Suspension upgrade for daily driver with quite a bit of desert road driving and sleeping in the bed.

Hello all, new here and needing some input. I haven't really ever upgraded anything on my Tacoma and I'm not super mechanically inclined but I'm trying to change that.

I have a 2000 SR5, and its my daily driver but I end up on desert roads in Utah and PNW logging roads pretty often. Nothing super technical, but crossing washed out ruts in the desert occasional y. With the stock suspension anything with washboards is pretty rough and I usually have to drop the speed down a lot. At this point mostly because I'm afraid of the prolonged rattling of everything. So I'm trying to get some information on suspension options to tame that down a bit. I also have a shell on the truck and sleep in the back often with a +1 and regularly have 100lbs of gear in the back. Eventually I'm looking to get a new shell like a Access MFG Tradesman plus a GFC tent, or just a GFC camper, so suspension to accommodate that weight increase is important too.

I've never worked on suspension before and not sure how much if any I'll be able to do myself. So I'm also trying to get an idea of the cost to install the things you guys mention just so I know what to expect and can shop around accordingly.

Thanks in advance!

 

IMO it's boils down to budget. But I've had everything from just slightly better shocks on stock springs up to my current suspension with FOX shocks and I can honestly say the best bang for the buck is an Old Man Emu suspension and I bet it would fit your purpose well.

 

Thanks for the reply, Dave.

Looking at that, it seems like the 2881 option with upper control arms seems to be pretty standard?

 

881's coupled with the Bilistein 5100 shocks are a good combo and will get you under 2" of lift after they settle. With this set up you don't need aftermarket upper control arms typically. If your budget allows (please state what that is) Coilovers are a great option for your kind of driving speedy on dirt road. The 5100's will net you similar to stock performance.

 

If you get a high performance shocks like fox or icon you’re gonna pay a premium and you’ll need to service it regularly

You should run Bilstien 4600 shocks all the way around and (if needed) replace the oem leaf pack and coils with direct OEM replacements.

If you get into aftermarket leafs and coils (old man emu seem to be popular) you’re looking into lifting your truck, which will change the angle of your driveline and pinion and have adverse effects.

Some Bilstien 4600 all the way around at stock height will drive so nice you’ll wish you’d done it sooner!

 

I'd go Bilstein 4600 if you just want a better ride, Bilstein 5100 for a small lift and good ride, then OME w/5100, then the skies the limit. All depends on budget and goals. Good luck!

 

Remove your sway bar or make some kind of disconnect. Itll make a pretty substantial difference on the washboard roads and try airing down your tires.
try that before any suspension upgrade.

 

Thanks for the reply, and really thanks for bringing up the negative aspects. Just to clarify, after x amount of lift, the driveshaft angle changes and does adverse things for the drivetrain/transmission? Where do you think that comes into play? If I were to do what OneWheelPeel mentions above with 881s and 5100 shocks, will that still have the negative impact on drivetrain?

Thanks for the help. Just trying to figure this out. Definitely don't need a lift, but not opposed to a small one. But I want avoid taking away from the longevity of the truck so it sounds like 4600s are the option and OEM leafs.

 

Slip yoke in driveshaft

None, plenty of people have un this set up

You get the lift from the springs not the shocks. You could run 881's on 4600's.

 

You’re just changing all the geometry of the driveline. A lot of people have issue with pinion and carrier bearing angles causing vibrations and pre mature wear.

Also you’re driveline angle is steeper in to the rear dif, which in theory effects performance and torque. (Hence why direct drives in boats are so badass).

Really the only way to gain real clearance is with larger tires.

But just 1inch lift you’re probably fine - if you can for sure accurately achieve just an inch.
Avoid ANY aftermarket leafs they will crank your junk way up

 

Check out this cool video on driveshaft angles and phasing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idk3BVDVHq4

It helps a little

I think Toyota knew what they were doing when they designed it ya know

 

While suspension lifts don't increase the size of object you can drive directly over on a flat surface, they do increase approach/departure and break-over angles.

 

this is true
but so does trimming the front and rear bumper, or just removing them
I will say a lift is good for deep water though. A lot of flooding out here in sonoma county, a good lift is not a bad idea for that reason lol

 

Thanks for all the information guys. This decision is probably getting expedited since I think one of the mount/bushing/spacer things is worn out on something in the suspension and Im getting some noise when turning and rolling over some things.

So trying to compile all this information, it sounds like 5100s will perform better but will lift the truck enough to where I might have to worry about the drivetrain angle? And with the truck being almost 20 years old, it probably makes sense to get new leaf springs now too right? OEM to keep the same lift it sounds? And this is a dumb question but do the 5100s come with coils or do I need to get those too? Which ones should I look at to help with the desert roads but not lift

Thanks again y'all, I feel educated.

 

The 5100 front struts I’m looking at is adjustable to keep stock ride height or you can adjust to lift it

 

They do not come with coils. You can reuse your stock coils or you can upgrade to OME 881s or 882s depending on if you want a slight lift, more stiffness, etc. Remember you can't run 5100s in the rear with out a minimum of 1" of lift. So you will need some sort or shackle, AAL, replacement leafs, etc. I went with 5100s, 881s (coils), and replacement leaf HD leaf packs from General Spring. Couldn't be happier. Got around 1.5"-1.75" of lift overall and truck is level and rides great.

 

Thanks again guys.

So I'm getting a custom aluminium shell(100-150lbs?) made and adding a 135lb rooftop tent down the road, but I'm getting the suspension done before that. How do I go about knowing how what leafs to do in the rear to accommodate the added weight of the shell and tent? I still only want that ~1" lift altogether. And dumb question, but will it be a problem having the back sprung for that weight for a while before I get the shell and tent?

I've added a pic of a Tacoma that I'm emulating with the bumpers, roof rack, and shell, and another pic with the tent.

 

Itll ride a lot stiffer tell you get the weight on the truck. And probably sit a lot higher.
The green truck looks like it has a 2 or 3 " lift.

 

Honestly, it's *best* to have all your junk first, then figure out what springs you need. Once you gather your topper and all your gear you can weigh it and know precisely what you'd need - or at least have the info to give to someone at Alan or Deaver or something for custom springs.

If you get an add-a-leaf or heavy duty springs before you add all the weight, it will just ride really rough. No real damage potential, just comfort. HD springs and add-a-leafs and ok, but they are set for a certain weight, which may not be the weight you're carrying, so it'll be a compromise.

The other option is airbags. Go with your stock (ish) suspension, then use the airbags to help support the added weight. Air bags are typically used when you aren't constantly carrying the weight though. Like when you're towing or hauling rocks - when it's unloaded you deflat the bags and it rides normally. If you plan to have the load *always* on your truck, get springs.

Deaver J59's (higher end leaf pack) go for around $650, and you can have custom ones made for not that much more. That's really the best way to ensure you have the best matched leaf springs for your load.

The other way to go is to just throw an add-a-leaf on your existing leaf pack as you build your truck. Then, once you've gotten the topper, tent etc... settled, go in for the kill with some custom leafs that are set exactly for what you need.

 

Pretty much can just paste this into every suspension thread