Tired of bashing your rock sliders while your long-travel buddies waft over washboard tracks and tackle deep moguls without a care in the world? Then it may be time to install an LT kit on your Tacoma.
Long travel kits aren’t for everyone. They’re certainly not ideal if you don’t go wheeling often and don’t enjoy getting a bit ton of grease under your fingernails—unless you’re made of money and don’t mind spending thousands on labor.
Owning a long-travel Tacoma means wrenching on your rig frequently, obsessively checking torque specs, being ok with squeaks and rattles seeping into the cabin, and being ready to break stuff.
They provide ample bump and droop travel, making them suitable for fast trails, rock gardens, and everything in between. In this article, we touch on the benefits of long travel kits and highlight some of our top recommendations.
Mid Travel Kit vs Long Travel Kit
Mid-travel is what comes after installing a lift kit on your Tacoma. It’s a catch-all term for when you install all the aftermarket parts needed to increase your ground clearance and suspension travel by 1″ to 2″.
This may include extended-height coilovers with longer and wider threaded bodies as well as adjustable control arms to offset any unwanted changes in alignment.
Now picture that, but a few notches above. That’s long travel.
It involves increasing not just the height of your suspension but also the width and strength—often beyond the limits of your factory suspension geometry. Unlike mid-travel kits, long-travel kits will increase your suspension travel by 3″ to 5″.
To put things into perspective, here’s what your typical LT kit consists of only at the front end:
- Extended upper and lower control arms
- Long-travel coilovers
- Extended CV Axles
- Extended tie-rods
- Extended brake lines
- Limit straps
- Fiberglass fenders
Here’s what it includes at the rear end:
- Spring under axle leaf springs
- Long-travel bypass shocks
- Bed cage/shock hoops
- Axle bumpstops and strike plates
- Limit straps
- Extended brake lines
- Fiberglass fenders
It’s worth noting that you’ll also require spindle gussets and a cab-mount chop.
The Best Long Travel Kits for Tacomas
Long travel suspension gives your wheels a much wider range of articulation, which ensures optimal traction on all kinds of off-road terrain.
In the case of the Tacoma, long travel kits are used for a variety of different builds, but they’re especially popular among prerunners, trophy trucks, and rock crawlers. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite long travel kits for Toyota Tacomas.
1996-2004 Tacoma
The 1st generation Toyota Tacoma arrived in 1996, and unlike the preceding Pickup, or Hilux as the rest of the world knew it, the Tacoma was developed for the North American market first and foremost.
As standard, the 1st generation Tacoma comes with independent front suspension with a front stabilizer bar, and a solid rear axle. A pretty good setup overall, but if you want to take things to the next level, you need a long travel kit.
Solo Motorsports
Wheel travel: 14″ (2WD) / 12.5″ (4WD)
Track width: 3.5″
Tire size: 35″
We start with a decent option that is not as expensive as you might think. Solo Motorsports specializes in long travel kits, as well as other important suspension components to turn your Tacoma into an off-roading beast.
The long travel kit promises 14″ of increased wheel travel on 2WD Tacomas and 12.5″ on 4WD models. It also increases the track width by 3.5″ on each side.
Out of the box, the kit comes with basically everything you need, including extended brake lines, 1″ uniballs, and ¾ ” heim pivots. It does require fiberglass fenders, however, and the upgraded coilover suspension is not included, but Solo does sell that product as well.
Camburg Engineering (Gen 1)
Wheel travel: 13″
Track width: 3.5″
Tire size: 33″
Camburg Engineering is one of the most well-known companies for off-road components, especially for the Tacoma. Their long travel kit for the 1st-gen Tacoma is a little expensive, so you might think that it offers a whole lot of benefits compared to the one by Solo Motorsports. Not quite, it turns out.
The LT kit from Camburg claims 13″ of extra wheel travel, and 3.5″ of added track width on either side and can only fit 33″ tires. On the other hand, Camburg offers two proven options for shocks: Fox and King.
Considering Ford Raptors come with these from the factory, that’s not too bad.
Both upper and lower arms use 1″ uniballs, the kit includes extensions for the steering system, and it too requires fiberglass fenders. This kit also comes with some racing pedigree, as it’s been used on Baja rigs with great results.
JD Fabrication (Gen 1)
Wheel travel: 16″
Track width: 5″
Tire size: Up to 35″
When you look at the specs of the JD Fabrication kit, it’s a complete no-brainer. Right out of the gate, JD’s 1st-gen Tacoma LT kit comes with 16″ of wheel travel, an increased track width of 5″, and it can fit tires up to 35″. All of that for a surprisingly low price.
Like the others, this also includes boxed lower control arms, and both lower and upper control arms include 1″ uniballs. It also comes with steering extensions, but JD recommends fiberglass fenders and shock mounts.
2005-2015 Tacoma
In 2005, Toyota released the 2nd-gen Tacoma, which introduced improvements across the board. It was larger, more capable, more powerful, and better equipped. Like the 1st-gen, the 2nd-gen is also very popular when it comes to off-road and prerunner builds.
Since the two have similar suspension setups, the long travel kits are very similar as well. However, the 2nd-gen Tacoma switched to six-lug wheels, so if you already have a spare long travel kit made for a 1st-gen lying around, it’s not compatible. Unless it’s for a 1st -gen Tacoma PreRunner.
Camburg Engineering (Gen 2)
Wheel travel: 15″ (2WD) / 14″ (4WD)
Track width: 3.5″
Tire size: 33″ to 35″
Once again, the stalwart Camburg Engineering has the hookups when it comes to a solid, albeit quite pricey long travel kit for the 2nd-gen Tacoma.
Utilizing 1.25″ uniballs on both the upper and lower control arms, as well as a boxed LCA setup, the Camburg LT kit has some good hardware. Not to mention, extended brake lines and steering extensions.
If your 2nd-gen Tacoma is 2WD, you’re looking at a 15″ increase in wheel travel, and 14″ if you have 4WD. You can fit up to 35″ tires, and you can expect a 3.5″ increase in track width.
Again, while Camburg makes some quality hardware, this kit is plagued by the same problem that plagues their other kits as well: it’s very expensive, not even counting the expensive install labor.
JD Fabrication (Gen 2)
Wheel travel: 13″ (2.5″ track width) or 14″ (4″ track width)
Track width: 2.5″ or 4″
Tire size: 33″ to 37″
Here’s where things get a little interesting. JD Fabrication offers a long travel kit for the 2nd-gen Tacoma, as you might expect. However, they offer 2 versions of the same kit, with two different track width increments.
One kit adds 2.5″ to the front end, whereas the other one adds 4″. This also leads to a slight disparity between the two kits’ wheel travel gains. The 2.5″ track width version offers 13″ of wheel travel, whereas the 4″ track width version offers 14″.
Interestingly, both kits recommend the same tire sizes, and they’re both the same price. The 2.5″ track width version will generally fit most build requirements, whereas 4″ is for extreme terrain.
Both kits also come with everything you need, including the uniballs, and an adapter kit for 8″ King coilover shocks, which is great. It’s pretty good value for money, all things considered.
All Pro Offroad
Wheel travel: 12″
Track width: 2″
Tire size: 35″ (37″ with fiberglass fenders)
While All Pro Offroad doesn’t enjoy the same sort of popularity in the Taco community as the above-mentioned, they still make some pretty quality parts, and that also applies to their long travel suspension kits.
This kit is pretty competitively priced, but it does come with a few tradeoffs. For starters, the max wheel travel you can expect is 12″, and the max track width increase you can expect from it is 2″.
While this is less than the other options, if you’re putting together a Tacoma PreRunner on a tighter budget, this kit is the right fit.
It also comes with the usual suspects, including 1.25″ uniballs and boxed lower control arms. However, the axle shafts, shocks, and bump stops are not included in this kit. All Pro does provide some recommendations, however.
2016-2023 Tacoma
The 3nd-gen Tacoma is the most modern, most recent, and most technology-packed of the 3 generations, and that means it’s also the most expensive to buy used. Unfortunately, the 4.0-liter V6 was retired for the Tacoma, but the 3.5-liter V6 that took its place was just as durable.
Toyota kept the tried and true chassis and suspension setup of the previous 2 generations intact, which means that some long travel suspension kits designed for the 2nd-gen Tacoma are also compatible with the 3rd-gen. Let’s have a look at the options.
Camburg Engineering (Gen 3)
Wheel travel: 15″ (2WD) or 14″ (4WD)
Track width: 3.5″
Tire size: 33″ to 35″
Once again, Camburg Engineering makes an appearance here, and it’s business as usual. Their 3rd-gen Tacoma long travel kit offers up to 15″ of wheel travel for 2WD trucks, or 14″ on 4WD versions. They support up to 35″ tires, and they increase track width by 3.5″ on either side.
They come with everything you need in the box, including the 1.25″ uniballs, tubular upper control arms, steering extensions, and extended brake lines. Camburg also offers optional Fox coilover shocks as well as uprated bump stops.
Total Chaos Fabrication
Wheel travel: 11.5″ (for 2″ track width) or 12.5″ (for 3.5″ track width)
Track width: 2″ to 3.5″
Tire size: 33″
Finally, we have a relative newcomer in this lineup. Total Chaos Fabrication is a reputable shop for long travel kits and all other necessary suspension components for a proper off-road build.
Similar to JD Fabrications, they offer two different versions of their long travel kit for the 3rd-gen Tacoma depending on the track width. You get the choice of either 2″ track width gains or 3.5″.
Wheel travel is right in between some of the other options on here, clocking in at 11.5″ for the smaller track width, and 12.5″ for the larger track width.
Total Chaos also offers additional choices relating to what kind of build you’re putting together, with both a Race series and an Expedition series.
Plenty of choice then, and you do get pretty much everything included. However, this kit is pretty expensive, and it can only fit 33″ tires currently.
Just Send It
As it turns out, building a long travel Tacoma is not as easy or as straightforward as you might expect. There are tons of options out there, and they vary depending on the generation of Tacoma that you have.
Watch this space for newer long travel kits. If you have any questions regarding compatibility feel free to get in touch with us or drop a comment below.
