Factory lift and towing

Hi all, First time poster, long time lurker.
I have a 2020 Off road double cab and I want to lift it. Im heavily leaning towards the factory 2" lift but I tow a boat occasionally and the tongue weight of the trailer does weigh down my rear so I go to a slight negative rear rake. Another thing to mention is I may put a cap on in the future but not now. As far as off roading, the only places I go is some dirt roads to fishing spots and driving out on the beach. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

fiberglass bed toppers will cause a noticeable amount of sag, combine that with a heavy boat/trailer, I would defiantly make in investment.
Especially since the Tacoma's rear leaves are notoriously soft, I prefer to go with a proper leaf pack, rather than using air springs, bags, bumpers, pool noodles, etc.

 

Airbags are the way to go if you tow. These trucks are light, putting a heavy duty leaf pack in the rear is going to make your ride quality hell when you have no load.

 

How much does the boat weigh, what's the tung weight and how far are you going?

Lift blocks and high bed/tung weight are not a good combination. Add a leaf or new leaf pack are better options but it depends on what kind of weight you expect.

 

Another vote here for adding extra leafs. The TRD lift only lifts the rear 1" so you're really going to be nose high with a topper and trailer. I did a 2" lift Headstrong 3 Leaf AAL with a 1/2" block in the back. I left the overload leafs out but I'm planning to put them back which should gain me almost an extra 1/2" in the back due to the thickness of the overload leaf.

 

New leaf pack. Look into Icon rtx stage 2 with cap and towing add a leaf won't cut it.Been there done that.

 

Made Toyota replace the springs on my then new truck under the "harsh ride" complaint never looked back. The harsh ride was related to lack of weight carrying capable even though it had factory towing.

 

What springs did they replace them with? I wasn’t aware there were multiple spring options/ part numbers for the 3rd gen, but maybe there are.

 

I have a DCLB with fiberglass cap with thule racks, spray on bed liner and Cargo slide1000XL w/ Fox2.0 on all 4 corners. Installed a set of Alcan 8 leaf springs. Truck handles 100% better with weight in the bed, towing or empty on the highway

 

Rear springs. Second gen 2 more leaf's than the originals factory springs right from Toyota. I would have thought the originals with a tow package would have been heavier but they were not. A little searching I came up with "harsh ride". See if you can turn "harsh ride" up with the newer ones maybe you still can.

 

How much does the boat weigh, what's the tung weight and how far are you going?

The boat, motor, trailer, and gear probably weighs about 3500-4000lbs. So the tongue weight should be around 350-400lbs.

 

One of main concerns is the ride when Im not towing. Ive has trucks in the past that rode so stiff that your back began to ache after a few hrs. And cracks in the pavement felt like you hit a speed bump at 40mph. Is any of these add-a-leaf's or new leaf pack going to ride like hell?

 

My vote is to ignore the 'factory lift' and go with a package that meets your needs. If you can't self install, independent shops should help you out at a cost lower than a dealer.

 

The 3 Leaf AAL kit I have rides very nice, not much stiffer than stock. I guess it's because rather than try to have one heavily arched, relatively short spring push everything up, you're adding multiple, longer, less arched springs to support the weight. I've got Headstrong's AAL kit with a 1/2" block and 5100's and I'm very happy with it.

 

Airbags would be my choice for towing of the boat

 

They were Toyota springs for all I know they were for a TRD off road some thing or other I didn't care the truck was new I wanted heaver springs, it came with two more leaf's. Look it up 2 gen "harsh ride" fix I'm guessing they were bottoming out with loads I didn't care I wanted to haul stuff in the bed and tow my camper and they were free and get this it rides like a truck! This by the way is a 2nd gen the point being it doesn't ride that bad so if you need to haul stuff get heftier springs.

 

After a bunch of research I went with 5100's set at 1.55" to keep factory rake and Headstrong 3AAL in the rear and very happy with it. I sometimes tow a travel trailer and the progressive AAL really helps keep the bed from sagging when you add weight. The ride is more firm that the TRD OP shocks but it's WAY better in terms of body roll and nose dive. I recommend doing the ECGS bushing when you lift.

 

What are you running up front?

 

5100's with OME 884's one notch up on the spring perch. Not really the ideal way but I got a great deal locally on these already preassembled locally but when installed at the lowest notch it I was only seeing 7/8" lift since those springs are really for a 2nd gen. If I ever have to tear into it again I'll get the correct 2" springs for my truck.

 

2014 DC 4x4 Tow Pkg.

FWIW: The unloaded ride is stiff and jiggly. Washboard Forest Service roads under power up a grade: "exciting". (But I blame the shocks for that.) Expansion joints, cold patch pothole fixes, crappy surfaces: It rides like a truck. I expected this and I'm fine with it: It's not a Buick and doesn't try to be. However: Four bags of tube or play sand or pea stone (200 lbs) in the bed and a lot of that goes away. Scotts 4-Step and two bags of limestone (300 lbs): even better. (until I get home and take it all out of the bed) No rear end sag, and the lower leaf (of 4) still has some space between it. and the #3 spring. One thing it handles well is those invisible "dips" on the Interstate or country roads at speed, even unloaded: One cycle and it's over, loaded or unloaded. No "whoop-dee-do" "Buick Damping" to make the kids throw up. (Loaded: +- 1.5 dips and it's over)


YMMV