Sumo springs?

We have a 21 Limited Crew Max short bed. Planning a trip from Oregon to Anchorage this coming late summer.

We have a 18’ pull camper that has a dry weight of 3700 lbs. We have already had a weight distribution hitch sway bar set installed when towing this trailer. In the bed of the truck I plan on carrying a small 2500 watt generator, a second spare for the trailer, 10 gallons of extra gas and misc tools and safety equipment in a mounted truck tool box at the front of the bed.

I’m considering adding the “blue” Sumo springs to the rear of the Tundra to help with the bumpy AlCan highway. I mostly tow a 20’ aluminum boat around which weighs much less than this camper set up.

Any opinions/experience with the Sumo springs?

Thanks. Tom

 

I have had a set on two different Tundras, both the blue ones. They worked well for my application and installed myself (you are supposed to get new ubolts though). They are essentially maintenance free. Totally unloaded they can make the truck more bouncy. A benefit though is they do act like a sway bar as well and make you corner more upright. They likely would work great in your application, airbags you could set the pressure as applicable so there are pro/cons between the two.

(In the picture stock ride height the sumos just barely touch the bump stop bracket, unloaded. Whereas this is a 3” lift so I added more sumos).

 

I really enjoy my black sumo springs.
<a href="https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...5-gen-tundra-today.713/page-2421#post-2775260">What have you done to your 2.5 gen Tundra today?</a>

 

I would think that the Sumos would be brutal on the Alcan highway with that (light) weight. Paved highway they would be fine, but I would think that with all the bumps and potholes they would simply limit suspension travel and make for one bumpy ride. I would want all the travel I could get. Or at least a way to vary the spring rate.

A WD hitch on a 3700 lb trailer could get a little bouncy. As long as you don’t have a crazy amount of tongue weight, the truck is capable of managing it without the WD hitch, though I’m not necessarily saying to go without it. I just think that both a WD hitch and Sumos are going to be rough off pavement.

I’d be more inclined to go with an add a leaf or air bags instead of Sumos. You can lose some up travel with bags, but you have the option to air up or down as you see fit to vary the spring rate. An add a leaf would retain all your wheel travel and give you the stronger spring you are looking for with simple reliability.

What are your planning on running for shocks and tires? IME, those two items are almost as important as springs when it comes to suspension.

 

Thanks to all. As far as shocks, they are stock. Truck has less than 30k miles on it. I just put Falken Wildpeak LT tires on it.

 

I had a 2016 Tacoma with Blue Sumos. Putting them on a ‘21 Tundra with a 3700lb dry is premature. I have a ‘18 and pull a 5k dry every summer. You’ll be fine.

Of course it won’t hurt but it’s not needed.

it’ll be rough however with being 3700lbs, sumos, and WDH. Shits gonna be rough and bouncy.

Not needed.

 

RAS is the way.

Roadmaster Active Suspension.

Quite a few posts and reviews about them on here, I’ve made more than a few myself. Sumos or airbags would just make the ride rougher; unless you’re otherwise hitting bump stops I don’t know why you would use what are essentially bigger and slightly softer bump stops.

Be careful with your WDH tuning, too, with the light trailer.

 

Have had 2 sets of blue Sumo springs on my stock 2018 carrying a topper and bedslide, so +400 lbs in the bed always, occasional light towing. They were exactly what I had hoped, some added support and simple vs. air bags. As mentioned above realized some stabilization also similar to a sway bar. A good suspension mod for me.

That first set went 3+ years 150k miles or so and were breaking down. So, I replaced them with another set. At some point since my first set Sumo changed the blue compound. The new set gets unacceptably hard in extreme cold temps. I drilled them full of holes with a 3/16" bit to soften them up and get by last winter. I will be replacing them with air bags before next winter.

I would agree with blenton that for large bumps and holes these would cause a rough ride.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it worked after your trip. Good luck.

 

My trailer is 4300lbs. With a wdh and sumos it is far smoother than without the sumos.

i use the lightest ones.

my springs are so shot that even with the wdh, any load in the bed sags them. I think the springs on the tundra just suck with age/load, they arent smooth

 

I have a 2024 Tundra w/the factory 3" lift and saw that you added "more sumos", can you provide any more information? I am also looking at the blue ones. Also, not sure if you know any benefits to the front ones? Thanks in advance

 

This.

you may have already left for your trip, but RAS works well. I started with the black sumos but prefer the RAS quite a bit more.

 

Oh no problem. I used the Tundra specific ones on the bottom (and used them before so liked how they did), but then obviously there’s a gap with most lifts. So to fill the gap I found a version (there are many) that have a bolt on the top. I then drilled a hole through the top bump stop and cut the top sumo springs to the height I thought would work well, where they barely touch unloaded. Since they’re closed cell foam you can just cut them down and leave as is, I used a sawzall. Installing I just jacked up the body on either side and slid them into place and bolted down. The blue foam I believe is 1000lbs when compressed 50% (not sure if it’s per pair or per spring), meaning they aren’t stiff but not super soft in my experience.


This is with 2k+ of rocks in the bed and went down about an inch or two (vs when I used to do this with stock suspension it would be on the bump stops):

 

I have had 2 sets of the blue ones on my 2018. I really liked the first set. They were perfect for the added weight of my topper and bedslide. After 100k+ miles they started to deteriorate. The urethane was breaking down. Sumo sent me a new set under warranty, great service and above and beyond expectation. The second set, also blue, was firmer and the ride was harsh. Something changed in the compound. So, I drilled them full of holes like a pin cushion. That mitigated the harsh effect. I'm running them. Love the simplicity. They do what I need them too, but if you only have a light load on they can be harsh.

 

perfect!! thank you!

 

I've ran a set of the blues towing a similar weight trailer (Escape 19, dry weight is around 3500-3600). I keep about about 400lbs in the bed. Fully loaded for camping with passengers and trailer hitched I scale right at 7200 on the truck. I do not run a weight distributing hitch. Trucks handles great, have about .5" of rake towards the rear and trailer sits perfectly level with my adjustable B&W hitch. I've been very happy with the Sumo Springs. Given how many people here have issues with their stock leaf springs, I think they prevent a lot of issues by keeping the leaf springs from developing a negative arch due to the relatively short stock bumps.

 

RAS... You won't be disappointed.