New Member, New Taco

* Hello all,


*** I am a new taco owner, F250 convert due to long work commute. I love my '07 PreRunner double cab so far. I don't have many mods yet but would love any advice that you more seasoned taco drivers may have for my specific needs. I spend all of my spare time camping or with my horses and am towing my 2h slant trailer with my taco, no problems thus far. Currently looking into lifts/tires because of this ^ and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks and have a great day!

*

* -Dani*

 

Thanks tcBob

 

Hello Dani Welcome to TW frm the White mountains stop by the Arizona thread

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW! Probably one of the things you should look at if you tow on a consistent basis is to upgrade your rear suspension. The Achilles Heel on these trucks is the rear leaf springs. The occasional loading is OK but regular loading and towing will cause the leaf springs to sag. I have an 07 and I use it for construction a lot, I have upgraded the shocks/struts all around, installed a Add-A-Leaf (AAL), and Firestone Ride Rite Airbags in the rears, this allows me to tailor the weight/towing capacity to the load I'm putting on it.
There are a couple of vendors here that are highly regarded (far right column in the 'Forum List" drop down menu), in this area, Wheeler's Off Road and Downsouth Motorsports. If you search terms like Bilstien 5100, AAL, Old Man Emu (OME for short) and Toyotec and Firestone Ride Rite, you will find blizzards of postings about them. Feel free to ask our members questions regarding these and other products.
A lot depends on your budget and your needs as there are several different ways to go, if you have the funds, a full set up from OME or Toyotec is pretty popular or installing individual components like Bille 5100's all around and either replacing the rear leafs altogether or installing AAL "packs" and or airbags.
Good Luck!

 

I've been looking into an AAL but haven't seen any lifted Tacos in my area to know how many inches would be appropriate for my purposes. I'm also a little confused as to what to do in the front (stabilizers?). I'm on a budget but still want to do what's necessary. So far I've got three (drastically) different quotes from three different places, so I think I just need a little more info before shopping and getting ripped off...

 

Welcome! What acdronin said, our leafs are complete shit ^^

New rear leafs no question if you're towing a lot. You could get the airbags as well. You could also get a HD leaf pack that would keep you close to stock height as well. Many different options out there! Search for a while before you make a decision. Lots of info on the site.

 

Getting my new 2013 dclb tomorrow...what should I do first?

 

I don't know if it's different for the Prerunners but I do know that with the 4x4's once you lift the front beyond two-three inches, the components needed to ensure that you can still get the front wheels aligned start to ratchet up the price.

Imo you should not go too high, you actually use the truck for what it was intended for, I think what may be best for you is commonly called on TW a "Mid-lift", generally that means under three inches of lift. Around that height means you can put slightly larger and more aggressive tires on it, but not so high that you'll have to buy one of those fancy drop down hitches. I haul alot of construction stuff, tools and the occasional trailer, I need to be able to get in and out of the bed fairly easily.
With that being said, there are good lifts and bad lifts, lifts for looks and looks for real men (or women).

Anyone says they want to install spacers on top of the front struts, lifting the body off of the frame with spacers or install blocks on the rear leaf springs, walk away, that's garbage which can compromise the suspension and risk failure. That is for mall crawlers and people who just want the truck to look nice but not actually abuse the truck. You actually put the truck under real stress, I still think airbags is an awesome idea, they're fun, stiff when I need them, no more than firm when I don't. I still think a full OME kit would be a nice easy way to lift the truck with proper components and have it still be stout enough to handle you needs.

Maybe a good idea would be to find a kit online, buy it and track down a reputable shop to install it, that way you don't have to put up with some jerk trying to hustle garbage components off your hard0earned dollar. AZ is big into wheeling, your best bet is probably to start a dialog in the AZ thread and find a good shop there.

 

Welcome to TW