80 Series Suspension Advice

Suggest you join (www.) lcool.org - probably the best site for advice on 80s. These guys know their vehicles inside out and are generous with their advice.
Cheers
Andrew

hi there i put old man emu on mine car rode real good no complaints

Just last week I replaced my Rancho 9000's with the Raw Nitro and am absolutely amazed at the difference that it made. My wife even remarked after driving it for the first time after installation and had no idea that I was getting the work done
The Raw Nitro are oil & gas and don't get anywhere near as hot as the Rancho's did on corrugations etc.... They are also a bit cheaper than the others (not the reason I chose them, they were recommended) and when combined with King Springs I think you'll find them hard to beat.

I have had my 80 for 10 plus years now and this is the best that it has felt on the road. I am off on a 3500 km trip next week and couldn't be happier with the prospect

Hi crazysan, It wouldn't hurt to do as Andrew has suggested and Join Lcool.
Another suggestion would be to stick a set of Polyair Air Bags in under her.
I've just installed mine, made a huge difference to the way she handles weight in the back and when towing.
Going by the list of gear you'll be carrying they help out heaps.
BTW I have factory Springs and Ultima shocks,
Hope this helps, and happy travels.

Hi Crazy
I have done much the same as you are looking to do, on my 80, for the suspension I went through www.suspensionstuff.com.au, found them to be very good with advice/price and they usually freight anywhere in Aus for free. I ended up going with a 3" lift, Dobinson springs, Koni 88 shocks and airbags in the back. This works very well, although I would recommend you stick with the 2" lift.
Chris

Why a winch for touring? What are you planning on doing? Done plenty of touring myself in a couple of 80s and never found the need for a winch.

For shockies you should also check out Don Kyatt (Sunshine State 4WD if you're in Brisbane). I've used theirs in the past and have no complaints. Similarly it's a great place to buy spare parts and service items (filters, oils etc). No - I'm not affiliated - just a happy customer over many years.

Drawers - unless you want something really fancy and expensive I suggest MYO. We had a really simple setup that lasted 2 vehicles. I incorporated a water tank into the second 80 as part of the shelving setup. Previously used plastic jerries and doing so again with the current vehicle.

The 80 is a great wagon. Hope you have heaps of fantastic travels.

There are literally thousands of options with suspension, Old man emu offers the lot, 4 or 5 load rated rear springs and comfortable ride ones too....you cant go past them as a get it right the first time option...get the accessories first thou....
Andrew 96 80 series

I have an 80 series that is a mix of daily driver/tourer/4WD fun machine and we fitted Terrain Tamer suspension all-round to it, over the course of just over a year. I have the 100kg 2" springs in the front and the EHD 'comfort' progressive 2" coils in the back, then added their shocks a couple of months ago on the death of my old ones and in the last fortnight finally got around to changing Mr Toyota's 13 year old steering damper (boy did that make a difference!). I am really really pleased with the TT gear- it's extremely durable, extremely well priced and just very nice to ride in (although it wasn't while I still had dodgy old shocks on new springs!).

You can buy their gear at Don Kyatt as Moose (hello!) suggested above- they are great for spare parts too. You can also get your snorkel and winch there.

For the drawers I also recommend make your own- you can set up something that is exactly to your needs for a great price. I have a bunch of pics of my setup in my profile (it holds all camping gear + 80L water) if you want to have a look at what we've done.

If you're touring I'd recommend a double swag over the roof top tent- super quick to set up and a very comfy night's sleep without the need to fill up your roof rack. Much more economical to buy as well.

Anyway don't go and spend all of your pennies at once, a stock standard 80 series can take you a verrrryyyy long way! :) Happy travels.

Gday,
If you go for the 2 inch lift, allow for a castor kit too.