Help me add load capacity conservatively

** Im learning. I don't need to add load capacity, I need to handle weight better**


Hey everyone, thanks for your help.

I have a new 2018 Tacoma TRDOR. I have skids on hand, and sliders on the way, but after taking the truck out for a couple of weekends overlanding, it's clear that even with just people and camping gear/water, the weight is already an issue.

I need to add some capability so that I can carry myself and my girlfriend, skids and sliders, camping gear, water, but I want to do it as conservatively as possible. It would also be nice if, when I do a bumper and winch next year, I didn't have to scrap anything I add now.

Here is what I am thinking:

Back:
Simply adding leafs sounds perfect for now

Front:
Bilstein 5100's or 6112's. These are adjustable, so when I do the bumper in the future, I could keep these, and just replace the factory spring.

Thoughts?

Please help me figure out how to handle weight better on the trail, while changing as little as possible

Thanks!!!

 

Legally you can only load your truck to the GVWR, which depending on your model and drivetrain is anywhere from ~1100-1600lbs of payload. Adding heavy duty springs will help your truck handle max payload better, but overload the truck and you'll start to see weaknesses elsewhere. Your brakes may be inadequate, auto trans can overheat, so on and so forth.

 

I'm sorry, you cannot add load capacity. What the max load is rated by Toyota is all that you can carry. Now, you can make the truck squat less under load, you can make it corner better on the road but you cannot add capacity. How come? The maximum load carrying ability of anything is limited by the vehicle's structure (frame, etc) and it's ability to safely control that weight while the vehicle is in motion. That means suspension, which you can do something about and brakes, which realistically you cannot do anything about unless you have gobs of money and know how to do the math and design a brake system from scratch.

I guess I should say that you cannot change the vehicle's official weight capacity. However you can change the suspension and reinforce certain key points of the structure, along with re gearing.

How much weight do you want to haul?

 

I will add this.

All tacos are rated for 5600lbs total weight, obviously if you're loaded truck is 5601lbs it won't fall apart. I'd even venture to say these trucks can probably handle quite a bit more than that, but if you do that a lot you will break stuff, sooner rather than later.

 

Ok, yea, you are right. I don't need to add capacity, I just need to handle it better. I have 230 pounds of armor, 350 pounds of human, and camping gear and water. I just want to the truck to still be fun driving offroad with armor and gear.

thanks!

 

I'm thinking Billstein 6112s in the front, and adding leafs in the back

 

I put 5100’s in front, set to 3rd notch and kept the OEM coils on. In back, I added 5100’s and a single leaf Deaver and kept the OEM overload leaf in to strengthen the rear springs. Overall, I gained 1.5-inches in lift, and have little to no sagging with my heavy platform, camping gear, RTT and camper shell. I also have Mobtown steel skids, Shmellmopwho‘s steel sliders and a Curt front receiver hitch. I still have OEM bumpers, and will not change those unless going to a upgraded coil in front. I also occasionally tow a 21’ travel trailer and load up 17 extra gallons of fuel in the bed for the truck sometimes for extended range while towing and it does fine. Unloaded ride both on and off-road is good too. @HeadStrong Off-Road recommended my setup for my low budget and it was a great choice. Call them- they are very helpful and have good service!

Oh yeah, and did I say that my gas mileage sucks?

 

Here's the challenge:
You want your truck, fully loaded, to handle like it does empty correct? You also want it to have very little suspension sag when fully loaded right?

If you do this, how do you think the truck will ride and handle unloaded? Yep. Like shit.

I understand you are new to this world and I respect that. I just want you to understand some basic concepts before you go any further, so I am going to give you the unvarnished truth.

If you want to go off road and handle a bit better, the first thing you do is get a nice compromise tire in a C rating. E is a heavy tough tire that rides terrible unloaded. P which is stock is too mushy fully loaded off road.

Next you now have a choice... do you want to go heavy springs (shit ride unloaded, good fully loaded) and expensive shocks or do you want to marginally improve your ride and handling off road and still be bearable on the road...

Last is the weight you will be hauling. If you have four adults, that right there is about 750 lb. That gives you about 500 lbs for stuff for a stock truck. If you are going hang a bunch of weight on it in the form of skids, sliders and bumpers, you will quickly be over the weight limit of the truck... with no gear!
Now, if you add 400 lbs of gear you are turning that truck into a fat pig very fast, and you will fall quickly into a never ending loop of chasing problems.

You see, in stock form, your truck is at it's most reliable, durable and efficient. It's performance (power to weight ratio) is also optimal in stock configuration. Any mod you do will improve the truck in one area but hurt it somewhere else. Example: Add weight for protection off road but now it gets dismal gas mileage. Add a heavy suspension for off road but now it rides like shit unloaded.

There you go. These are the things you need to think about before we can offer you advice.

 

It's very easy to hit capacity.

Just yesterday, I took a load of scrap metal to the yard for my parents. I have a 4cyl 4x4 access cab, which is one of the lighter configurations available. Between the hitch, bed mat, front recovery point and gear in the truck, there is probably 120lbs added at all times.

Me, my dad, the scrap and the truck was 5060lbs on the scale on the way in. The scrap ended up being 380lbs, so even without anything in the bed with 2 people we were almost 4700lbs.

Shit if you have a loaded DCLB and add full armor, big tires etc you could conceivably hit max payload just by filling up the gas tank and sitting in it

 

Hey, thanks. Yes, I understand these concepts, which is part of the reason I want to go as conservative as possible.

I'm not trying to go nuts, I don't care if I lift it, but I do want to add the sliders and skids and I'm gonna use it to camp.

So what do you recomend?

 

Now's the easy part haha. You know what you want right? You also know what is going to happen when you do this as explained in my posts above.
Call Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and tell her exactly what you want and what you are willing to spend. They will take care of you and they know their stuff. Do this and have fun with it!

 

That was a cop out of a reply

 

Really? I have no clue what you want to spend. But hey... if you want something spoon fed...
1. Buy some C load tires. That will be the best mod you make. After you do this, drive it off road so you can see what a difference it makes.
2. Add your weight with skids, sliders, bumpers etc. Drive it for awhile. Get a feel what you want.
3. Now you will maybe ready for some springs. There are several out there... OME, add a leaf, etc. Don't go too heavy or your truck will ride like crap empty.
4. Shocks. Decide if you want throw aways or rebuildable. Many choices but make sure they match your spring rate. Make sure that you have added all the weight so you know how much to lift to get back to stock height. Probably 2" but you never know.

There you go. Now you see why I told you to call an expert? They sell many different brands and they all are a bit different for different applications. You gotta buy this stuff from somewhere.
Be forewarned that, by the time you do all this, you will lose about 20% efficiency, meaning if you get 20 mpg now you will now be at 16 or so. Maybe 14. Your truck will also accelerate slower with the added weight, so to combat that you need to go to ECG to re gear to 488's.

The above will cost you around $10K. This is what it will take to get your truck loaded to feel like it did unloaded. If you want to go cheaper you will compromise something.

Good luck.

 

Here’s 2000 words in picture format.

Lol that is all.

 

Aluminum skids. More money less weight.

 

Just a question, and not a suggestion... as I am definitely no expert.

I had assumed that overload springs (at least in the rear) would be a large part of the equation for keeping unloaded ride quality while improving weighted quality at the same time. This comes from reading on jeep Cherokee (XJ, not the new ones) websites, where many would do an OME add a leaf upgrade.

I want to say they would typically go with the light leaf pack, and a heavy overload... rather than just the medium leaf packs (which most seemed to think gave less than optimal results in all conditions). The light packs gave the best ride for most conditions, while the overload would kick in when loaded down.

Just reading... it seemed to make sense, but I have no real world experience with it. What am I missing, considering ride quality loaded vs unloaded?

 

Lol. How are you on a no carb diet and drinking beer? Isn’t hat kinda like saying you are vegetarian and love hamburger?

 

TBH its really not, Marie is a subject matter expert when it comes to this stuff and thats prob some of the best advice given so far on this post. I ran into the same issue with bed weight, plus my existing mods (I run kegs of beer varying in weight 800-1200lbs at a minimum) and she gave some very complete thorough advice. We can give you a response all day but this is what she does for a living. After talking with her I seriously reconsidered 5160/6112s.
What you really should do if you want a good answer is this:
1. Go here https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/contact-info.html
2. Cut and paste the majority of your post here
3. In 24-48 hours have a real reply with an accurate explanation of what you should do.

Edit: Not trying to be a dick, just trying to steer you in the right direction.

 

I can explain it to him but I can't understand it for him.
I was just trying to make sure he understood the basic concepts.

 

There are three main components to ride quality, and all three are equally important.
1. Tires
2. Springs
3. Shocks

Tires
Anyone know why our trucks, including the OR and Pro, essentially come with P rated street tires instead of E rated mud tires? The answer is to give us a great ride right off the lot. Everyone remember their test drive? Nice, smooth and quiet right? Very simply, the tire sidewall thickness and tread are the first step to a smooth ride. Jeep Rubicons come with atrocious mud tires. Why? Because nobody expects a smooth ride out of that jeep lol.
So, the thicker the sidewall and tougher the tread will give you harsher ride.

Next is springs. Springs are designed for one purpose only... to carry the weight of the vehicle. The challenge with our trucks is to make sure they are sized correctly, meaning fully empty or fully loaded the springs still provide some suspension travel. That's why overload springs are nice as they keep the spring off the bump stops fully loaded, yet don't increase the spring rate in an unloaded condition. However, springs by themselves don't do much for ride quality.

Shocks control the springs. A properly sized shock will allow the spring to do its job without limiting the spring's travel. The shock must be designed to dampen the springs natural tendency to over extend or compress, which is commonly known as bounce.
I could talk all day about shocks and their design, progressive versus digressive valving, metering orifices, etc, but suffice to say, with regards to ride quality, you need a shock designed for on and off road.

So those three components make up ride quality. All are important and, if you can't tell, it's pretty much impossible to give a vehicle the absolute best ride quality on road and off, either fully loaded or unloaded. It also doesn't help that ride quality is subjective... what is good for me is not what is good for you lol.

Hope this helps.