Another Guy Trying To Lift His Truck

Well for the past few days ive been reading through the forums, searching google, shopping ebay and Amazon, searching for a decent lift kit. Then it hit me Ask the pros. So here i am. I want to lift my taco 3". Mostly just because i like they way lifted trucks look. I dont do any off roading (yet). Mainly because i havent had a truck to do it with. With that being said i dont want a top of the line kit for extreme off roading, my taco is my daily driver. I am not a mechanic by any means, but in sure if i get a kit with the coilovers preassembled, a buddy and i could put them in. I was thinkin A leaf pack for the rear. Also am i gonna need new UCA' and extended brake lines? Im still new to all this. Opinons on certain brands over the other? Mainly looking for the most cost effective way to lift my baby.

 

@HeadStrong Off-Road

 

OME is a great quality brand that won't break the bank. I'm piecing mine together on Amazon and for everything it's going to total 580.

 

Thats a number a could live with. Most kits alone i was looking at were around $900

 

Camburg full travel but you'll need the total chaos lca's also. But it's pricy. My wife won't let me get it yet

 

Run down of parts in that $580?

Dakars are half that, coils are 1/4 of that. Shocks are half that.

 

They wouldn't all be OME. I priced out 5100s on all 4 corners and 885s on Amazon for 480 shipped. An AAL from toytec is the only thing not on there, and that's 100 shipped.

 

10-4.

So all you're going to be running is OME coils?

 

A full OME kit is going to be $1200-1300 or so shipped. Includes a full leaf pack, struts and shocks, coils, extended brake lines, axle shims, carrier bearing drop. You might not need the brake lines, shims, or CB drop, either, but better to pay shipping once and have everything you might need.

I'm on full OME and not running any of those pieces, though I have them all. No vibes, no need for extended brake lines.

 

Feel free to share some parts lists and prices, it would be more then helpful to me. I promise to start a thread with pictures when i start the build

 

Yeah, exactly. Guess I could've clarified that better. I was just giving an example of a decent quality lift without breaking the bank.

 

Honestly, I'd talk to someone who can help guide you into getting what you need/want so you're not overspending on stuff you'll not utilize or buying something inferior that you won't be happy with.

Personally I have found Marie with HeadStrong to be the best vendor I've bought parts from for any vehicle, and the lowest cost. You can email her, PM her here on the forum or (what I would do) give her a call on the phone and spend 10 minutes with her. She'll treat you right.

http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/
951-654-9630
headstrongoffroad@hotmail.com

 

I will PM her, thanks for the point in the right direction

 

I hate to sound like a shill, but I'm a very satisfied customer. I've sent at least 5 people her way for lift kits and questions and they've all came back with their questions answered correctly and with great deals.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Personally I saved over $200 buying from her over another TW vendor, and I had half of my stuff the next morning (they're in SoCal, I'm in NorCal). The rest of it came 2 days later.

 

What he said. My first lift on my truck was OME and it cost me about 1178.00 before UCA"s. I run a Carrier bearing drop and extended break lines.

 

Lastly, if you end up going with a 1.5" 3 leaf progressive AAL for the rear instead of a full replacement pack or a single AAL - go with Wheeler's Offroad, I wouldn't go with ToyTec or Icon for that setup as they're all made by the same spring manufacturer and just slapped with different stickers and different price tags. They're otherwise identical. When I was running that, it was a $70 difference in price from the cheapest brand to the most expensive, and literally all that buys you is a sticker.

I'm pretty sure HeadStrong has their own version of this AAL now, but I can't say if it's the same as the others above or not, or what it's priced at.

 

@HeadStrong Off-Road FTMFW

 

I was looking into this kit. Opinion's on it? Would it be cheaper to get all these things from different companys?

 

That's very similar to what I'm doing, except it's 350 cheaper than that. When I get off my phone and onto my computer, I'll post links to everything I'm going to get.

 

If you have any questions on specifics let me know.. I've had 2 lifts on my truck in 43k miles.

IMO the best bang for your buck is 5100s on all 4 corners, stock coils, and the Wheeler's/HeadStrong (if comparably priced) 3 leaf AAL. That is NOT a 3" lift, though, consider it a sub 2 inch - which has it's benefits also, namely in that you might get away with using your OEM upper control arms (UCAs), which aren't cheap aftermarket.

I had all of that to my door for under $500, and it was great until I added a shell to my truck, then I lost almost all of the lift in the rear and my truck sagged out hard with heavy loads (think 800+ lbs, including the 220 lb shell).

Then I went to full OME with Dakars and have absolutely no regrets. It's much more money, but a superior setup in comparison.