New Truck, Flat Rear Springs

About 700 pounds of shit in the back and 10000kms on the truck itself.

 

When I first bought my 13' I brought it in for this very reason (hoping for a new set of the TSB springs). I was told because the truck had a cap (100 lbs or so) and a plastic tool box (another 75 lbs), it was putting too much stress on the leaf springs.

Also the dealer stated to "not have anything in my truck bed" if possible.

After owning two Tacomas, I have learned to not waste time complaining about the weak suspension and just replace it as soon as financially possible.

I now have Dakar's w/ an AAL.

 

So I had a broken leaf and Toyota of the black hills honored the recall on my '07 but when I upgraded my suspension I also installed the AAL from OME and I feel that it is so much better than stock. Toyota leafs are obviously the best in the industry...

 

Yep, flat as a pancake. Hell, ever so slightly "W" shaped as mercerc mentioned. Just seems bad for the springs, but what do I know. This is an unloaded truck.

 

I noticed on my new truck they look flat too.

 

Yup super flat on my 15. Never noticed it until this thread. Been under it several times as well. Also have a topper tho. do the dakars have the traditional arch or do they run a little flat too?

 

Tell you a good one, I posted on the front page the other day, the next day out at the farm I checked our new chevy 1/2 ton 4X4, and a neighbors Ford 1/2 ton 4X4 and guess what it ain't just Toyota's looks like everybody's doing it. My chevy has a flat bed so you can see it all and its just as flat as my Toyota.

 

Interesting... I work with some guys with '15 silverados going to curious George them.

 

You hit the nail on the head. The arch has nothing to do with the springyness or ability to carry a load.

Just measure the distance between the bump stop and the axle tube. That will tell you exactly how much space there is for the suspension to compress before it bottoms out.


Note that "offroad" has (at least for some years) different springs than the rest -- they are *SOFTER* (but with a greater unloaded arch such that the resting point is the same) in order for the suspension to be a bit more compliant to uneven terrain.

 

Mine are flat. Jack stand under the axle. 18,500 miles.

No issue with ride or off road.

 

Your truck looks as clean as new?!

 

That is clean.My '13 has 10,000 miles on it and is a lot dirtier then that.

 

OK, so why call it a truck, then?
And state a load number in the manual?

Maybe you guys, fancying the thing with all kinds of doodads, are sending the wrong message to Toyota marketing?

We should have a "Take a Loaded Tacoma to your Dealership" day to both demonstrate the effect of ANY load back out back, and our interest in this being a feature...!

 

Aside from "offroad", tacoma seems to handle a load very well, not sure what you are freaking out about. I've never shied away from a heavy load and have occasionally gone well over the payload limit.

If you are crying about the shape of the spring (flat), then you don't know anything about physics or metallurgy.

In fact, I'd even say that Tacoma is a bit high-sprung for running empty. It is happiest with about 600-800 pounds of payload in the bed.

 

Want this undercarriage!
Craig, what's your hourly rate?

 

Lol... It doesn't look like that right now. I'll clean it like that every time I change the oil and rotate the tires. Takes about 6+ hrs to go from the front to the back but it allows me to check everything underneath the truck and catch any problems before they become problems.

What it looks like right now. It's rained on and off for the last month just enough to where it's not worth washing since it's going to rain the next day. I just pressure wash most of the stuff off of it until I get a break in the weather.



What it will look like once I'm finished again





Last time I actually washed it.

 

Yours dirty still looks way better than mine clean.
To you.

 

You should see what it looks like when we come back from off roading in Colorado lol

 

Oh I hear you. They actually told me to come back with nothing in the bed to prove their point that they're fine! The best I would have got out of that was new OEM springs, so I didn't waste anymore time at the dealer.

I had no more than 500 lbs in the bed and I was a 1/2'' from the bumps. I also has the 3 leaf OEM Springs, not the 4.


If you use your truck and run constant weight in the bed, the factory leafs just don't cut it.

If you don't run weight in your bed 90% of the time (like most Tacoma owners) the factory leafs are probably fine.

 

So... you have the "offroad" springs. Again, note where I say "aside from 'offroad'".
Yeah yeah, they mess around year to year. I think that the 3-leaf configuration was only ever sold in the US, not Canada.

In any case, "4" *is* OEM, and certainly does ship from factory for many/most, and does a great job carrying a medium load, bit stiff when empty, and a bit low when maxed out.