Stock DCLB Taco sagging. carrying camping gear.

So last week I went out for a week long camping trip. I loaded up my truck with firewood and camping gear. My truck was sagging bad. How do i prevent that from happening? I know later in the future I'm planning to buy a RTT.

 

By an F150

 

Definitely carry less wood. That stuff is heavy!

 

OME HD dakar leaf pack

 

Eucalyptus wood LOL. Didn't want to spend $8 for a bundle of wood. Was out camping for a whole week.

 

If you want to stay stock height but need more support, firestone ride rite airbags will serve you well

 

I Want to lift it but I don't want to void my warranty. barely put 5k miles on it

 

One of the following
Sumosprings
Airbags
Leaf pack (Icon RXT, Dakar, alcan)

 

Warranty is overrated

 

I would go with airbags until your warranty is up. I have been running some firestones on mine for a couple years now, they work good

 

How much do airbags cost? I was looking at the leaf pack. Dakar Old man emu

 

I think mine were around 300 when i bought them..

Having run airbags, i will say that i am switching to dakars in the future, because they get a little bouncy when you load them down. But, for your application they could work well. Basically youll only put more than 5spi in them when you have a load, and when you dont, you can just lower the pressure and it wont cause you problems with ride quality

 

Another vote for Sumosprings - they’re sturdy, simple to install, add 1000lbs to 1500lbs of weight capacity, are relatively cheap (~$200), maintenance free, and don’t limit your downtravel.

The other nice thing is that they impact your day-to-day drive much less than a new leaf pack: your stock spring rate is unaffected until the springs compress enough to hit the Sumos. When carrying a full bed/RTT a HD spring pack will ride nicely (and is the right choice for a permanently mounted tent) but it will ride stiff when unloaded. Sumos work really well for occasional heavy loads.

 

Ahhh. I've seen some dakars for $250? is that correct or I'm looking at something else? lol

 

MMMMM. Dang so many options!!! Are you running sumoSprings? Do people end up upgrading to a leaf pack? I'm just trying to make one good purchases for the long run!!

 

That was probably for one spring.. theyre around 550 for a new pair

 

AHH shit lol. $550 plus labor? are they easy to install ?

 

Install isnt too bad, im sure if you posted in your regional section here on Tacoma world, someone would be willing to help you for cheap if you arent comfortable doing it yourself

 

Yes. I got SumoSprings after frying my stock rear leaves. Before I’d slam into the bumpstops going over speedbumps and potholes - adding the sumos gave me back ~1/2” of ride height and rode firmly but the truck felt planted and no longer had jarring jolts every time I went over potholed or bumpy sections.

I’ve since replaced my leaf packs with 3/4 ton Chevy 63s and kept the SumoSprings as bump stops. The 63 swap is somewhat involved and is not one of my first recommendations for springs, but that size does offer spring ratings up to 3k lbs per side if you get super heavy.

I currently run ~500lbs over stock all the time (tent, rack, steel skids, winch, dual Group 31s, fuel, water, kitchen sink) and the springs ride smoothly: they ride even better with another 200 lbs.
With less weight, the rear was stiff: still better than stock, but not its loaded butter smooth ride. The downside to springs is that you have to match your springs to your weight for the best ride and that can be hard with a changing vehicle weight: too much spring is stiff, too little is rolly and finds the bump stops.

Airbags do excel with changing weights: I don’t have personal experience with them.

 

Everything i have read says that they do not increase your weight capacity, they just prevent sag. it doesn't suddenly turn the tacoma int a 1 ton pickup..

From Sumo springs web site

Will SuperSprings or other helper springs increase my GVWR?
No. Nothing can increase your GVWR. It is set by the manufacturer of the vehicle. It should never be exceeded. There is no suspension product in the world that can increase GVWR.