MAXXFabrication Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) I have gathered all the parts associated now and I am just waiting till spring to do the swap. this thread isnt for anyone to bash doing a swap to a 21 footer or how it cant be done correctly (I have done 5 solid axle swaps to IFS Toyotas already, so I kind of know what I am doing) or how unstable it will be (larger diameter antisway bars will be installed) it is a straight forward typical solid axle swap other than having the front springs custom made (national spring) to handle the additional weight, I will have the rear springs made for it as well, 3 inches of lift plus a longer shackle. Things needed to do the swap are- solid axle swap kit from any of the commercial manufacturers making them (Trail Gear, All Pro Off road, Sky Mfg) or make your own hangers and piece together a kit (pain in the a**) Solid axle, from a mini truck 79-85 era or use a landcruiser front (FJ, FZJ80) 91-96 era. much more heavy duty than a mini, plus it is wider by 4 inches per side for better Stablity (what I am using for my swap) and the brakes are much larger than the stock Toyota 1 ton brakes (4 piston dual calipers as opposed to a large single piston) A 4X4 IFS steering box. A torch to remove the old front suspension. here is the solid axle I am using, minus coil spring mounts and bracketry associated with the FJ80 series landcruiser, ready for spring pads to be welded on (weld through primer) I will most likely swap a late model 3RZ when all the suspension work is done, squeezing a 1UZFE V8 (Lexus/Toyota) isnt practical in the 1st generation pickups (I have done 1 in a 4x4 and it was tight and required to much "massaging" of the sheet metal) later models accept the V8 much nicer. I am working on a set of dodge sprinter wheels (16") to work on the Toyota 1 ton 6 lug axles, this allows a much broader choice of tires for me and it will allow me to run a load range E tire as well (which cant be done with the 14" wheels) I will be using a w56 transmission with a transfer case attached to it, I will be adding a set of 4.7 to 1 low range in the truck for smoother maneuvering at low speeds. The addition of 4wd serves many purposes for me, while many of you may balk at the swap, my suggestion would be dont do it then. Edited December 16, 2011 by MAXXFabrication Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInVT Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I cna't count the amount of times I've had my box truck buried to the frame in mud or snow (YAY New England). I'd love to have 4WD, but I'd keep it IFS since it would never really be going off-road and I'd be using the stock wheels and tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan B Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I cna't count the amount of times I've had my box truck buried to the frame in mud or snow (YAY New England). I'd love to have 4WD, but I'd keep it IFS since it would never really be going off-road and I'd be using the stock wheels and tires. it would be nearly impossible to keep your IFS- even to add a 4x4 IFS would be nearly impossible (nearly as in a Sh+t ton of work) I dont know of anyone yet to date that has done a swap to IFS 4x4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 No Balking at the swap from me MaxxB. Swapping to 4x4 is awesome. And for the record I wasnt looking for knife or gun fights ; only had questions. (still curious on the stats for MPG; never heard the average for the flexus) I wont claim to even know 1/10 of the stuff Derek and you know about these chassis toyotas or anything else for that matter. No hard feelings (at least on my side anyway). Good luck on your projects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInVT Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I haven't looked at the differences between the 4WD frame and the 2WD frame, but I'm sure I could make it work if I wanted to invest the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I haven't looked at the differences between the 4WD frame and the 2WD frame, but I'm sure I could make it work if I wanted to invest the time. Nothing is imposable but boy what a task. Toyota switched to an independent 4X4 suspension because the old solid front ends rode worse then an old Army Jeep. (I have owned both) the off road guys like to be beat up I guess because they just love the solid front ends. Some how an off road all ready to the max 6,000# truck does not sound like any thing I would be interested in. Are you planning on doing this to a 2WD MH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Bryan, since you're still monitoring this: You say you're planning to use a Landcruiser front axle. Have you considered using a Landcruiser rear axle as well with SRW? I thing the Landcruiser GVWR is 6000lbs, so it should handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInVT Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Nothing is imposable but boy what a task. Toyota switched to an independent 4X4 suspension because the old solid front ends rode worse then an old Army Jeep. (I have owned both) the off road guys like to be beat up I guess because they just love the solid front ends. Some how an off road all ready to the max 6,000# truck does not sound like any thing I would be interested in. Are you planning on doing this to a 2WD MH? Yeah, my GMC S-15 pickup is getting a SFA in the near future. Ripping out the IFS and putting in a HPD30. I want to stay IFS with the toyota because I don't want to put any lift in it. For what it is she handles really well and I want to keep it that way. I have no need to go off-roading, but where I live 4WD is VERY handy. It's one of the mods I'd like to do to my box truck, along with finding a JDM crewcab and stretching the frame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan B Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I have the frame drilled, tubing placed and welded for the spring shackle hangers under the cab, I am trying to source some factoy spring hangers to weld the frame in front and make this pretty much identical to a factory 4x4- the frame is the same 2wd/4wd its just where the IFS mounts are or the spring hangers on a 4wd are at. I am using a 1995 IFS 4x4 steering box, it will be a crossover steering set up which is a little safer than the factory push/pull style drag link from the factory when emergency braking, especially with the added weight of the RV. The axle is rebuilt, painted and currently the third member is being rebuilt with 4.88 gears in it, the R151 transmission has a gear ratio spread of First Gear: 4.313:1 Second Gear: 2.330:1 Third Gear: 1.436:1 Fourth Gear: 1.00:1 Fifth Gear: 0.836:1 and pretty much bullet proof. My rear springs will depend on many measurements before and after to decide what height I will have to go with over stock, a spring over axle would be way too much for the rear (7+ inches) I will use a heavier shackle as well (thicker metal) I will be ordering the rear springs from National springs- they are a little pricey but worth it. I will use adustable shocks because the price is right for them- name brands are almost as cheap as a normal quality shock, plus I will have to source a custom size. I will add some pics later this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInVT Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Anxiously awaiting pics... Why not use airbag "helpers" for the rear axle to give you lift instead of completely replacing your spring pack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan B Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Anxiously awaiting pics... Why not use airbag "helpers" for the rear axle to give you lift instead of completely replacing your spring pack? because springs dont fail.... that would just be kind of a band aid. I can get a better spring rate with new springs to make it a bit more stable with the anti sway bars (anti roll bars, sway bars etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My thoughts: Let the springs do the 'springing'. The air springs should only be there to make adjustments for different loads. The exception, of course, would be a suspension designed specifically around air springs, which the Toyota pickup isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXXFabrication Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 My thoughts: Let the springs do the 'springing'. The air springs should only be there to make adjustments for different loads. The exception, of course, would be a suspension designed specifically around air springs, which the Toyota pickup isn't. very spot on, I have a Range Rover that had 4 air bags all the way around- they failed and brought a 52000 vehicle to being undrivable in 1 pin hole. A little bit about the spring shackle hangers and why I did mine like this, I used a set of tubes that were 1 inch longer- they set outside of the frame by 1 inch more than a factory tube, this allows me to 1, have a little more leverage with the leaf springs outboard onto the axle housing, I am using an axle that is 4 inches wider per side which will have more leveraging affect on the leaf springs themselves. 2, it allows for easier spring pad placement on the 80 series Landcruiser axle I am using (Landcruiser and mini truck axles side by side with the 4 link bracketry cut off the 80 series axle look almost identical) I am using the high pinion differential that is in the 80 series axle already (FYI sidenote it will bolt into the mini truck housing and is stronger than the stock 1) for 2 reasons, it is high up and out of harms way and when in 4wd the less of an anfle the front driveshaft operates at the less vibrations you feel as well as reduced amount of wear to your double carden joint and u joints The reason they use them in 80 series isnt for the fact it is up high and out of the way, its for reduced vibration since these are run in 4wd full time. and yes I will change the gear ratio to either 4.88 (stronger) or 5.29 (weaker) since I wont be 4 wheeling than other than being in a pinch or caught in a snow storm 5.29s would be plenty strong. yes Derek the Landcruiser rear is more than up to the task, but 1 the differential is on the wrong side and I am loving my 28 gallon tank that came with the 21 ftr to give up the real estate for it. the 1 ton dually is used under some big stuff overseas (2 1/2 ton trucks) so with my 16" 32ish X 7.50 will do fine other than buying 6 @ one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Looking to do a 2x to 4x swap on my 87 Sunrader 21' with A/T. Like the idea of the FJ wider front axle. Like the idea of the 16" rims, and singles on the rear. Did you finish this project? Thoughts? Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 He hasn't been on this site in a long time. Turning a 2wd Toyota into a 4x4 is no easy job. I have an 18 foot Sunrader and my son who can do the work won't. He says it would be easier to change the coach to another truck. For a full sized one both are very complicated. Here's a search with lots of 4x4 conversion threads. Linda S http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/search/&q="4x4 conversion"&page=1&sortby=relevancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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