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I should mention up front: this is not a "recommended" or "approved" approach—it is purely experimental at this stage, although I will probably report back later with more conclusive results, especially if they're positive. So I've complained for a long time about the regular bumps and bangs up front, especially when taking the Warrior on extended trips. I would set the torsion bars to spec, with proper ground clearance up front, and then do some test drives—all felt good. However, once we were loaded with all the humans/dogs/gear on a real excursion, the suspension travel would virtually disappear and we'd all take a beating on rough roads. (Basically, like some of you have probably already realized, our torsion bars were not up to the job anymore and couldn't really handle the weight of the fully-loaded rig. And, by the way, lifting the rear-end higher by increasing pressure in the air bags, only exacerbates this kind of front-end problem.) So, the only replacement option out there these days for a '90 chassis, far as I know, is the always-backordered, $300+ Sway-A-Way bars. Which I probably should go head and do, yes. Goshdarnit. But, instead I did a bit of research and measuring and then came across a set of these Gabriel #34073 Front Load Carrier shocks at a discount price of $72 for the set. The extended/compressed dimensions are correct, the mounts are pretty close (more about that in a sec), and they're typically used on big hoopties from the 70s-80s, along with Suburbans and a few GM cargo vans, etc. The biggest reason to use these, of course, is that they add a few hundred pounds of lift to the front-end, which should be enough to maintain some decent suspension travel on an overloaded Toyota pickup, in tandem with the existing t-bars. Installation was not very difficult: the shocks slide in just fine from below and the upper mounts bolt up per usual with nut + locknut. The only real hurdle was that the lower mounts have a slot that needs to be opened up (basically to match the lower mounts on, for example, the KYB KG5458 shocks that I installed about 6 years ago). Modifying the lower mounts took less than 5 minutes with a hacksaw, and I made sure all that was very securely bolted to the control arms by using thick fender washers on the bottom, Grade 10.9 M8 flange bolts, with locknuts on the top side. It's too soon to say if this is "a real fix," but the initial driving that I've done has felt good, with less swaying/rocking in turns and more general smoothness. We'll continue to test with some actual, fully-loaded-camping around southern MO this Fall. That's all for now...!

I have a 21 ft Toyota Sunrader that I recently purchased. Wanted to get some peoples opinions about traveling in their RV with 4 or more people. My Sunrader has the dinette in the back with the large windows where the 2 or 4 people would have to sit, seatbelted in for travel. Is this a comfortable and safe way to travel for kids or adults? Do your passengers move around the cabin while driving? Thanks, Aaron

If anyone is interested the girl friend and I are off in a year long journey in my toy home! You can follow us here: cicibreaksborders.com