? Do you manually inflate it when you do something heavy and deflate it afterwards?

Actually let me just do some research on it nevermind; Thanks for pointing that out as an option

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