Rear spacer blocks with a rack and tent?

Sounds about right. Ive said it before and I will say it again, TW has a few authorized ideas that you have to stick to.... trucks should be dented scratched and on fire, lifts should only be kings no more than 3 inches, no less than 3 inches, and all interior mods should be meso (he does make nice interior mods) Also if you dont off road, then you should be driving a honda.

 

Correct. Everything you said is spot on, at the basic level. You have a grasp of the 100 level understanding of what a suspension system does, demonstrated through your use of words like kinetic and potential. Unfortunately, the reality of a spring and damper system is far more nuanced than that. Think 400 level, second order differential equation type mathematics. And this still isn't enough to actually design a real world suspension system. But you have a much better picture. A 100 level understanding grasps ~8% of what is actually going on. A 400 level understanding grasps ~75% of what is going on. Getting that final 25% takes a specialized education.

You make no mention to time, or even oscillations. I would suggest researching the difference between a 'lightly damped system' (stuff breaks), 'heavily damped system' (ride is too jarring), and most importantly, a 'critically damped system' (ah, that's what we like).

A lightly damped system is like a loaded truck bed with a leaf spring that isn't stiff enough. More of that energy you mentioned goes in to the shock, for a variety of reasons. Too much energy goes into the shock, which leads to overheating and failure.

A critically damped system is like a loaded truck bed with a leaf spring that is like how Goldilocks preferred it, juuuuuust right. The system is balanced. The energy goes where it goes, but too much of it never goes to the wrong place (i.e. too much to the shock, which causes overheating and failure, or too much to the spring, which causes a jarring ride).

In other words, you do not understand why I think inadequate leaf springs could cause shocks to overheat because you have an incomplete picture of the system. You simply don't know enough to make the transition from basic physical principles to reality. Unless you are a next level troll and are about to hit me with some serious knowledge. I mean this in the friendliest way possible. Knowing just enough to feel confident that you know precisely how things function is a common problem.

 

Not sure if a book like the one below exists for trucks/Tacoma, but if it does, please let me know.
Otherwise, this book did more for my understanding about suspension than anything else I’ve ever read. There’s a reason for the 1.5” lift on a Tacoma with stock lower control arms versus 3”.

 

I do actually have a BA with a major in physics, but nothing more than a basic understanding of masses and springs is necessary to know that springs do not generate energy. The only energy entering the suspension system is from external sources and most all of this is leaving the system through heat generated by the shocks, some into heat generated by the tires, and some into friction within the mechanical joints. The springs have no effect on where the energy comes or goes. It’s a simple case of the conservation of energy. Do you not agree? If you have some other physics to share, please do.

 

Bravo

The Op wants to add a reasonable amount of weight to his truck and go camping. Relevance, please.

 

I question whether you have followed the entire thread.

 

The truck was under sprung for conditions. Therefore, excessive reactivity through the springs transferred to the shocks creating lots of heat. A stiffer spring would flex less and lessen work for the shocks, but the truck would ride like hell. A balance between spring weight and damping appropriate to conditions is key. There are lots of ways to do this well, and ways to mess it up as well.

I wanna see a mathematical equation on that shit!

 

How so?

 

So for the rest of us who have no clue what you guys are talking about.... OP, your spacers will be just fine. Get your add a leaf when you feel like it.

 

Because I was just joking about the same thing above and my response to mr e30 was an attempt to challenge some FUD/nonsense being spread.

 

Hahaha taco twerk

 

Also, y'all need Jesus

 

Literally said:

** I currently have 2" spacer blocks on my leaf springs, but I plan on replacing them with an add a leaf at some point.
** I just bought a bed rack and rooftop tent which in total weights about 170lbs together, that I haven't mounted yet
** I'm wondering if they'll [his already existing leaf springs and blocks] be able to hold the extra weight of the tent/rack, and two people inside.

He asked if his current setup was ok for him + 1 to sleep in. The answer is clearly that he will not break or harm his truck by sleeping in his tent. He's even planning to do upgrades later, so whatever theoretical "wear and tear" happens is not even an issue. That would happen over months or years of solid usage, not a weekend at the river a couple times a year.

And all suspension wears out eventually. These are consumable items, like tires and brake pads.

Anyhow, you're not a villain. Maybe I was trolling a little, but it's all fun and games for me. I still like you. It's just fun to talk

 

3 pages for a single post answer, sounds about TacomaWorld...