Mid Travel vs Long Travel - Which Is Better? | Chasing Dust

This week, it's time for tech talk on Chasing Dust! What is the difference in mid travel vs long travel suspension? If you're looking to upgrade your suspension, you'll probably run into this question before taking your Tacoma off-road, or any vehicle for that matter.
Matt is joined this week by his buddy Brad. You may have seen the two of them on an episode of Driver Battles: Dirt Edition.
Matt and Brad discuss the various differences, pros, and cons of mid travel and long travel suspension systems on two different Toyota Tacomas. They get into why each off road Toyota Tacoma build is made the way it is, and why you might want to go with either setup. By the end of this, we'll have everything you wanted to know about mid travel and long travel suspension explained. Whether you're a mild off-roader or find yourself in the dirt every weekend, this is everything you need to know before modifying your Tacoma suspension.
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Matt's truck is sitting on Nitto Tire Terra Grappler G2s:
www.nittotire.com/light-truck...
Brad's truck is sitting on Nitto Tire Ridge Grapplers:
www.nittotire.com/light-truck...
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Thanks for watching!

[@thirstquencher3203]

The guy says "I'll let you take the wing" and literally DOESN'T LET HIM EXPLAIN!!! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@gdolloway]

Perfect video!! Have been going back and forth for months now!! Glad you put it in perspective for me

[@drakedischler6568]

long travel vs mid travel.. with no actual video of them driving lmfao. go find a mall.

[@theblackknightandfriends7737]

Right!?!? 30 minutes and no performance video? Good info, not a waste of time, but not as gratifying without some flex!

[@mydaddy5393]

Very helpful video. I'm a rookie with all this and now I'm leaning towards long travel. Thank you!

[@dmannino72]

Sure if you want to trophy drive your truck. If you want to wheel and adventure on steep off camber mountain trails mid travel wins

[@reichousalex3727]

Side by side or one after the other clips of the two trucks through the same terrain would be interesting to see. There really aren't any direct comparison clips like that out there for Tacos.

[@bamseals4126]

I’m general lol not just tacos I’d love to see some here in 2022 I’m trynna mid travel my obs suburban and ls swap it

[@the50coach]

Very informative video, thanks a lot

[@derekdredger2179]

Self cleared...love it 🤣🤙

[@paoyang6962]

Funny how he said to his friend to describe it but he was talking the whole time lmao.

[@MrRedwoodvalley]

He wouldn't shut the fuck up. Just dominated the whole time. I could watch much because of it.

[@tony92629]

Deaver leaf springs. Awesome!

[@seanlincoln513]

Stock lower control arm and tiny bit longer upper control arm is not a “Mid travel” kit. Literally stock but stronger and maybe another inch or two or travel.

[@ChadMc74]

amazing vid guys, Id pay you to help me configure my taco…you’ve got so much knowledge!!

[@mrshinybald2739]

The leaf under pack compromises your clearence, though it's a stronger suspension setup

[@johnnyloveee]

Damn you really made your friend shut up and pretty much acted like that dude who is around his ex and brings up all of the things he knows about her to her new boyfriend. It got awkward after a while. I cannot lie lmfao. Dope trucks though.

[@jacobfields9254]

If I were to do an extended travel kit would I be able to do the front first, wait a few months then do the rear, or would that mess with the truck too much?

[@davidcowan1583]

So sad in Oz we can't do this fully illegal unless they are fully dedicated pre running trucks. Wish we could have the flexibility you guys have with modifications.

[@outdoorsfish2859]

What front bumper is the one where it wraps around the headlights ?

[@briantrux982]

So are the gussets on the front end home made? The lowers ok, yes. Are the uppers stamped steal? Are they for sale?

[@chai4709]

Didn’t let the dude talk about his truck at all.. lol.

[@Bloo57999]

I've got a ram 1500 with a long travel kit being installed on the front. It has king 2.5 piggyback shocks tuned by carli on the back with beefier coil springs and adjusted roll bar connects. The front should get about 13.5 inch travel and the rear about 13 inch travel. Hopefully the back can keep up with the front dirtking kit

[@keithwolfington7013]

Worth the money for the dirt king kit?

[@Bloo57999]

@@keithwolfington7013 yep

[@mollyguap]

So could I just replace the leaf springs with OEM Toyota leafs? I’m not too worried about the height and I never haul any weight.

[@NebuChadNezzarKBDN]

Uni-ball is not a good idea unless you like dissembling your suspension just to lube it up all the time. Ball joints are way better unless your literally a desert racer or off-road only.

[@austin5806]

You dont lube them, you get teflon lined ones. They are run dry.

[@nynomadfjc3907]

icons... thank God I got Kings

[@miniman1432]

so what would a rear long travel setup look like in a 4runner where you cant run a bedcage?

[@J.Young808]

I think our spaces in Hawai’i are smaller than yours. We have illegal freeway lanes that semis can barely fit

[@swkynard]

Its funny to hear the old owner tell the new owner to take the lead on explaining the suspension, old owner takes over explaining which is the exact opposite of what the plan was.

[@kevinalvarez1998]

How much did you spend on the whole long travel kit in total? I have a Ford ranger and I’m looking into upgrading the suspension.

[@desertchief5769]

Look up APG Off-Road

[@donchai761]

Whats the difference between rclt marlin crawler. From Lets say camburg or dirt king system?

[@gerardomata.costarica]

Newbie question here, is there long travel kit for 5th gen 4runner rear suspension?

[@jamesedwards6249]

Fountain Valley?

[@Mr.International82]

So if you’re going overlanding it would be better to go with mid travel?

[@slammer1228]

Are you able to long travel anything 4wd like I have a 94 tahoe that I wanted to long travel because I never see anyone do it and is it because it doesn’t work or is it just no one feels like it’s “cool” enough

[@lifeonadime4703]

How does that mid travel setup do on say, a pretty bump stretch of back road, pot holes etc? Tbh that's why I'm about to build one. They just won't fix our roads within about a 50 mile radius of where I live and I'm sick of it

[@Jsammy_]

Mid travel would be fine

[@truckinwithnature]

Hi, I've had an '03 tundra for 14 years, now with my 3rd camper weighing in at around 700 pounds, plus a couple hundred lbs in gear. I live in my camper a good chunk each year, mostly in dispersed camping regions where I encounter a lot of rough terrain. I've been considering a mid travel kit since I was a teenager! (for safety, comfort and maneuverability reasons), but my dad says they're more hassle than they're worth. Advice convincing him, or is he right? And no, don't need his mula, just his blessing. Trapped. Thanks.

[@alford35]

What are the travel numbers on both trucks? You never compared the numbers of them directly to each other. All you mentioned was the limit straps and extra width for the front on the long travel. You gave an estimate for the rear on long travel but didn’t on the mid travel. I have a Gen2 Raptor with Robby Woods MT setup. Nice Tacos!!!

[@desertchief5769]

MT truck is about 9.5-10” up front, about 11-12” in the rear. LT truck is 14” front with 4WD, 18” rear.

[@desertchief5769]

Also, the reason I didn’t mention the numbers in the video is because travel numbers are somewhat of a pointless metric. I’ve never paid any attention to travel numbers when comparing systems. Far more important is the geometry of the suspension, and valving of the shocks. I’ve seen trucks with 12” of travel pass trucks with 17” in the big bumps. It’s all about how you set the truck up.

[@tundraspecialops]

@@desertchief5769 however when you do have LT and it IS properly dialed in...well things change. In your example above, the 17" probably wasn't as dialed in as the 12".

[@desertchief5769]

@@tundraspecialops That's exactly my point. But a vast majority of trucks out there have shocks on them that have never been opened up and revalved.

[@tundraspecialops]

@@desertchief5769 I follow you

[@bartbarnett2811]

why does everybody like the nitto tires so much is it because of the price? unfortunately Mickey Thompson discontinued the tire I was using but compared to the nitto. traction in all conditions except for wet road was better. the nitto did excel in wet road. but in mud snow ice sand the Mickey Thompson outperform the nitto in ride tenfold. and with the Mickey Thompson's I didn't ever get stuck. I got 30,000 miles out of the nitto trail grappler and 50,000 good miles out of the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ. not going to lie I did run them for 80,000 miles. off-roading every single day working in a mine. Street applications you can't beat a Cooper tire.

[@MrDukeofearls]

Both tacos are mid travel, unless you have removed the factory coil over bucket it’s not long travel more over a chase truck “mid travel”

[@hermanvirgen5712]

If you do the rear first won't you be having an insane rake? I imagine the leaf springs and bigger shocks add more height.

[@DrivingLine]

Depends on the setup. This Deaver spring under system on the LT truck barely adds any lift.

[@hermanvirgen5712]

@@DrivingLine Makes sense if its under the axle. which is the way to go either way for a leaf system. I am at the moment looking into adding more travel on a current generation F-150

[@Rommer2258]

@@hermanvirgen5712 The F150 is a solid platform to add suspension Too. But make sure you reinforce the body. Otherwise it'll submerge on the frame.

[@JeremyRomayes]

What happened to the driver battles :(

[@manny.camera]

I don't dislike your channel, but when you do a premier upload I can't add it to watch later from the notification and the uploads are starting to make me ignore your channel and are annoying. Just $0.02 from a subscriber.

[@frkndave28]

I always thought medium/long travel were meant for dirt/sand/trail seekers. I do mostly trail/crawl here in the front range of the Rockies. Does medium/long travel just as important when crawling?

[@camden2941]

when crawling sas

[@WiseSilverWolf]

Can you go long travel without cutting on a 3rd gen Tacoma?

[@DrivingLine]

You’ll need fiberglass fenders for sure. You may get away without doing a cab mount chop if you can get enough caster out of your alignment, but the suspension is already such an extensive modification that trimming and cutting isn’t a big deal for most.

[@WiseSilverWolf]

@@DrivingLine Thank you for answering my question :)

[@genxiong2695]

Thank god you are not at the mall.

[@rogerteich2650]

deaverleafsprings?

[@desertchief5769]

The long travel truck has them out back!

[@bensamaduroff7417]

That's cool and all, put em on an ramp

[@bluegizmo1983]

I know it's nit picky, but I'd say 14" front and 19" rear travel is the minimum to qualify as "mid travel"... Long travel would be at least 19" front and 24" rear.

[@jftravelvlogs9718]

Sounds like getting a canaam mav is all the fun with less $$ or worries involved

[@SergioElmilusos]

Agreed

[@theclan4adventures]

Yeah they are great until you piss off a swarm of bees or wasps out on a trail.. no ac no heat and no windows lol no thanks I’ll keep my 30k

[@Mistercool215]

Idk if I’d call that long travel

[@viboldsok]

Why does this look like a Costco in fountain valley?

[@jasonpotts6490]

Maybe you mentioned in the video already and I missed it, but I'm wondering why you keep the mid-travel Taco?

[@desertchief5769]

Brad's daily driven truck which he also uses for work (requiring a truck bed). That is one advantage over the long travel truck.

[@jasonpotts6490]

@@desertchief5769 ah, ok thanks

[@jsheldon5169]

Is that B Meal ?

[@KH-sg9kv]

Dude lmfao

[@JacobEcret]

Someone didn’t oil their shock, all rusted out

[@Carsrpain]

Tacomaworld is definitely not a good forum 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

[@cliffcox7643]

Do I even need a Tacoma?

[@Pursuedwinter]

Yes

[@patrickmicheal9480]

Main difference is you're either very wealthy or you're just bearly getting by

[@anthonyolsen9299]

Shock hoops/mounts in bed.. it's not a cage..bed cage, I wish weekend warriors would stop calling it bed cage

[@_libya5601]

اول عربي

[@cerwin21]

I hate my mid travel on my 98 extra cab. Absolute garbage. Fabtech coils with total choas upper arms and full gusset kit. Alignment is impossible. Worst purchase, project ever started. Dont do it, horrible alignment and eating the fuhk out of my Falken 33 M/T

[@chrisruggieri7345]

just some $600 bump stops

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

Imagine putting your video in an add. It's so bad it they have to pay for ppl to notice it.

[@anthonyolsen9299]

This is funny.. you two are not very educated or very experienced in offroad world.. your not much more educated than someone that works at 4wheel parts..or orw. N that's not saying much

[@rockhumper8843]

Boring 🥱🥱🥱🥱...... just don’t buy a taco

[@FloridaMan69.]

both are trash ford is better

[@mikerasmussen7993]

Yeah I love the Ford focus 🤩