Smoothest setup for a 3" lift???

I have a 2012 TRD Sport with a leer camper on back. I just went to a pretty reputable guy with the intent to price out a 3" lift. I tell him that I plan to do some camping and towing (I do end up with heavy stuff in the bed or in the trailer). Because I do limited work and heavy road driving, he proceeds to talk me into a spacer lift. Everything I've read on here steers me away from that.

So my ultimate question is, what 3" setup will give me the smoothest overall ride (keeping in mind I have a camper shell on and sometimes do some towing).

Side note: I'm looking at the TRD Pro Black Rims and 285/70/17 Toyo AT2's once the lift is complete.

 

OME with 887's and Dakars, Light Racing UCA's should cover what you are looking for. Or spend the coin and go fully adjustable coilover and Uni-ball UCA's.

I started with spacers and have changed my setup twice. Don't do it! Waste of time and money. You won't be happy with it, and the ass end of your truck will sag big time.

 

Yeah he is trying to talk me into spacers up front and an aal in the back. He is very reputable for what he does. He is the first guy to actually try to talk me into a cheaper setup instead of something full blown.....so I appreciate his frugalness. It's rare the shop wants to truly save you money.

He did show me a jacked up bilstein adjustable shock. He isn't a fan of adjustables because there is a small sleeve inside the thickness of a paper clip that can fail.

 

My Icon's with 650lb springs are pretty stiff also(no added front weight). That said, OME 887,885, etc is a middle point as far as cost with better then spacer ride. My OEM setup with Revtek spacers that I started with rode like absolute shit, and I would never recommend it.

 

You should check this thread out lol congrats on ditching the spacers

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/359482-strut-spacers-who-started-them.html

OP, what is your budget? We will be able to better assist with the smoothest lift based on what you want to spend.

 

I have the same questions:

Ok, so I have a crappy 3" Ready Lift and want to get rid of this.

I have:

2012 DCLB 4x4
Mickey Thompson 285/70/17 Baja P3's
LR UCA's and All Pro end links.
Canadian TRD 4 leaf rear springs, with Air Lift bags in the rear and 1" blocks. I need these bags for towing.

I intend to put on the following:

Front:
- Avid Light Bar (32 lbs)

Sides:
- Avid bolt on sliders (40 lbs each side = 80 lbs)

Bed:
- BackRack (25 lbs)


Rear:
- Avid Rear Bumper Guard (32 lbs)

Total proposed weight on truck: 169 lbs

In the future I will add the following on the front:
- US Off Road winch bumper (60 lbs)
- winch (lbs unknown for now)

I want:

- to maintain a true 3" lift
- accommodate the heavier weight on the front
- accommodate the future heavier weight on the front
- get a smoother ride on the front
- be able to take some air out of the rear bags to get a smoother ride there

What spring/shock combo will give me all that I'm looking for?

 

OME nitro charger 90000 with 887 coils.

 

Hmm........I have Icons set at 2.5"-3" and i think they ride awesome for a lifted truck. Plus they eat up the rough stuff. Theres an intersection on my way to work that has a huge hump in it and I'd always bottom out with my stock setup and the Icon's don't even flinch at the same speed.

 

Why not just the OME 3" w/ 885, LR UCA, Dakar leaf pack w/

$77 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL AAL?

 

^^^ He has a point. Budget is key. Stupidly smooth is going to cost big money. An all around OME, LR-UCA, Dakar package will run you $1600ish (based on prices I've seen minus shipping). This to me sounds reasonable. Again, it comes down to what you're comfortable spending.

 

I didn't install my own lift kit, but the guys that did said my OME kit was amazing to install, for all the parts that came with it, they were amazed how easy and how straight it was (no dog-walking). OZ-T mentioned the

$77 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL and I'm seriously debating getting it for the extra 3/4 - 1" of rear lift + consistent height with a load, may use 3/8" spacers for my front to make up the droop from my Pelfreybilt bumper.

OP, is your truck a TRD Sport AC or DC? There's no mention of adding armour/winch, so the 884/885 would be quite sufficient, depending on cab size.

 

Ditto for the shop that did mine as well. They said they are so common on a lot of Tacomas/FJs in the area.

I installed the D29 on my Dakars before the Dakars were ever installed so I can't speak for "before" ride or load capacity, but they are nice when towing, hauling a bed full of gear for a weekend trip or piling in some girls for a 4th of July parade

 

x3 for ICONS. Mine have only about 250 miles on it and from what i hear from others with same setup it took like 500-1000 miles to break in. Already my truck balks at speed bumps and washboards. I bomb over speed bumps at 50mph and it feels like a little thump. Back end jumps a little but with some weight in the back it'd be fine. I have the Stage 3 kit with Coilovers, Uniballs, and AAL leaf pack. SO MUCH BETTER THAN STOCK. Especially with a little weight in it it'd be so smooth and without the sway bay even smoother but idk if you want to remove that.
What i do know is that you would be happy with an ICON setup. I Love Mine.

 

Ok so icon and OME sound like the way to go. I'm not familiar with Dakars but I'll start reading up on it......especially to find out what the d29 or xl are. If it helps with loads then great. I was surprised that the tail sinks at all with the camper shell on but it does. I was wanting to hit around $1500 on my budget, but for the right stuff I'll increase it.

 

The Dakars are the OME heavy leaf springs , the

$77 d29xl leaf spring

d29xl is an OME AAL for the regular Dakar pack

 

Ok so they are two separate things?

 

Yes , the Dakars are the regular leaf pack , the

$77 d29xl leaf spring

d29xl is a single additional leaf you can add to the Dakars to provide more lift and capacity

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me. So will those two together help with the 3" lift/weight on the back end

 

See here

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/su...akar-hub-fender-measurements.html#post3612235