I'm overloaded without bumpers or underbody protection, recommendations?

IMO a forward facing camera is a must for the 3rd gen. I drove my buddy's 2nd gen offroad last weekend and was reminded how easy it is to see over the hoods of those. But with the forward facing camera I feel really confident offroad and there are some really great kits available now.

Regarding your suspension needs, I agree with @RyanL if you don't want to lift it then I would just do a 1.5" add a leaf and get back your factory rake. If you go with the OME HD Dakars you're going to be 2.5" higher in the rear with a 600# static load so you'll want to lift the front to compensate.

You may also consider doing super bumps in the rear so that your inevitable bottom out isn't as jarring.

 

Exactly!

 

Get a nice little trailer

 

I live in Utah. An extra couple of inches will help in some places. I think I'll go for an OME setup with Nitrochargers. Might as well buy once, cry once. I am hoping that I don't need external reservoir / bypass shocks. That is a bit more money than I want to spend on suspension.

Has anyone had any luck selling TRD OR stock suspension components and tires (under 10,000 miles)?

 

Remote reservoir shocks are rarely necessary, unless you’re doing high speed desert running and cycling the shocks so much they risk overheating, etc.

There’s a great local group UTOR on Facebook (Utah Toyota Off Road) that will be able to give you spot-on advice for what to do as well as the good local shops if you need help installing.

 

Just reiterating this in case you missed it (we posted at the same time).

If your *need* is functionality, you need a 3-leaf AAL or new HD leaf pack + u bolts and that's it.

If your *need* is to spend money (not judging, we've all been there) they by all means get 4 new shocks, new rear leaf & front coil springs, UCAs, bump stops, extended brake lines. Then rock sliders, the 3 skid plates, LCA skids. Bumpers are fun too, I keep thinking about steel up front.

 

Start running and put your family on a diet.

 

Thank you for that very clear advice! I do need an upgraded read spring pack. (I also do need tires with heavier sidewalls than stock for some of the trails I am planning to drive) I could probably stop there and see if the truck tells me that I need to do more in the front or replace the shocks. The ride will suffer a bit, but I'll then know what I need as opposed to what I think I'll need or what I just want. Either way, I'd stop spending money on suspension before I get to UCAs.
Here is my remaining possible upgrades, more or less in order of my priority:
K02 tires
Rock sliders - just for insurance to reduce body damage in case I go down a trail that I shouldn't go down
Hidden winch in the front - I often wheel alone (just my family), not recommended, but every overlander on the planet wheels alone, so be able to self recover.
Exhaust reroute - because my exhaust is currently lower than my rear diff and that just isn't right

 

The visibility is terrible in these trucks especially if you have the hood scoop. My 89 K5 blazer was far easier to see out if than this tacoma. However the Tacoma trumps it in pretty much every other category.

 

I added a front cam. Love it both for trails and around town.

 

Upgrading your leaf springs is your best bet. Add a leaf is cheapest, OME spring kit prob best overall value with increased performance so better for the Long haul. Then there's plenty of custom leaf pack options, but you may not want to go that route unless you're confident your total weight is not gonna change much in the future.

 

Ride rite airbags.

 

You’re on the right track. My suggestions based on my upgrades:
OME 887 with soft-ride OME Shocks up front
Dakar heavy in the rear with OME shocks
KO2s (265/75/16 in my case)
I chose Demello for my sliders (I like that they sit pretty tight to the body)

 

Air springs and daystar cradle if you off-road a lot.

 

That’s all neat, but most of us are in the US so can’t get a Helux and do fine with Tacoma’s off road, some of us even use them for working off-road.

 

I run around 5900 lbs everyday and I have only added ride rite air bags. Got 73k miles on them and no issues.

 

Suspension and gears will be night and day...

 

My mom’s Tercel had a 22RE. So did my 4Runner with dual cases.

 

If you are just going to add the rear leaf pack, I would spend the extra money and look at Deavers, well worth it.............

 

How fast were you going? What part of the truck was bottoming out? What kind of terrain? Those answers might help the Tw folks be more helpful. I don’t know much about the different aftermarket suspension options, but you might be burning a lot of money and adding a lot of weight on skids and bumpers that would be better spent elsewhere.