another newbie suspension post, but help a girl out, please

Hi all, I need guidance updating my suspension... but first, origin story. I've owned coupe cars all my life, and over the past few years have done more tent camping and adventuring. I've neeeded more clearance and cargo!! I've regularly driven plenty of full and mid sized trucks enough to know how they handle and how to not park like a jacka**. I live in OH, pavement driving majority of the time, salty road winters, and forest/fire roads are usually in the mix when we camp in SE OH and eastern KY. I have wanted a quicksand Tacoma since they became a thing, and knew it would grow with me as my adventures became more challenging. In September I'm going to the Upper Peninsula, Silver Springs Sand Dune park in October, and have many trips in the works for further west. I FINALLY got my 2017 TRDOR in June19' !! I purchased from a dealership, had the JBL package, only 13,600 miles it, and was advertised as "lifted 3" with mud tires" blah blah blah. I am a total newb and thought "oh, one less thing to do later!" I later learned that it has all stock suspension with a spacer up front, and a block in the back... and running Multi Mile Mud Claw Extreme MT LT285/75R16. Nothing fancy and showy lift.

In 6ish weeks I've had her, I've done some cosmetic things to doll her up, am coming to terms with the gas mileage (It's my DD), and would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying other Tacoma's parked next to me or hearing 5yr old lil boys say "mommy LOOK at that monster truck!!"

On to my reason for being here. I haven't had it on the highway too much until recently, and when I did- I've noticed sloppy steering. Nothing alarming, but noticeable. I also, on 2 occasions, have scraped the skid plate pulling forward out of a slightly inclined driveway. I was going PLENTLY slow enough and not straight out. I've had 2 shops tell me I have plenty of clearance and this shouldn't be happening. SO apparently my tires are cupping due to probably not being properly aligned, and I want a very capable suspension. (I'm replacing tires, after I get the suspension worked out.) I don't plan on ever extreme crawling... but I'm down to try anything twice. haha. I have read and re-read all the threads on Kings, Fox, Icon, etc. I'm a "do it once and do it right" type of person.. so I don't want to half ass anything. I've read enough about Icons to want to rule them out. From the beginning, I've wanted Kings. They really seem to cover all the basis, as best as a kit can, that will be doing both on and off roading... BUT have seen them rust out after a year, due to salted roads. So, naturally, that makes me nervous! I had a shop give me 2 separate quotes on 2 different set ups.

Their cheaper option was to use the Rough country 4" lift and swap the shock in that kit with a Bilstien. Better shock with all the new parts of the RC kit. I *think* he said $3000ish for this option installed. (I could be off a little on that price.) The second option was closer to $4600 using a Fabtech on the front with add a leaf in the back.
When I mentioned Kings, he obviously didn't like them and basically said they aren't worth money. (It doesn't help that they already look at me as a dumb chic that doesn't know anything about cars) I left there not wanting to go back. There aren't many 4x4 shops around me, that I know of, to get other opinions. I need experienced people to consider what I eventually want to do, to guide me in the proper direction. Also to consider... I will eventually add a new bumper with bull bar and wench, and possibly a bed rack with tent set up. Help please, and thank you for your time!!

my girl

 

Congrats and welcome Penny.
Love the quicksand color.
Someone will chime in with advice on the lift.

 

Don’t have much time right now, but do a search on OME (Old Man Emu) to get you started in the right direction. Use the search function on this site.

Oh and nice truck! Welcome!

 

Lots of information in "Forums", "Suspension" and also "Wheels and Tires".

 

Here ya go:

https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...-suspension-lift-kit-2005-2015-toyota-tacoma/

 

Welcome to TW

Nice truck

 

Welcome, truck looks pretty ready to go to me! I have same truck in white on stock tires.

Also search Dobinson's, seem to be an up & coming well made lift company. Consider their lift, sounds good to me, all the best!

 

I haven't lifted my Tacoma but did lift my FJCruiser. Toytech has a lot of options. I did the Bilstein 5100s with Toytech springs. A little firmer than stock but overall a compliant ride that did well on the road. I also went with adjustable UCAs to help get the wheels centered to avoid a body mount chop.

Nice looking truck.

 

What steps are those? Welcome and nice looking truck!!

 

Welcome Penny! Congratulations on the new truck it looks good. There is as many different suspension options as there are opinions and all of them will work on our trucks. Some research, a firm budget number and a true definition of what you want to do with the truck will help guide you in your final decision. If you try to lift the front 2.5" or above you will need aftermarket upper control arms so factor this into the equation too. Generally speaking it's not recommended to lift the front over 2.5" which is what most shock companies will tell you. The reason for this is cv joint misalignment. The closer to level the cv joint is where it goes into the hub the better. Bigger lifts = bad cv angles = premature boot or joint failure.

Your rear leaf pack will need to be replaced as well if you want to get rid of that spacer lift. There are many different options here also, knowing a ballpark weight of what you will be carrying when you're out exploring will help narrow down which leaf pack will better suit your needs. Some leaf packs like the icon RXT are adjustable by adding or removing leafs so you can compensate for more weight when needed.

The toughest part of the game here is the decision of which combination of components you want to go with and what your budget will allow. From Bilsteins to Kings all will get the job done. My recommendation is to get on the phone with someone who has a lot of experience in this area and who wont steer you wrong. Call Erick @state48overland he will answer all of your questions and you will have a much better idea of what you will be looking for.

 

Welcome to TW and nice truck.

Anything will be better than that spacer lift with what you describe for your use. Old Man Emu is a great budget friendly option compared to coilovers and pretty weather resistant.

If your dead set on a higher end setup ads or king is the way to go by far. I’d stay away from a bracket lift if you ever plan to return to stock for resale value.

 

Welcome to TW! Come join us in the Ohio subforum. Most of us hang out in the Cincinnati thread but there are a few that post in the C-bus area thread as well.

 

leave it stock

 

Welcome to the forum. Nice truck and great color choice!

Unless you're planning on running the Baja 1000 or doing serious offroading or crawling I'd suggest staying away from Kings or any of the rebuildable shocks since this truck is your daily driver. At some point you will need to rebuild them and that means taking them off the truck, sending them out, getting them back in a couple weeks and putting them back on. During that time, your truck is down or you have to put something in their place to drive the truck while you wait for your shocks to come back and then you still have to put them back on. If you're doing the work yourself, it's not as much of a problem, but if not, you're paying someone to do this. With that said, I do my own suspension work and I consider it too much of a PITA to run rebuildable shocks. Instead, go with a disposable shock, like the Bilstein 5100 or if you want something more robust, the Bilstein 6112. 5100s are very popular on here and I've been running them on my '16 Tacoma since it was new and before that ran them on my 4Runner for about 6 years. Never had a problem with the 5100s. When the time comes for new shocks, you just get new ones and off you go. Check out Toytec and Bilstein Lifts.

Your steering is wandering because of the 3" lift running on (presumably) stock upper control arms. The stock UCAs cannot achieve an in-spec caster adjustment with that much lift. To get your caster back where it needs to be, you will need aftermarket UCAs. SPCs are popular and get the job done, but strike me as being minimal quality. Lots of folks are running them with no issues, so that's likely just a false perception on my part. Camburg and Icon will cost more, but are better quality. There are others, as well.

An OME leaf pack on the rear is likely all you need there.

Take a look at the regional forums and get to know the TW members who are local to you. TW members are always willing to help out other members and I'd be willing to bet that you can get some help with your suspension install as long as you provide the pizza and beer.

 

https://www.gorhino.com/RB10-Running-Boards

 

I went with Old Man Emu and I couldn’t be happier. She drives great.

I have OME 886 coils and OME 90000 shocks.

 

If you have money to spend go kings or ads. For something more than adequate and less expensive go with Dobinson, Billstein, or ome. I’ve been looking to upgrade my suspension; and I’ve decided on ads or Dobinson. Ads is less common than King’s but are just as good, and I think they have a better coating if you’re worried about salt. Go with Dobinson, because lately I’ve read that other brands start to sag over time. And the general consensus here says don’t lift over 2.5” because other issues can arise. But some people do get by just fine going over 2.5”.

 

ya'll are great!! Lovin all the info!

 

This right here is something I didn't even think of (send out/rebuild part) I have a friend with a shop who can do the work, so that helps tremendously.. but being out of commission for an extended time wouldn't be favorable. THANK YOU!

 

Hit up @HeadStrong Off-Road Marie https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/ with all your suspension questions, she is the best!