Daily Driving A 4Runner With Long Travel Suspension

Long Travel. That’s a whirlwind of emotions and opinions all within two words. When it’s all said and done, it feels like quickly going from zero to one hundred. The first thing most people react with is “BROOOO!” or “THAT’S SOO SICK!”, followed by “how much” and “what all do you have to do”.

They see the stance, the beefy lower control arms (LCAs) and coilovers, and the fiberglass fenders. Truth is, it’s like unlocking the next level of Pac-Man in terms of knowledge and off-road capability. It can also help you understand yourself and your limitations. I’ll be focusing on the front, but rear kits also exist.

What Is Long Travel?

Long travel is a type of suspension creates a wider track width, and ultimately provides more travel. You’ll need to buy LT-spec coilovers and shocks. What also comes into play is longer control arms (upper and lower), where that “stance” comes in. These put your front coilovers at more of an angle to fit the longer length than the near vertical stock orientation.

The average kit adds +3.5″ width per side, while other kits push +4.5″ and even +5″. Dirt King also recently added +2″. At this point, you’ll need to add longer travel coilovers. Notice that I’ve used the term “coilover” instead of struts. They’re similar, but the former offers better handling and dampening performance. More importantly, they offer greater adjustability, the key to dialing in your LT setup.

On these setups, you’ll also notice soda can looking things with a thick hose connected to the front coilovers and the rear shocks. These are called reservoirs, which hold additional fluid for better dampening over sustained periods. The faster you go off-road, the more it aids in performance.

Lastly, long-travel setups will have long-travel axles, will typically run bigger tires, and fiberglass fenders (some people skip these). Without getting too deep, that’s the gist of what goes into a long-travel setup. Oh, and this all comes at a substantial cost, if you haven’t gathered that by now.

Check out Brenan’s post on long travel – he talks about how it applies to the Tacoma, but the 4Runner and Tacoma have nearly identical front ends. This post goes into a lot more detail.

My Build Journey

It all started after I moved back home (Las Vegas) from college in Colorado. Being in the desert, there are a bit more flat dirt areas than accessible mountains. Also, growing up in the import car culture, it was always about drifting, time attack, and autocross. Add my new-found addiction to just wanting to go off-roading, and I was like a kid in a candy store.

I got my first vehicle, with the help of my parents, and the agreement that I go to work and pay the car note and insurance on it. I got a 2007 4Runner SR5 2WD V6, in Galactic Grey Mica. Being a typical 18-year-old who wanted all the cool stuff and to drive fast, I got my first speeding ticket on my first trail called Cottonwood. I was ripping it around in a stock 4Runner, getting tossed around inside, bottoming out, and the rear end twerking everywhere.

Cottonwood isn’t even that aggressive of a trail; it’s probably a 1/10 in difficulty. However, I remember going home that afternoon and looking up everything about “fast offroading.” I was new to this community back in 2014, and I had no friends in Vegas or real knowledge. I learned from my brother’s best friend, who had an ’85 Toyota pickup SR5 with the 22RE turbo on 40s.

My drive to find faster and better stuff sparked, and before I knew it, I had a whole “dream build list.” As the years went on, I got more confident and faster while getting into desert racing, such as SCORE, BITD(Best In The Desert), Huck Fest, Mint 400, Baja 1000, Baja 500, etc.

I had that 4th Gen 4Runner from November of 2014 to November of 2020, with Dirt King LCAs, King Shocks all around, and other goodies. A good part of what I know now is everything I learned from that vehicle, myself, and the friends I made along the way.

Key Considerations

What you need to know before adding long travel depends on what you’ve researched, how you are as a driver on the trails, and how determined you are to get there. It sounds like a movie script, but it really is that. For example, why spend $5k or more on a camera when you don’t know how to use it?

It can be overwhelming, so start with the basics and go from there. Build your confidence as a driver out in the trails. It’s a very tedious part of offroading, but that’s the “make or break” part. As you progress, you will understand what you want out of the suspension.

Key Takeaways

• Driver confidence
• Research
• Willingness to always learn more
• Understanding it’s never done
• It’s expensive
• DON’T GET LOST IN THE SAUCE

Expect a very tedious and time-consuming process. Aesthetically, long travel looks great, but it requires a lot of time and a very particular level of commitment.

Extra Maintenance

Though a lot these kits are a direct bolt-on, there are things like limit strap clevis’, spindle gussets, shear kits, frame plates, cam tab lockout kits, bypass hoops, servicing bushings, heims, uniballs, coilovers, and special length axles (4WD only) that need to be done all while watching out for premature wear on those listed and things like wheel bearings and hubs, uneven wear in tires, premature wear on rotors and pads if not fitted with the correct pads and rotors especially being on bigger tires.

Alignment

I also forgot to mention having a specific person or shop do alignments. I’m fortunate to have a buddy who fully understands long travel suspensions, but not all shops will have the knowledge or capability to do so. Yes, I daily drive my build, with the knowledge and full understanding that I’m prepared for whatever happens because, yes, it’s a deep pocket.

On-Road Manners

When driving around town, you’ll notice a few things. Of course, the kit performs really well on bumps and under hard cornering. LT suspension really hugs the road. I don’t run a sway bar, so there is added body roll. But at +3.5″, the 4Runner is super stable. The wider track width does mean you have heavier steering that requires more input to change direction. The steering wheel also doesn’t return to center as quickly and easily.

Off-Road Manners

This is where this setup truly shines. With properly tuned and valved shocks, the 4Runner hugs the trail and is able to take a fair amount of abuse. There is more travel, so the wheels stay planted better over obstacles. These kits are mainly built for speed, which is my primary off-road use. Sure, you can rock crawl, but it’s not the main intention, although it certainly does help. You do need to be considerate of how wide the truck is though, especially with offset wheels and wider tires.

Build List & Maintenance

Here is the DK product list on my current 5th Gen 4Runner SR5P 4WD…

• +3.5 long travel kit
• Upper arm shear kit (requires welding)
• Spindle gusset (requires welding)
• King DK LT-spec 2.5 coilovers
• Complete axles assemblies
• Optional bypass shock hoop kit
• Optional front frame plate kit

Find Dirt King Online: View Website

This is a list of what needs servicing…

• UCA bushings (squeaks, needs greasing, more frequent replacement than OEM)
• LCA bushings (Delrin, needs greasing, more frequent replacement than OEM)
• Wheel bearing replacement (run through them faster, especially with offset wheels)
• Coilover and shock rebuilds (race parts need more frequent
• CV axle boots (as with all lifted and modified suspensions, the boots fail at some point)
• Potentially steering rack and tie rods long term

Final Thoughts

Daily driving a long-travel rig is not for everyone. It does take a certain mindset, especially if you are new to these things in general.

Personally, I’ve been in the offroading community since 2014, and I’m not shy about breaking, maintaining, or just having things that aren’t exactly practical daily vehicles. I’ll never get tired of looking back at my build as I walk away, especially because of the stance. If you like to mess around and find out, do it.