Any suspension experts?

G'day, first of all, you should have no trouble getting into the Bungles with your Triton. Great place to visit.

Secondly, the suspension, if you are happy with the ride height at the front and don't plan to fit bullbar, winch etc, leave it as is. Maybe look at fitting aftermarket shocks before your trip, more fade resistant on corrugations. The rear, there is a number of ways to solve your problem. Fit aftermarket leaf packs to restore the original ride height or have the original packs reset. Fit air bags.

Or as I would do, contact Outback Engineering in Lilydale Vic and see if they fit or do a kit for your vehicle.They fit auxiliary coils to leaf sprung vehicles, provides a much better ride than heavy duty leaf packs and uses your existing leaves as axle locators. Freds Suspension in Qld also does them.

Have had them to an MQ SWB wagon and also on a GU ute, amazing difference in ride quality.

No affiliation with either firm.

Hope this helps a little...........

Be careful with fitting airbags etc in the rear.
All dual cab utes are known for bending chassis when heavily loaded and any sort of suspension assistance that shifts the load point on the chassis is fitted.
Better to go for a leaf spring upgrade of some sort.

Another option for the rear springs is the fitting of Aussie Super Springs.

After a destructive run with air bags and towing a heavy off road Kimberley Karavan, I fitted these springs myself in about 1 hour. The ride has improved and the load is being carried in the correct places compared to having airbags. They are adjustable and they now carry the same load without the likely damage to the chassis.

I have used the Aussie Super Springs for about 10000 kms over a variety of roads surface from excellent to atrocious. So far I cannot fault them.

DW

Go into an ARB 4X4 shop and discuss it with an expert, I did and got the OME springs and Dampers, Noel K in Darwin did same, we are both happy with the way the vehicles have been transformed from a dog to a Stallion ,

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Have a browse through this website

Old Man Emu Suspension

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Hi Missy.
We had a similar issue some years ago with a Navara dual cab.
We went to a local spring maker here in Cairns (he is probably not much use to you) with our camping gear in the back. The springs had sagged even when empty.
He took a look at it & said he would put in 1 extra main leaf & reset the other mains & we would have 1 inch extra height over the standard unladen height with our gear in the back. That is exactly how it turned out.
We left the original shocks on until they were cactus. Before they were gone we had done several trips including the GRR, Savannah way, Tanami, Cape York Peninsular a few times & the easy short trip into the Bungle Bungles. I think those shocks did 80,000.
My son now has a Navara & has just had the rear main leaves reset to get a little extra height & had the front torsion bars wound up by the same bloke. He didn't get any extra leaves & it cost him $240 I think.
He is up on the old coach road from Maytown to Laura tonight & he has the original shocks with about 25,000 on them.
I am a bit of a cheapskate & can't see value in changing shocks when the ones you have work fine. When I put new springs under my Patrol (Kings Springs & they sagged 1" in 175,000k) I kept the original shocks.
They worked fine for dirt highways like the Tanami, Oodnadatta, Birdsville, Plenty, Savannah Way, Peninsular developmental Rd, Burke Developmental Rd, Kennedy Dev Rd.
At the moment I have a Hilux single cab & have put heavier coil springs in the front to handle the steel bar. I have kept the original shocks. The rear leaves have already sagged with 5000 on the clock & I will be going back to the local spring maker to have them reset.
I don't intend to do anything extreme with the car. Just dirt highway stuff like we did with the Patrol & Navara & a bit of 4 wheel driving.
Not only do you have to drive to the conditions of the road but you also have to drive to the abilities of your vehicle. I have never BLOWN A SHOCK & only know a few maniacs that have done so. But I can't keep up with them.
I suggest you go to a spring maker & talk to them about your springs. Some of these EXPERTS in these 4x4 shops don't know anything about springs.
At the end of the day they are only retail assistants

Missy,
Keep it simple! I'm assuming that you have a problem already - I'm guessing the rear end sags under the extra weight. If it doesn't then the answer is do nothing!

Your dual cab Triton has most of the canopy behind the rear axle - all heavy items need to be placed as far forward as you can.... because dual cabs can bend the chassis if all the weight is behind the rear wheels.

Secondly, your vehicle has leaf rear suspension - it is designed so that the weight is supported at two points on each side. You are better off upgrading the leaf springs than relying on airbags which support the vehicle in places where it was not supposed to be supported.

To upgrade the leaf springs, you can go to a spring shop and get an extra leaf fitted and maybe the springs reset. To do this, load the vehicle up to how you would travel and let the spring shop work it out! If you do the above, I would keep the original shocks because they are better quality and will last longer than many of the aftermarket brands that come from Brazil, Mexico or elsewhere.

If you wanted to lift the suspension (so you can go rockclimbing etc), then everything changes - you need to replace all shocks and springs with aftermarket ones to suit the weight your vehicle is carrying.