Upgrades for a Slide-In Camper

I have a Tufport T65 camper on order, supposed to be ready in late July. I am trying to figure out what I need to do for the rear suspension, at a minimum, and I realized there's a lot i don't know.

The camper is supposed to be 650 lbs empty. I will add a basic sleeping platform, so probably a few hundred pounds added once it has all the gear. And I'll likely have a couple hundred pounds of stuff in the back of the cab. Other heavy mods include aluminum skid plates, steel sliders, and I plan to install a high clearance rear bumper and hitch mounted swing out. I'll remove the tailgate, so that helps a bit.

The goal is to have good off road capability, but realistically I will be driving it on the highway 90% of the time to get to off road destinations, so I also want decent handling and stability. I'd also like to occasionally be able to remove the camper to do truck stuff like towing and hauling, but that will probably be rare.

I currently have the TRD lift kit, 2" front and a 1" block in the back. I'd prefer the rear to be lifted more like 2" to give me some capacity to add bikes on the hitch. It looks like at a minimum I need some heavy duty leaf springs. I'm considering Archive HD springs, but I'm open to other suggestions.

Along with heavy duty springs, it sounds like I need longer shocks. Can I just put longer shocks in the stock mounting location? Do I need to change bump stops? Extend brake lines? Is it worth doing the Archive shock relocation kit to get longer travel?

Right now I have the Archive U bolt flip kit and Opt 3: Archive standard speed bumps w/ ring. I also have their hammer hangers and shackles, but I haven't gotten around to installing them yet.

Can anyone give me more specific advice on what rear springs and shocks to buy?

I am not looking at changing the front any more for now. Anything else I should consider? I'm hoping to avoid regearing, but I can do it if I need to.

 

Depending on how often you drive without the camper, maybe air bags+ a lighter leaf. 1250# leafs with zero load will not be fun to drive!

I would reach out to accutune or similar for recommendations- but with 2" lift, the length of your stock shocks will be fine- I highly doubt those heavy leafs will allow much droop.

 

I'll probably have the camper on at least 80% of the time. Maybe more. I bought the truck to be a dedicated camper and off-roader, but if I can still use it for other truck stuff around town occasionally that's a bonus.

Archive sells shock relocation kits that allow long travel (12-14" as opposed to the stock ~9"). Doesn't that mean the springs are capable of much more droop? Or am I missing something else significant that enables longer travel? I don't think there's much special about their springs besides the fact that they've done the work to figure out weight vs lift and make sure all their stuff works together.

 

Archive sells an OEM style add a leaf that works with the OEM leaf pack. They recommend the Fox 2.5 shocks. I personally have the hammer hangers, Dobinson's MRA shocks, Dobinson's 110 leaf pack, with a custom airbag/bump stops kit.

Airbags are great for keeping the leaf pack light, but also supporting the extra unexpected weight. E rated tires and slightly wider rims help too.

If you have a heavy rear bumper and bikes out back, along with a full load, then you'll be bouncing off the bump stops unless you have airbags or a heavier leaf pack.

You might try a tune before gearing, or at least using the ECT mode when driving. I have a tune and 4:88 gears that work great together.

For braking, I recently went with a big brake kit, but you might start with the z36 towing brake pads, or the PowerBrake d line kit

Pics of my setup here and camper here

Also, check with Mike at exit off-road. You have a lot of options!

@Crikeymike

 

Also regarding your comment about not changing the front suspension- consider the weight transfer during braking (esp hard braking)

The advantage of longer shocks would be more fluid volume to dissipate heat- it wouldn’t really be significant for highway driving or slow speed gravel roads (Think high speed whoops like a Baja race truck).
But also no downside in your case- so go for it.

 

OP- you’ll want to consider GVWR and capacity limits on the tacoma. With that camper, you’re losing 80% of weight capacity as it sits(no camp gear,passengers or anything), just something to consider. Many exceed GVWR on Tacomas(esp with slide ins), there are some forums on the suspension aspect of it too. Rear will need upgraded leafs for the constant load, front will need re-sprung coilovers(750lb spring likely) to handle to added load. These trucks don’t like excess weight and off-road(frames def don’t like it), just my .02

 

I've been toying with getting Bilstein 5125's in the rear which are a tad taller than oem & the 5100's, but I thought I heard that the TRD rear shocks are also taller?

Hopefully someone can confirm this.

 

Here's some info in the TRD lift kit thread.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-trd-oem-lift-kit.695620/page-162#post-30480019

 

OP,

I am in a similar boat, though I went basically all out, and this is the only route I can recommend.

Alcan custom leafs are a must. No off the shelf pack will do what you need it to. Leave the airbags for others, and get yourself a leaf pack that can do it all, i.e. Alcans.

I have the full AG Hammer Hanger outfit with cross brace and this is a necessity too.

AG rear shock relocation kit and massive Radflo rear shocks as well. U-bolt flip kit and super bumps are also a necessity.

I run limit straps, and I have the central wiring at the diff unclipped both top and bottom to allow for axle droop. Extended rear brake lines are a necessity too.

IMO, gearing is 100% a necessity. With the modifications and desires you mentioned you are easily going to bypass the 7,000 lb. mark, maybe even the 8,000 lb. mark (i.e. 2,400 lb. over GVWR). Go with 5.29's, no sense in wasting money on 4.88's.

Best of luck. This is a road I walk daily, and it is not a place for the faint of wallet. An OEM tailgate weighs 62 lb. fyi, so you save very little weight by removing it.

 

Sounds like a full size mod would be the right way to go for that amount of weight. I might carry 600lbs total on my trips and even that amount of weight is noticed. I couldn't imagine doubling if not tripling it

 

Thanks for the advice. I can't imagine adding that much weight, but I know it adds up fast. It does seem like it's usually cheaper to go all out from the beginning.

My plan is for this to be a really minimalist camper, not a super well equipped house on wheels with all the amenities. I'm buying an empty shell, and I'll add my basic camping gear, a sleeping platform, and a mattress. Over time I'll add a few comforts like a propane heater and a little countertop cooking area.

I'm expecting to end up right around GVWR, maybe slightly over including driver and passenger.

I talked to Eric at Archive, and he said that the Access can is a bit lighter on the rear than the Double cab. So he suggested starting with their MD springs and adding a leaf if/when I need more lift.

I was hoping to take advantage of it being a slide-in so I could still use the truck empty occasionally, but making it work for such a wide range of weight is a challenge. Maybe I'll just commit to leaving the camper on 100% of the time. If I had thought it through more, I might have gone with a different approach (wedge camper or custom box that replaces the bed).

This is what I really want, but I don't have the skills/space to build it or the budget to commission one.

 

I've been extremely happy with my Deaver U402 Stage 3 leaf springs paired with Bilstein 5160s in the back of my 2nd gen. I'm running stock bump stops, and the 5160s came with a little spacer to help alleviate some tension on the brake lines. Not sure if it's the same on the 3rd gen, but figure it's similar.

 

I hear ya, and I can sense the optimism, but unless you make a big change in what you want, GVWR is going to be left in your rearview mirror.

A 3rd gen ACLB has ~1,200 lbs. before exceeding GVWR.

650 is your empty slide in camper.

No idea how much you and your passenger are, but my wife and I are 330 lbs. combined.

You said 200 lbs. in your backseat. If you and your passenger weigh the same as my wife and I, you are at GVWR. This is nothing in your empty slide in, and incorporates none of your sliders/skids or the very heavy rear bumper with swing out, and adding a bike carrier adds even more. Those bikes and the bumper are located behind the rear axle to boot.

If you aren't going to build out the slide in, then why even get it? There are other lighter options that are more simplistic that will allow you to tackle tricky terrain more easily.

Simply trying to be helpful.

 

I appreciate it. I'm going to do a minimal build out. We plan to use it mostly for trips up to a few days at a time. We don't need a lot of creature comforts at camp, but we want something that's fast to set up and sheltered from wind. There are probably better options, sure. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse now that I'm figuring out the details of actually putting it on the truck, but I already paid a 1/3 deposit and it is ready next week, so I'll make it work. I can always sell it if it doesn't work out. It should fit full size trucks as well, so there are options.

 

I ordered the Archive HD springs. I'll use the TRD shocks for now and upgrade to the shock relocation kit and longer shocks when time/budget allows.

 

OP- does your truck have the 3.5 V6 or 2.7 I4?

 

V6

 

I'll throw in my .02 cents here. I was CA's first Alu-Cab dealer back in 2018, so had both an Alu-Cab Khaya camper and an Alu-Cab Canopy camper on my rig with various suspension set-up's...so have relevant experience to share.

Rig: 2018 Double Cab SB, V6, 6pd manual w/ 5.29 gears & full armor (steel bumpers, sliders, skids)

Set-up #1
1,100lb Khaya camper with stock suspension & Timbren bump stops on stock suspension.
- Simply frightening to drive and completely unsafe. Don't do this!

Set-up #2
1,100lb Khaya camper w/ OME Dakar suspension with EL96 rear leafs and Timbren bump stops
- Better, and definitely more safe, but still sketch if you had to stop quickly or swerve to avoid something

Set-up #3
650lb Canopy camper w/ OME Dakar suspension with EL96 rear leafs and Timbren bump stops
- Losing 450lbs of camper weight made a HUGE difference in how the truck drove, but it was still "squishy"

Set-up #4
Added firestone airbags w/ daystar cradles to set-up #3.
- Massive difference in how the truck handled. With a 650lb camper, this is the set-up to have to maximize handling, safety, etc.

Set-up #5
I sold the Canopy camper last year so have been driving the truck w/ an empty bed and absolutely love it. The EL96 springs don't feel stiff, the truck handles like a honda accord, and with the 5.29's & 6pd manual, it hauls ass.

I'm fully committed to keeping the truck low and light...no RTT or heavy awning. Now working on a self-contained, waterproof / dust-proof canopy storage solution that will weight less than 300lbs

 

I wonder if an aftermarket rear sway bar would help? Obviously that's at odds with off road performance, but maybe it could be disconnected?

I'll consider airbags.

 

Sway bar won't change the weight limits of a small truck. Heavy springs and air bags is your best IMO