Rear end weight and OEM lift

So this is my first Taco, previously had a 2011 Tundra TRD that was fantastic but ride quality was really harsh coupled with 12mpg at best decided to take the dive and trade it for a new Taco. First thing I did was ordered a Leer 100XR truck cap color matched to the Army green of the Tacoma and then ordered a Decked drawer system. I've used or had both previously and liked them both. My question is between the two it's around 350lbs in the rear end. I like the stock height of the Taco but don't want to have it riding low or looking like I'm a dog dragging across the carpet. This is essentially the dry weight of these two as I will be adding gear back there 100-200lbs. The truck will be a bit of off road, gravel roads, and pavement. In the expert opinions here would it help or be worth it to get the TRD OEM lift? Or should I be looking a different direction?

My main concerns are I don't want to make the ride harsh, don't want to drop back down to my Tundra fuel mileage area, but don't want to be real low.

 

I guess I'm asking, to support a constant weight in the back is it beneficial to get the TRD lift/leveling or is it something else I need for the rear end?

 

You won't get any added weight support from the TRD lift. You need new leaf springs.

 

Your GVWR won't change by doing anything to modify the suspension. You can modify the suspension to get the truck to sit level when loaded, but you still shouldn't exceed GVWR, at least not on a regular basis. Probably every truck made has been overloaded at times. But to do it all the time is asking for trouble.

You went from a truck with 1600-1900 lbs payload to a truck with 1000-1300 lbs payload. There is a sticker on the door with the payload of your current truck. Every truck is different based on how they are equipped but most Tacoma's will fall somewhere in the 1000-1300 lb range.

You're talking about carrying around 500-600 lbs all the time. The truck will do it, but you're not going to be able to pull a trailer or carry any passengers or other cargo in the truck at the same time. When you start adding a 150-200 lb driver and another 150-200 lbs for each additional passenger you'll get to 1000-1300 lbs really fast. Not to mention 300-500 lbs tongue weight from a trailer.

Just for reference my truck has 1200 lbs payload. My cap weighs 180 lbs, I weigh 220, my wife 140. That leaves me 660 lbs usable payload. I've carried a lot more than that for short trips occasionally. But I wouldn't make a habit of it. If I had I wouldn't have gotten 214,000 trouble free miles so far.

 

A leveling kit might fix bro lean but it does nothing to improve the performance of your suspension. In fact, with that constant weight your suspension is going to feel stiffer and harsher off road because your leafs and springs have less down travel available to them since they're already partially compressed due to load. You'll probably want an add a leaf at minimum to correct the constant weight you'll be hauling.
Furthermore, a leveling kit pushes the stock suspension components beyond their intended geometry, which can lead to failure in off road settings. Plenty of guys run them on daily drivers, but a leveling kit is not recommended for anything that's going to see moderate off road use and beyond.

 

I realized after posting this that I was looking in the wrong direction. With a leveling kit it would bring front and rear up, added weight brings rear down, so while the rear may be at the same height as before the weight and leveling kit the front would be a good bit higher. The weight I'm adding that will be constant is a Decked drawer system (200lbs) and a Leer 100xr topper (180lbs). Those will be in or on the truck consistently. So 380lbs in the rear consistently. What will occasionally be in the truck is another 100-150lbs of gear. I like the stock height on the Tacoma so I would like for the truck to ride around that with this load (Topper and Drawer).

 

you're probably going to need an AAL or a full new leaf pack at a minimum.

 

Just get Firestone air bags.

 

If you don't 'need' a lift, don't lift. But get a bit more spring capacity for the rear with new springs.

Yes, if you unloaded it, it would be jacked up. So save the OE springs to reinstall when you strip down the truck before your next trade in.

As @Marshall R and others have pointed out, you are already approaching the cusp of truck performance.

You may be stunned to find that your MPG savings over the Tundra will have about a 25 yr ROI if you leave it loaded up all the time.

Yes, I exaggerate. A little. But dependent on your annual mileage and what rising fuel costs do, your fuel $ savings won't be exciting.

 

Probably not. In my Tundra I get around 18 mpg on highway and around 13-14 mpg around town. Put that up against a Tacoma hauling 500 lbs? Maybe a mpg better.