Help me decide

Hey everyone,

I just bought my first Tacoma, it's a 1999 to make into a hunting/daily. It's a little used and abused but hey it's going to be a hunting truck so that's okay.

I'm trying to decide on what suspension to go with and what height to set the ride at. I don't currently know what height it's at as the guy I bought it off of seemed to have done something of a lift, but I don't think he finished the job. I like the general height it sits at now but am open to adjustments (Will add pictures soon). I just replaced the CV-axles because they were torn, and I was told by my buddy that it's because it has too much lift and doesn't have the UCA's to accommodate. My plan is to redo just about everything suspension wise overtime and add steel bumper front and back, load it down with lights etc. It will be on the road most of the year but will be used for duck and deer hunting during season. Now to the actual question...

I am trying to decide between Bilstein 5100's all around or the Bilstein 6112 + 5160's set up. I am also up for other suggestions. I hunt a lot of rough dirt roads (washboard/holes) and would like for the ride to be smooth but effective while not completely disregarding the daily aspect of it.

EDIT: Sorry it took so long to upload pics. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks

 

Pictures of the current suspension would be good. I would love to hear from your friend how exactly UCA's have anything to do with CV axle angle. CV angle is related to lift, UCA's do nothing to change that.

 

I'm thinking they were two separate issues, too much lift for the CVs and ucas need to be replaced

 

I have a 3rd Gen but I’ve really liked the Bilstein 5100’s so far. I have about 17K miles on them.

 

I will try uploading some pictures tomorrow when it is light outside. He was saying they were allowing for to much travel, thus allowing the boots of the CV axle to hit other parts. I don't know a whole lot about suspension so when we had it on the lift it made sense to me. I wish I would have taken pictures when we had it up.

 

Thats an awesome built. Im trying to stay somewhat more towards the stock look. This is the bumper I had in mind, it weighs about 65lbs. Then the rear to match.

 

Too much travel? Lol no, too much lift will cause them to tear. If anything your UCA aren't articulating enough. Which is a separate issue with a high lift.

 

That may be what he was saying. To be honest I’m a YouTube mechanic. And rebuilding suspension is a new one for me.