Truck newb - talk to me about bump stops

Apologize if this is a painfully obvious topic - but could someone give me the bump stop 101. New to trucks and want to understand the benefit to upgrading to a sumo spring type product.

I have a stock sr5 and have no plans for suspension or lift mods. I haul 1000lbs of wood pellets a number of times over the winter - is this enough weight that I would see some type of benefit from upgrading the stops? My understanding is sumo's do not come in contact until there is weight so it should not effect daily driving much (80 mile round commute so not looking to harshen the ride).

Any recommendations for my type of use would be appreciated. Mainly want to be sure putting 1000 lbs in the bed once a month or so is not going to do any damage.

 

I think your on the right track, either sumos or air bags will work best for you.

 

Yea My door sticker says 1000lbs - i understand that includes my weight and any gear. Just so much more convenient to purchase pellets by the half ton.

Any downsides to the sumo springs? Install looks like a simple diy- is that correct?

 

I go way over the limit all the time, don't stress about it.

I had sumos on my stock leaves, then moved them to my Dakar leaves. I think it lifted the back up about 0.5" with the stock springs, but I always have a camper top on there, so it will probably be about the same stock. I did lose a bit of flex, but the improvement in ride while towing or when the back is full of gear makes it definitely worth it.

The install is a simple DIY. They just install on top of the springs, so jack up the truck onto jackstands, support the axle on a couple of other smaller stands, undo U bolts, remove stock bumpstop, and install sumosprings. It's 4 bolts per side. They're beefy and you'll need some good torque, so make sure you have a 1/2" socket set and breaker bar.

 

For 1,000 lbs a couple times a year, my recommendation would be king 2.5” coilovers with compression adjusters, total chaos upper control arms, stock length total chaos lower control arms, Dakar heavy duty leaf pack with king 12” smoothies and maybe an ARB bumper just to top it off... you know, for science.

Or - sumos will be fine.

 

I honestly don't know which one rides best, but I did stay at a Holiday inn Express last night...

A few years ago I spent several months researching this topic before making my purchase. I tow a camper that I put a small battery bank plus propane on the tongue so it's a little front heavy. If I toss the generator, firewood, and beer cooler in the bed I'm over 700 pounds on the rear springs, and an inch or so above the bump stops before I leave the driveway. Squat in these trucks are horrid.

I wound up buying the Roadmaster Active Suspension. I chose against the sumos because they aren't adjustable and I don't know what repeated compression will do to their longevity. I haven't heard complaints about it, so they're probably fine. The most common complaint on the sumos is hitting a big dip or speed bump when riding empty, they say it's like getting kicked twice, once when you hit the bump and immediately again when the springs hit the sumos.

I chose against airbags because they are too adjustable. According to reviews the ride is shit if you don't air down after unloading. I wanted a set it and forget it system, not one i constantly fiddle-fart around with. For my style of cross country trips where I move campsites 7 times over 10 nights, I do enough fiddle farting as it is. I did research them enough to find out most people like the Firestones over the ride rites. The Tacoma version of the latter have had horrible reviews.

The Roadmaster is great, it takes a wrench to adjust so if I'm running near the limit for a week I can dial it up, or I can leave it at it's current setting that handles the weight span from 0-600 pounds. Rear ride is noticably stiffer on the higher settings, but not uncomfortable. For most days, I don't notice it on the bumps, I slightly feel it on dips (but it isn't bad) but at any setting it sure does reduce body lean on the corners by a magnitude.

I had it dialed way up for a trip through the Rockies, the only part of the trip where I could have used a softer setting was running down a washboard fire road near independence pass. 30 minutes out of 9 days on the road, that's a pretty decent compromise.

Here's the big negative against almost all of these systems though- they aren't good if you intend to severely flex the axle off road. Roadmasters break, bags tear, and sumos just wont let you.

Food for thought.

 

How are these holding up for you? Have you done any further wheeling with them to say how they limit your flex offroad?