All I hear is that spacer leveling kits are bad.

Nope. Your springs will be just fine.

 

thanks for your help. And for the straight answers.

 

DCW, if you want a shop to install your new suspension in Reno, there's a place called Deanos. They aren't an off road shop, just plain mechanic, but I've always had great service from them and they're honest; about a block from the Toyota dealer.

Also, Off Road Innovations will do it, I've had good luck with them too on some custom stuff: they'll probably be expensive and they are located about 20min east of town by Mustang. Still, I'd give them a call for a quote.

Finally, I've done it all on my truck: AAL, blocks, c/o's, spacer, etc. I can help you do it or you could comission me for a little less than the shop charges... I've never set the Billy's but there is enough info on here to figure it out. I'd be willing to show/help you install everything sometime in late January if you're interested. The whole thing will take about 3-4hrs (not including the trip to compress the springs).

 

This was discussed in some length not long ago. Do a search about spacer lifts. I think the title was in all caps. The op got flamed pretty badly.

 

Come to think of it, I have some 1.5" Wheelers AALs sitting in my garage with only 4,000 miles on them, still basically new for $50. I also have some over-strut 2" spacers and some rear shock extenders. Let me know.

 

I'd say 80% of the trucks you see lifted everyday have never seen more than a dirt road.

 

Only problem with that is a 3" lift only uses a 1.5" spacer so that only limits your travel 1.5" and I would like to add for all you 5100 billies lovers, they may work fine if you ride in sand and your looking for lightweight dune buggy type trucks. If you have a custom front bumper and winch set up that adds weight on the front of your Tacoma, Bilstein (5100billies) shocks may break. Again those set-ups are for light weight applications. It really depends on the type of off-roading you plan on doing. I live in PA and ride rough trails all the time. I use the Old Man Emu struts with OME 886 Springs with top plates. (Note: These struts have much more travel than stock) These struts / springs are made for the weight added by my 200lb ARB bumper and a 10K winch that weighs another 100lbs. Only thing that has gone bad was my wheel bearings and I figure after all the wheeling I do in mud, water and snow I'm doing okay. I bought it new in 2006 and now have 84,000 miles on it.



Bad wheel bearing I just replaced:







YES, these photos are over the last year and I have changed a few things on my Tacoma a long the way.

 

Ive had a spacer on my front for almost 5 years, granted i barely drive it, the ride is pretty rough compared to stock. Now that i will be driving more and using it functionally i got a set of Coilovers. Also ive seen some pictures where the spacer causes the bottom of the shock to bend or break when you bottom it out. Never had a problem myself but thats just my experience.

 

From my experiance... You want a stiffer ride for off road use? I know here in Colorado, spacers are popular for the fact when your riding trails out here you are going slow, since they are so bumpy and rocky. I would think the coilover lifts are more for fast desert type off roading.

I am gonna go with the 2.5" toytec spacer lift because it fits my needs. I do offroading about 2 times a month. Nothing too crazy but I get a little crazy sometimes. Its all about how you drive and take care of your rig. I traded in my Jeep Jk for my taco, learning from my mistakes, slow is better, choose the right lines and as long as your carefull you will be fine with a spacer lift.

Besides, when wheeling, the last thing you need to be doing is going 30mph over bumps and rocks.

Spacer lift is fine. People are just mad they spent 1000 on their lift and a spacer lift can take them the exact same places.

Ya I said it.

And if you want a "smooth" ride then get rid of your truck. They arent ment to drive smooth. You havent felt a bumpy ride to your on a 4" lifted Jeep.

 

I have a 2" spacer front suspension leveling kit by tuff country. Just wanted to level it out for now..eventually I want to get the Toytec 3" lift kit w/ billie 5100's

 

its not so much the spacer as it is the construction of the shock itself factory shocks are not constructed to take the kind of beating that most want them to. Spacers were not meant for offroad use, they were meant to give you tire clearence so you can put larger diameter tires on.

You really want a softer more articulating suspension for any type of offroading. even the rock crawling guys will tell you that you want as much tire on the rock as possible and the only way to get this is through suspension articulation. spacers wont give you this.

dezert guys want wheel travel. spacers wont give you this either. so if all your looking for is to put bigger tires on and to cruise to the camp spot or parking spot by all means buy them. if you think your going to pound on them think twice, you will create a dangerous situation for yourself and your passengers. you wont break the spacer but you will break the shock.

So is think about what you want your truck to do and go from there op.

 

Once a wise man said this....


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I did spacers first on my 1st gen and it was pretty much a stock ride but I never went off road. I got rid of them based on information I learned from Bilstein on their add about travel and wear etc, I now have the Billies set at the middle setting which netted me a level truck and I think theyre good. Quality components are a much better choice. The ride is a little stiffer because some of the flex in the spring is taken out but really not that bad. Save your truck and go with the Billies from the start...

 

There's another thread similar to yours right now.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/130027-help-decide.html

 

you're going to eat that post if you ever go wheeling with us

 

I do the same wheeling you described: slow rocky trails, which is why I upgraded my suspension over just 'lifting' my truck. After about an hour of rocky/slow trails (in 4lo 1-2) the TRD suspension would overheat and become 'squishey' and more bouncy as the shocks lost their ability to dampen and I would essentailly be just at the mercy of my bouncing springs. I decided I need something that wouldn't 'fade' so quickly, especially in the summer heat here.

With my SAW coilovers and shocks, they are much more heavy-duty in that 1. being firmer they don't bounce as much which keeps the shock cooler thus performing better, and 2. With a much larger cartraige on the shock bodies there is much more heat dissipation. 3. flat out they just are not going to break: just the shaft on the rear shocks is 3x as fat as the stockers. 4. When the billies, spacer lifts, etc shocks wear out the owners are going to have to swap springs or spacers again when they get new shocks and basixally buy new, less expensive suspension maybe 3-4 times the life of the truck? I just buy a $25 dollar kit and rebuild mine, forever.

I'm not knocking spacer lifts for the sake of lifting, I'm just saying that they are not an upgrade to your suspension; all you've done is froze your suspenion mid-articulation to keep the truck furthur from the ground.

 

I have a spacer lift from revtek. Im actually very pleased with the ride... i expected it to be rough but it feels the same as stock... i dont offroad it and didnt have all the money in the world to blow. Overall im very happy with the out come and the ride.

 

I went with Truxxx for a short term solution until I have the funds for the RCD kit. Honestly, I may end up leaving it on. Great ride with no complaints. My truck won't be climbing a mountain or running baja anytime soon. If you have the same use in mind, you wont be disappointed!

 

Off Road Innovations for the install. They do good work and have a killer labor rate at 55/hour. I just had them pull my toytec spacer/AAL and install new OME/Allpro goodies.

Triple S tire in Sparks for the alignment.

If you want to try out a spacer/AAL lift, my stuff is on reno craigslist and I'm not too serious about the asking price in the ad. I basically want the stuff out of my garage.

 

Your truck looks great thanks for the info.