Heavy Load Suspension Advice - What are you running?

I've got a 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 and I'm quickly approaching the GVWR of 5,600 lbs...

Current Weight: 5,000 lbs (2760 front / 2240 rear) - steel skid plates, truck cap, cargo.

Additional Weight: Adding steel bumpers and a winch (+200 lbs front, +100 lbs rear), which basically brings me to the GVWR with passenger and gear.


I'm looking to compensate for the extra weight, but with minimal lift. The more I research, the more overwhelming the options get. I found some full kits:


Ironman 4x4 - Full Suspension Kit

https://ironman4x4america.com/nitro-gas-suspension-kit-suited-for-toyota-tacoma-2005-stage-1/

Old Man Emu - Full Suspension Kit

https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...ft-kits/2-arb-ome-lift-kit-2016-toyota-tacoma/


I'm most concerned about the front weight after the bumper and winch. So perhaps something like this would suffice:

https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...coils-and-shocks-for-2016-2018-toyota-tacoma/

^I was thinking of pairing something like that with a simple 2" lift AAL to level everything out and add a little extra capacity to the rear at the same time...

What suspension are you guys running for your heavier builds?

Am I on the right track here or are there some better options?

*Edit: Removed mention of possible light towing. Not a factor or priority here.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

See the Towing forum with the Towing Bible for lots of such info.
As you said 5600 which is vehicle and payload so you must add the weight of people, gas, and all stuff in the cab and bed.
GCWR max is 11360 so any trailer again their weight sticker is all empty tanks, no propane, no battery (ies) etc so be careful.
Weight distro hitch helps keep the rear up but it also is heavy and you get 640 tongue weight.

I added an OME set of springs and Bilsteins all around with front at the 1.75 setting. The driveshaft was replaced with 1 piece to stop that shake/shutter/vibration.
Lots of posts on all this just do a search and sort thru the mountains of posts is my best advice as many opinions on all.

 

Trade it in for a heavy duty lol

 

What are your concerns? Is the truck not performing to your standards? Is it aesthetics? Are you worried about safety? Breaking something?

Nothing you do will change the manufacture published GVWR (in the US anyway).

 

Thank you - that's all helpful. I haven't dived into suspension much before and there's a lot of information I've been sifting through.

I couldn't really find any posts specifically about how people deal with heavier rigs, such as overlanding builds. (But it's also very possible I suck at using the search function. I'll keep digging and check out what you mentioned already.)

 

Dude, that crossed my mind too. Lol. Especially if I get serious about towing a larger trailer - but that's not any time soon.

I leased a 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport and loved it, so I upgraded to this and financed it. I was hoping it could be a jack of all trades, but I might be asking too much :/

My main concern is that I'm possibly overloading the stock suspension, especially after I add a bumper with a winch to the front.

I don't care about lift/aesthetics. I'm not doing any super crazy rock crawling.

So I'm worried about performance, premature wear, and safety - I don't want the stock suspension to be overloaded and the handling suffer as a result.

I'll definitely be adding a big brake kit, but that is a lot simpler to me and not as complicated as suspension has been.

 

Dodge
Ford
GM
Your gunna kill your Tako.

 

What does “overloading the stock suspension” mean to you? Are you worried you will overheat your shocks? If so, I wouldn’t worry about that until you actually blow a seal. To be more safe, you could get one of those infrared thermometers and monitor the heat of your shocks.

If you are worried about a catastrophic failure then you need to do a lot more than change the springs and shocks. You need to gusset or upgrade your control arms and bushings.

 

Lets start with just figuring our your suspension needs for the truck alone, fully loaded to your height and ride quality expectations. You can’t build a system that’s going to perform in all the needs you have right away, when you haven’t defined those needs in real world terms. I think that’s why you’re getting pushback in this thread. But lets help you out.

So what are you looking to acheive with the truck (forget the trailer right now)? What kind of ride quality, what kind of trails are you planning on running, and what’s your budget?

An AAL is such a joke to even consider when planning a heavy load suspension AND towing on an underpowered powerplant in the first place. Not an insult, just need to throw that out there. You’re gonna need a quality replacement leaf pack

Furthermore, it looks like you’re looking at some Ironman 4x4 and OME options already. I highly recommend reading through the brand specific threads in this Suspension forum (ie the Fox thread, King, Ironman4x4 etc) and get a feel for what members are doing with those suspension setups. Will you need 2.5 fronts? Or 2.0s? Spring rates? What leaf springs? Who knows. You’ll find your answers in those threads.

 

To add if you're one of those gas mileage freaks you're gonna get less miles per gallon than you would with a full size after you load one of these baby trucks up. They're not made for all that.

 

I respectfully disagree. My rig is completely stock outside of a

$181 Hellwig 981 EZ-990 Helper Spring Kit

Hellwig 981 helper and a few other minor upgrades like a catch can and rear seat delete. I regularly carry 300 - 600 in gear (and hardware - leitner rack + pods as well as the decked. drawers), and tow a 2900# off-road trailer without issue. Completely stock save for the helpers. I don't like that the 3.5 V6 has more horsepower than torque and peak numbers are just over 5k but under powered? No. The 3.5 is plenty of motor. Under geared is more like it.

@LukeLifts you can certainly run a helper, sumo spring, AAL, or stiffer leaf pack and you should be good. You will be working your 3.5L V6 and you need to get comfortable running 4K+ RPMs in S3 over mountain passes. A consideration: you will be limited in what you can upgrade to in the future though which is when I would start thinking about upgrading the tow vehicle. I find that campers are like boaters, many tend to upgrade to larger more substantial models with more amenities in a 5 to ten year period. If you want that flexibility you will need to upgrade the tow rig first.

In the pic below I am fully loaded with water, gear in the drawers and pods, about 300# on the tongue and 2800# in the back since I was dry camping. I will hit the bumps at speed going over railroad crossings or if I hit a rut too fast but otherwise performance is nominal. It is possible running just a helper or air bags or sumos at your weight... it all depends on how the ride feels. For me I'll be upgrading to a heavier leaf pack just because I like a stiffer ride and want to put 285 on which means 2.5 lift.

 

Your truck rides like crap. OP is looking for upgraded suspension suggestions to avoid the absolute crap ride that you experience in your truck. I’m sure if Op wanted his ride to suck he would have never made this thread and just loaded his truck up and been on his way.

 

Based on the advice you gave OP your response does not surprise me. The great thing about this forum is that OP can review all of the responses and make his or her own informed decision. The great thing about helpers is the low cost and ease of installation. For a couple hundo bucks I was able to feel how the truck handled with just the RTT, and later with the trailer and RTT.

As far as the ride ... that is subjective isn't it. I built a 2500 Diesel on a Carli Dominator/King 3.0 platform to huck off of dunes and my Tacoma handles better now than my diesel setup. It is 100% subjective though. Would love to see some pictures of what you tow (and where you have towed it).

 

Ive got the Ironman kit and love it but besides a few off roading adventures and beach driving I don’t test it too often.

To help you out, I’d recommend get in touch with the great crew at @AccuTune Offroad and let them know what you want to do. They’ll help get you the best kit for your needs plus they also valve them specific for your truck as well.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned towing to start off... that is the least important factor to me. (The truck is rated for 6,500 lbs, but I know the GVWR is a factor now. I only intend to pull around 1,000 lbs realistically and not very often.)

Specifically, I REALLY like the idea of this!
https://www.runawaycampers.com/coolcamp

I just want an air conditioned box when I camp because I'm from Montana, but now live in Nevada and the extreme heat sucks.

 

Overloading in the sense that the truck will sag and even bottom out on rough terrain and in the sense of resulting handling - like too much pitch and roll. I don't want it to handle like a boat, if that makes sense?

I don't mind a bit stiffer of a suspension. I'd rather the truck not shift around and be unstable, I want the best road manners I can get with the added weight.

I really appreciate your post and that all makes a lot of sense. I think I just addressed a little bit of my expectations/ideas above. (And I agree I probably shouldn't have mentioned towing. Towing is not the priority here for me.)

I don't mind a stiffer ride if that means better road handling. Plus, I'm not doing anything crazy off road - I just want to be able to get places (and get back out) while out camping, shooting, fishing, exploring, etc. I'm usually sticking to already established off road paths and marked "4x4 only" trails.

For suspension, I'd like to keep it under $2,000 - $3,000. But if that's junk, then I'm willing to spend a little more for the right parts and quality.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. That's what I needed. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the options, brands, and applications available.

As an occasional fan of the gas pedal, I'm at peace with low gas mileage. MPG isn't really a consideration.

Thanks for the reply! Yes, I too favor a stiffer ride. I don't like the pitch and roll of overly soft suspension, which is a lot of what I'm trying to avoid by beefing it up a bit now that I've added some weight. (And one of the reasons I got the TRD Sport over the TRD Off-Road.)

I've read/heard about re-gearing as well and people seem to favor it. Have you considered that? That's a whole different rabbit hole to go down that I'll look into more later on.

I'd eventually like a decent travel trailer, but once I started looking into all that I quickly realized the Tacoma is NOT the truck for that.

So at this point I'm mostly concerned about the GVWR/suspension and was hoping the occasional 1,000 lbs towing in the meantime wouldn't be asking too much of her. But if it is, camper shell will suffice.

This post made me lol.

And yes, the whole reason I made the thread is indeed because I'm concerned that with too much weight, the suspension isn't doing its thing anymore.

Yes. I appreciate the discourse and different opinions. Lol. The different perspectives are helping a lot to dial in what's reasonable and what to consider.

 

Were there any unforseen issues with the Ironman kit or anything you DIDN'T like about it? I was leaning towards a full kit over the rear AAL. And I'm still 50/50 between the two I posted unless I find something else to consider.

And thank you!! I will check them out too.

 

And to EVERYONE: No offense taken. The blunt answers are entertaining and help manage my expectations. It's good to stay grounded and realistic.


I don't plan on exceeding the GVWR, but I know that people often do overload their Tacomas well beyond the GVWR. (Such as the overlanding crowd.)

While it isn't ideal, my point is that surely there are solutions and options to make it at least manageable...? That's all I'm looking for here.

 

The main thing I didn’t like was it being too stiff at first. I have the heavier springs and no weight to help offset it. They have 827 and 720# springs and I had the 827 cuse that’s all they offering when I bought it a uppers years ago. I do have some added weight now, sliders and a front skid. A few months ago I swapped them out with the lighter springs and am really happy with the outcome. I’m sure you 2.25” lift in the front and about 2” in the back. The fronts as I’m sure you saw are adjustable and I don’t see any reason you could not make them close to stock height. One reason the lift felt really stiff are the E rated tires I’m running. I’ve got them set at 31psi and that seems like a sweet spot for me.
The drivers leaf pack had a assembly flaw that I think they’ve made sure was fixed. The saddle bolt on the drivers side leave spring was installed backwards and could gauge the fuel tank. Mine had a shallow gouge and the offered for the dealership to inspect and replace on their dime or store credit. I opted for the credit.
Im in MD and they use a lot of salt in the winter so I treat the bottom of my truck with Woolwax. As part of that, I spray the leaf packs and inbetween the leaves so I don’t have any squeaking from them either. I also have SPC UCA.

 

That's a lot of good info and food for thought. Thanks.

That's what I liked about the two options I came up with on the original post - each has a few choices for load. I'm leaning towards the heavy load up front (steel skids, winch, bumper) and then the lesser upgrade for the rear axle. Aside from the 200 lbs truck cap, the bed is usually empty unless I have some gear loaded for a camping trip. A ~2" lift doesn't bother me. I just don't want to go over that - I don't need/intend to change the tire size.