Suspension upgrade for Vegabond Drifter

The truck in question is a 2013 DCLB TRD Sport with 120k miles. I drive 30k+ a year, mostly long road trips up to BC or down to the Southwest. I do a lot of mountain biking, so the truck sees its fair share of fire roads - but by no means am I doing any wheeling.

My current set up is a Snugtop rebel with a simple platform with a mattress and storage underneath. I carry a 3 pack 1up rack at all times (60#s) which means up to three 30 # bikes and basic camping gear: table, chairs, 2 top stove, kitchen stuff, and bike tools. In the cab, I have a dometic fridge + battery, 6 gallons of water, clothes etc... If I have another person in the truck, I have a yakima sky box on top - as well as 3 gallons of fuel on the prinsu.

I am not looking to lift but I guess i'd be OK with a slight lift. I've done a little bit of research and have an idea of what I want to do for the suspension as far as just the weight goes, but I would love to hear what you guys think.

The drifter itself is #340, I do plan on building a counter top and seating. + all the above mentioned gear.

Thoughts?

 

The best way is to weight the truck; front, back and total. Send those numbers to Deaver and they will make you a set of springs that works best for your given condition. You could probably do some rough math by weighing it now and come up with a pretty close number for your final weight.

 

Thanks

 

I am sure you have seen the Vagabond Vendor Forum sub section already. But, just in case you haven’t yet. Check this out: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vagabond-drifter-camper-buildout-and-mods.540940/

From personal experience, I can say that my rear suspension is ever evolving. I’ve had several different rear spring combinations that I figured would be sufficient for anticipated “modifications”. Problem is, the Drifter just invites you to add more luxuries. I’m now on custom Deavers that might not be enough, again...

There is a ton of great anecdotal experiential information shared in that thread alone.