Tough Dog
Australian-made suspension built for heavy touring and work use. Foam-cell and adjustable shocks that suit vehicles running constant heavy loads; certified GVM kits for most popular platforms.
Suspension specced to your load, not a part number off the shelf.
Springs and shocks matched to how your 4WD is actually loaded and driven. Chosen independently, fitted in Canning Vale, and planned around your build's final weight.
Most suspension disappoints because it was specced for the wrong vehicle: the empty one.
A suspension kit that rides beautifully in the car park can sag, wallow and wander once the drawers, water and camp gear go in. The single most common mistake we see: suspension done first, specced without the final loaded weight of the build in mind. Now you're paying twice.
None of that is the manufacturer getting it wrong. They spec one setup for every buyer, and most of those buyers are commuting, not touring or towing. One fit does not suit all, and the factory answer leans to comfort in an empty vehicle. Load it the way you actually travel and it is being asked to do a different job.
We spec the other way around. Where you travel, what you carry, what's still to be fitted. Then the springs and shocks that suit that vehicle, at that weight, on those tracks.
That's why suspension quotes here start with a conversation, not a catalogue.
What the spec accounts for
- Final loaded weight, including what's still planned
- Constant load vs weekend load
- Towing and airbag assist
- Corrugations vs blacktop kays
- Lift height and legality
- GVM: whether a re-rate is needed
Lift kits and load-matched suspension solve different problems.
Not every suspension job is about carrying weight. Sometimes you need more ground clearance, better articulation off-road, or just a suspension refresh after 80,000 km of corrugated roads.
A lift kit typically includes new coil or leaf springs, matched shock absorbers, and whatever correction components the vehicle needs: caster kits, diff-drop kits, extended brake lines. Lift height varies by vehicle and intended use, and it has legal limits. We'll recommend what suits your build.
A load-matched package is about control under weight: springs rated for what you actually carry, shocks that keep it settled, airbag assistance where the load changes week to week. In many cases a lift and a GVM upgrade can be combined in one workshop visit.
- Springs
- Coil or leaf, rated for the weight you actually carry
- Shock absorbers
- Matched to the springs, so the load is controlled, not just carried
- Airbag assistance
- Where the load varies week to week
- Correction hardware
- Caster kits, diff-drop, extended brake lines, bump stops, as the vehicle needs
- Certification
- If the package is a GVM re-rate
Two questions, and you'll know which job yours is.
Towing a van changes the sums twice over. The ball weight, usually 150 to 250 kg, counts as vehicle weight against GVM, and the vehicle and van together have their own limit, GCM, which a GVM upgrade does not raise. We spec the springs for the loaded vehicle with the ball on, not the empty one.
Even a camper or a box trailer puts its ball weight on the rear axle, so it comes into the spec. Bring the trailer's ball weight to the consult and we will work with the real figure.
A load-matched package
Springs rated for what you actually carry, shocks that control it. This is the most common fix for sag and wander, and it's specced against the finished build, not the empty one.
A lift kit, specced for the tyre and the track
Clearance and articulation are a different job from load. Lift height has legal limits, and the correction hardware depends on the vehicle. We'll tell you what suits yours.
Airbag assistance alongside the springs
Extra support when it's loaded, a normal ride when it's empty. We're a Perth Airbag Man stockist and installer, and it works with a GVM upgrade or on its own.
This is a GVM conversation first
Over, near or unknown against GVM means the suspension package and the re-rate get specced together, so you pay once. Start with the weight check consult.
Suspension and GVM are one decision, not two.
GVM sets what your 4WD can legally carry. Suspension decides how it drives while you do. If your loaded weight is over, or heading over, the factory rating, the suspension package and the GVM upgrade should be specced together, because a GVM upgrade is an engineered suspension package with certification behind it.
Get the order right and you pay once. Get it wrong and the suspension you just bought gets replaced by the GVM kit you actually needed.
Tell us how you load it and where you drive. The consult is free, and it isn't a catalogue.
We've specced a lot of these.
Most suspension jobs that come to us second-hand were sold off a catalogue: right vehicle, wrong weight. We've set up suspension on 6,500-plus vehicles, and the ones that ride well years later were specced against the finished build, not the one that rolled in.
We're fully independent, so the kit is chosen for your vehicle and your load, not for a supplier agreement. And if the build needs a GVM re-rate, the compliance side is handled in the same Canning Vale workshop.
- 6,500+ vehicles built in Perth, from weekend tourers to mining fleets
- 100% independent. Tough Dog, Outback Armour, Airbag Man and other proven gear, chosen on fit
- Family owned and operated, one workshop, Canning Vale
“The guys have completed quite a few jobs on my Prado now, from airbags, spotlights, a bull bar and recently a transmission cooler. I’ve found their pricing and work to be great and they are my go-to place now for any future work.”
Specced, fitted and tested in our Canning Vale, Perth HQ.
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Talk through the build
Where you travel, what you carry, what's planned next. If you're not sure what your 4WD weighs loaded, ask. The check costs nothing.
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Spec the kit
We're fully independent. Tough Dog, Outback Armour, Airbag Man and other proven gear, chosen on what suits your load and driving, not what a supplier agreement says to push.
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Fit and hand over
Fitted in our Canning Vale workshop as one job. If your build needs a GVM re-rate, the compliance side is handled in the same place.
Suspension is usually specced at stage one of a staged build plan, alongside GVM: the decisions every later stage builds on.
Who we fit, and what each is best at.
We're not a single-brand shop. Different vehicles, loads and budgets call for different suspension, so the kit is matched to the job, not to a supplier agreement.
Outback Armour
Purpose-built for outback touring: kits designed around real touring loads that stay comfortable on corrugations when fully loaded. The pick when ride quality matters as much as capacity.
Airbag Man
Air assistance that adjusts load support on the fly, working alongside your springs. Ideal for vehicles that run heavy some days and empty others: work utes, tow rigs, weekend tourers. We're a Perth stockist and installer.
We fit Lovells too. Need something else? We can source Dobinsons and Kings on request. Tell us the vehicle and the load and we'll spec the kit.
Popular suspension setups, top selling 4WD vehicles.
The platforms we set up most, and what the request is usually about. If we've not done yours, that'd be a first.
- Hilux N70 / N80 / N90Touring and light off-road builds
- LandCruiser 200 SeriesTouring and heavy-load applications
- Isuzu D-MaxMatched shocks for touring or work
- Ford RangerNext Gen and earlier models
- LandCruiser 79 SeriesTouring through to heavy-duty builds
- Navara NP300Addresses the factory rear leaf-spring weakness
- Prado 150 / 250Constant-load springs for towing
- Nissan Patrol GU / Y62Heavy-duty options for tray builds
- VW AmarokTyre clearance and towing stance
Also common: MU-X, Everest, Triton, BT-50, Grenadier, Jimny, Ram 1500, and most other 4WDs and commercial vehicles on WA roads.
Specced for the weight, it drives like it should.
- Sits level, loadedSprings rated for what you actually carry, so the rear stays up with the camper on.
- Steers straight on corrugationsShocks that control the load instead of fading at the 40,000 km mark, when under-specced suspension shows its cost.
- Paid for onceSpecced against the finished build, so the kit you buy isn't the kit you replace.
See it on a build.
Next Gen Ranger fit-out
A Next Gen Ranger set up for work and touring: canopy, drawers, dual battery and comms, on a load-matched package that stays settled when the tray is full.
See the Ranger build
Ultimate LC300 build
Suspension and GVM specced together at stage one, which is why a full touring fitout still sits level on a 300 Series.
See the LC300 buildSuspension questions, answered.
Do I need a lift kit or just better springs and shocks?
Depends on the job. A load-matched spring and shock package fixes sag and control for most touring builds; a lift is about clearance and tyre size, and it has legal limits. We'll tell you straight which one your build actually needs. They're different problems.
Should I do suspension before or after the rest of the build?
Spec it early, against the final loaded weight, including the gear you haven't fitted yet. Suspension specced for an empty vehicle is the most common way people end up paying twice.
What if my loaded weight is over my GVM?
Then the suspension conversation becomes a GVM conversation. The upgrade is an engineered suspension package with WA certification behind it, and we handle both from the same workshop.
Can a lift kit and a GVM upgrade be done together?
In many cases, yes. One workshop visit gives you both the ground clearance and the load capacity, and many GVM kits include a mild 40 to 50 mm lift as a side benefit anyway.
Do you fit airbag suspension?
Yes. We're an Airbag Man stockist and installer in Perth. Air assistance suits vehicles that carry variable loads, extra support when loaded and a comfortable ride when empty, and it can work alongside a GVM upgrade or as a standalone improvement.
Which brands do you fit?
We're Perth's largest fully independent 4WD workshop. Tough Dog, Outback Armour, Airbag Man and Lovells are the usual suspects, chosen on what suits your vehicle and load. We can source Dobinsons and Kings on request.
Useful? Pass it on.
Email it to whoever's doing your buildTell us how you load it. We'll spec it for that.
A free consult covers your vehicle, your load and where you're headed, and you leave with an itemised, staged quote. No pressure, no catalogue-first quoting.
In-store Canning Vale, by phone, or via video call. Workshop bookings fill ahead of the spring touring season.
What happens at a free consult
- Your build added up with us, line by line, loaded the way you actually travel
- The build talked through: what's on, what's planned, what you tow
- An itemised, staged quote: suspension now, GVM if the numbers say so