How to make smoother off road

I am looking to make my 2011 single cab into more of a dedicated off road truck. It's spent its whole life commuting on highway tires and now has 246,000 miles. The truck drives great on pavement no issues whatsoever. Problem is when it gets off-road it just seems to be a rough ride to me and I don't like it. It's riding on take off struts from a 3rd gen TRD-Offroad, brand new OEM 4 leaf pack and brand new Bilstein 4600's.

I am really feeling the bumps in the road in the steering wheel on rough terrain. It's like every rough bump comes right through the steering wheel. I am not used to that and it makes driving off-road not fun. I had the intermediate steering shaft fixed so there is absolutely no play on smooth roads and it's all tight and good. Is there some kind of bushing or part of my steering component that may be causing this?

 

What tires and tire pressures are you running?

 

30-32 PSI.

 

That’s good for the road but off road you’ll want to lower them

 

That'll do it. You need to invest in a portable air compressor so you can air down. I've got an 11 reg cab also, my 285/75s are E load rating which are stiff, but I bring them down to 15-17psi off road.

 

I had one of these before going on-board air and I had no issues with it. There are a bunch of other options though.

https://www.tjmusa.com/compressors/tjm-portable-air-compressor-013tjmcomp1.html

 

with my E rated Stmaxx I usually bring them down to 12 psi on trails. Never had an issue with it. 30+ psi with those off-road would be torture

 

Rough ride usually means you're going too fast.... or too slow.

 

Ya my truck feels like it's going to rattle itself apart at 30+psi

 

I'll definitely air down. It's normal to feel the steering wheel shake over bumps and dips? In my other cars I feel like nothing comes through.

 

15-18psi, get rid of front sway bar

 

By shaking do you mean the whole wheel is vibrating in your hands? Up, down, with some left and right? I get this at 30psi for sure.
If it's strictly left to right you could investigate some other steering components like inner and outer tie-rods. I would first take it out aired down to 12-17 depending on your tire load and experience that before going down a rabbit hole.

 

Ya I second the sway bar removal if you plan on making it more dedicated to off road. I had mine off for a year or so but ended up putting it back on, it didn't feel safe if I had to make an emergency maneuver at 75mph with a 350lb camper shell. It was MUCH nicer off road though.

 

There’s for sure more body roll without it. But less so with stiffer springs. I daily drive mine with no sway bar, tow trailers, etc and haven’t had any issues. But yes there’s more potential for issues.

 

I’m going to remove the sway bar and excited for the results.

 

4 link in the rear +2 long travel in the front, and go fast.

 

I’d still air down. For comfort I’d much rather be at 15 psi with a sway bar on than 30+psi with no sway bar. Both would be best.

 

Even 20-22 psi would be a vastly better feel offroad

 

how many miles ago did you replace the struts?

 

3rd gen coilovers/struts were too stiff for me in my double cab v6...