2017 Pro rear suspension

hello all, looking for some advice:

I have a new 2017 Cement Pro that I am making a few mods too. Specifally adding some weight to the bed. I have ordered a snug top rebel (I was told weighs around 150 Ibs), I am also ordering a 1/2 bed one droor truck vault either standard or magnum height. That will weigh roughly 160-185 Ibs. The truck will have 300-350 Ibs in the bed as a daily driver. During the summer the canopy may come off, in that case less than 200 ibs in the bed. I also may add a RTT in the future and could potentially have as much as 600 total Ibs in the bed on a camping/ hunting trip

I added some concrete bags to the bed to get an idea how the factory suspension would react to the load. With no weight I have roughly 3/4" rake from the factory. With 150 Ibs its pretty close to level, less than 1/4" rake. With 300 ibs it definately squats in the rear about 1/2"+ lower than the front. with 600 ibs and beyond the headlights are aiming high.

I really like the pro suspension as that was one of my main factors in choosing the pro. I don't want to ruin the enjoyable ride, I also dont want to sag in the rear or limit perfomance potential. As it sits with no weight in the bed it is absolutely perfect for me. I will do some offroading/ camping/ hunting, on a weekly basis in the / summer & fall, but most of its time will be on pavement. I want to come as close to 'factory' height and ride as a I can while having the 300+ ibs in the bed. I have done a bit of research and right now I am looking at these two options:

1. Dakar leaf pack ELO95R 'medium duty' says it provides 2" lift with no weight, I am wondering how much it will settle down with the added weight and how much it will stiften the ride

2. Firestone Ride Right air bags, with the Daystar Air bag cradles. I don't plan on doing major offroading but I don't want to limit axle flex too badly If I run into an uneven situation. I like the idea of the daystar cradles as the axle can still flex pretty good and the air bag is less likely to tear. How stiff are air bags if they have enogh air in them to prevent squat with a load? when they are deflated to a really low psi is it sitting factory level or slightly higher?

I am open to other suggestions too, I'm not made of money, however price is really not the object I spent good money on the truck and I want to make sure I do this right the first time.


Here is the truck

 

Ari bags since you can set the psi to the changing bed weight. Leafs will change the feel. I have airbags on a different vehicle for the exact reasons you listed. 15psi is the mumimum you can run, with that you can't feel any change in suspension (although I havd them on a 1 ton diesel). When I have 60psi in them to take up the sag from being loaded, it's stiffer, but not all that noticeable.

 

single add a leaf since you will run constant weight, only to regain the height you lost from the weight.

 

Any change in ride height from stock with 15 psi? I think the firestones can air down as low as 5 PSI

 

Icon RXT leaf pack. I have 2 sets, one on the truck and one in the garage.

 

One was shorter by 1/8" since also was higher than the other one by about 1/4" and when pressed down, both have the same length. I installed the pack on the driver side wrong (shackle screw installed the wrong way) and was hitting the frame and not letting the pack extend
Have realized the problem only after getting the second pack and installing the screw wrong again but I watched the YT video and fixed the problem. Now I have an extra leaf pack by my mistake. Frame scoffed a bit.

 

you can message me how much you are asking, i can ask around....

 

Get some @At The Helm bed stiffeners to help with the bed under load. They also offer extra tie down locations and dual bottle openers.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bedside-reinforcements-tie-downs-third-gen-in-stock.487107/

 

The pro suspension does not come with different leaf springs that all the other tacomas have. To increase load bearing capability you will need a heavy duty leaf pack such as the AllPro Expo pack. I went from the HD Dakar pack which rode really nice to doing a full leaf swap to chevy 63's. The HD Dakars still allowed too much sag when geared up for a trip. The chevy 63's 4 leaf pack allow me to carry around 800 pounds in the bed before sagging to level with the front. The ride quality on the 63's is absolutely amazing and the travel with the 63's is at 14" (9 down and 5 up).

 

The firestones i ran on my 2011 were minimum 5psi.

it made it a bit stiffer unloaded. when loaded it was fantastic. i filled the truck with firewood a few times and the most i had to put was 40psi. Towing a trailer with a full load was around there as well.

The daystar cradles work great. the only annoying part is when going over a speed bump, they will "clap" if you are going alittle too fast.

 

On my 1 ton no change. But the firestones on that are a different style that allowes for larger articulation that the style they make for the Tacoma. As someone said, it's 5psi for the style they make for the tacoma.

 

I was going to buy a pro til I saw what they were rated to tow...less than half. No thanks. I bought a TRD OR and made a few mods to give it the look of a pro and still pull 6800 lbs...and for a lot less money. Loved the look of the pro, but the specs killed it for me

 

The towing capacity for the trd pros are 6400. The only way you have the 6800 pound capacity is if you have the access cab along with being 2wd. Obviously v6 with towing package as well.

So chances are you have the same towing capacity of the trd pro...unless you got both an access cab and 2wd.

 

I stand corrected...at any rate, I got what I wanted for less money

 

I just saw pics of your truck, looks great. Good luck!

 

I was having the same issue deciding on rear lift. I ended up with Dakar Medium leafs and Bilstein 5160's. I have an ARE shell, bedmat, max trax and some minor gear in the bed of the truck at all times. I gained about 1.5 inches. Also noticed it seemed to sag less and handle load better with camping gear and RTT up top.

 

How was the ride quality after you installed the dakars?