Horrible Handling on Washboard

Hey guys and gals,

I like my Gen 3, but don't love it. Performance-wise the truck does well on pavement, tows nicely, accelerates well, and handles corning better than my previous Tundras.

I live 7 miles from the nearest pavement, so I spend a lot of time on county roads. My biggest performance complaint is the truck is awful on washboarded dirt roads. Even at low speeds, the rear end dances around and often kicks the truck sideways to the point of being dangerous. My previous 2008 and 2015 Tundras handled the washboard much better.

My truck is a stock 1794, non-TRD, no lift. I'm running 275/60 R20 BFG KO3 tires at around 32 psi. They are the same tires I ran on my 2015 Tundra.

What are my options to make this truck handle the washboard better, besides sticking 600# of sand bags in the bed?

Thanks

 

Upgrade the rear shocks, the Bilstein 5160 remote reservoir shocks made a big difference on my '18 tundra.

 

Thanks, but I think your 2018 had leaf springs in the rear. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison. But I suspect upgraded shocks is the likely answer.

Any Gen 3 owners noticed the same poor washboard handling, and have you found a solution?

 

Yes it had leaf springs but still the same stepping out on the rear on the washboards. I just had to put a track bar relocation bracket on the 22' (due to a mild rear lift) to help correct the same issue. The stock black shocks just are not up too the task of washboard or big hits at speed.

 

Throw a couple three heavy sandbags back there.

 

I found that going to 18" wheels and better tires (Continental TerrainContact A/T in 265/70-18) transformed the handling of my 1794.

 

Does it get worse down the road? I.e. is managable when you start driving, but progressively gets worse?

 

No, it's squirrelly on the washboard all the time. My restored 1981 CJ7 actually handles it better, even with it's short wheelbase.

I do think the lack of sidewalls with the 20" wheels is part of the problem. The big diameter wheels seems like a stupid direction to go with trucks, unless they are just mall crawlers.

 

Does your truck have a rear sway bar?

 

To be honest, I'm not sure, never looked. It's a stock 1794, non-hybrid, non-TRD, no lift.

 

It does, the 3rd gens get them from the factory.

 

@Nm6300'asl says it does. Remove it, the ride will be a bit more plushy. But switching to 18 wheels with softer tires will do much more.

 

are those KO3 load e at at that size?

also, I assume your older trucks had 18"s and P-rated.

I think this is your difference right there, 20"s suck for off-roading and if you have load d or e, thats a multiplier.

coils should be much better in this application than the leafs so I think the tires and wheel size is the place to start

 

Upgrade the shocks.

Lower your tire pressure.

Drive faster.

Disconnect sway bars.

Do all or do 2 of any and it’ll improve.

 

His previous trucks were without rear sway bars. They also didn't have a fully boxed frame. C-channel frame absorbs a lot of road imperfections.

I ended up removing my TRD rear sway bar, much better log roads experience. It still didn't drive like sports car with the sway bar anyways.

 

lower the tire pressure under the 32 he has? sidewalls will melt on those larger BFGs

 

Yes, I believe the KO3's are E-rated. The thing is, I ran the same tire on my 2015 Tundra without problems. It did have 18" wheels, however. I was
hoping to avoid the expense of new wheels and tires.

I always thought the sway bar was to minimize body lean in corners. How does it affect straight away driving on washboard?

 

It reduces function of shock absorber. When one wheel goes up, it twists the sway bar, which pushes the other side up as well. The kinetic energy transfer to the frame happens on both sides, not just one. To you it feels like you hit the obstacle with both wheels.

 

Thanks, that makes sense. I'd hate to make highway handling worse by removing the sway bar, though.

It really seems like the engineers missed the mark on the standard suspension of the Gen 3, at least for anything but pavement. I do like the way it handles on pavement.

I might try upgrading the shocks, first. Not a fan of the remote reservoir shocks, however. I've had bad experiences with those in the past. What would be a good upgrade in a standard shock?

 

My first reaction to reading this post was the 20’s. Why Toyota, why!?

 

I had Bilstein 4600 stock on my gen2.5 TRD Offroad, they were good. "Upgraded" to 5100, they were much stiffer. One leaked 3 years later, both were replaced with ARB Old Man Emu, like them lot more.

Wife's TRD PRO Sequoia came with FOX 2.5 shocks, they are good on any pavement we tried it. Multistage compression seems to be the key.

But really you need 18" wheels and softer tires. Shock absorbers won't solve your washboard problem.

 

1794 is for beauty, not for function.

 

I find putting it in 4hi on washboards makes a world of difference.

 

Especially for an "Off Road" optioned model.
I've noticed similar twitchiness / monkey-motion from the rear axle under similar circumstances. Can't wait to ditch the 20's.

 

Agreed. I think it was to appeal to the mall crawler crowd.

Had I known my truck was going to handle so poorly off-road, I would have held out for a TRD Pro. But, after reading this review, I'm not so sure it handles off-road any better.

 

Thanks. I put OME leaf springs and shocks on my '81 CJ7 when I restored it, and I love them. The leaf springs arrived before the shocks, so I installed them, and drove the Jeep for a week with no shocks. I honestly couldn't tell much difference in the ride after installing the new shocks. So, you may be right, shocks probably aren't going solve my Tundra's washboard problem.

Well damn, I might have to bite the bullet and buy new wheels and tires when my current tires are worn out. 20K on the current set. Hope to get at least 20K more.

Thanks for all the responses, gentlemen.

 

I just saw he has E rated tires on 20” wheels. Possibly the worst combo to exist for dirt roads haha.

 

I had 20’s on mine up until a couple months ago and replaced them with 17’s but still have the stock TRD OR suspension. Just that change made the 20-30 miles worth of state/county/hunting roads I travel on much more tolerable.

 

This is interesting to me. I ran the same KO3 tires on my 2015 Tundra with 18" wheels, and it handled dirt roads fine. A 20" wheel, with the same sized tire, means 1" less sidewall.

Does that 1" of sidewall rubber really make that big of a difference?

 

That stock suspension isnt up to the task. I replaced my stock TRD shocks and springs with Dobinsion IMS and it took away a lot of the small bump jolts. Once you can keep your tread in contact with the ground you wont feel so squirmy on the washboard at speed.