Help My Upgrade Plan

I appreciate the thoughts you can share on this plan to upgrade my Tacoma, I'll try to keep this concise. This is a daily driver, but every weekend I'm out fishing and doing light off-roading (creek crossings, etc) though mostly fire roads/gravel. I am planning on doing a RTT in the future, unless I win the lottery and get a teardrop. I do load the bed down with heavy things often (firewood/cement/sand/etc).

Upgrade Plan:
Tacoma: 2020 TRD OR 4x4 DC MT (Stock), 38k miles
-Front Suspension: Bilstein 6112's
-Rear Suspension: Bilstein 5160's
-Upper Control Arms: SPC's
-Dakar Leaf Pack, Heavy Duty
-Tires: Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T LT265/75/r16 (stock wheels, don't care about aesthetics)

What all am I forgetting?

Went over this plan with a local installer (Northern CA), quoted ~$2k for the labor. Does that sound close to fair, because that seems pretty high to me? I didn't feel great about the shop, though they are highly recommended, with difficulty answering some followup questions I had. I don't have many other shops near me, and can't have the truck sitting at a shop for a long period of time to take it too far.

Any constructive critiques would be helpful, or support of certain aspects to help solidify choices.

 

Not sure about labor prices in Chico/ northern CA.. You could try posting in regional area too, there’s a lot of users from northern CA..

Sure it would all work nice, lots of people running these parts.. seems to be mixed reviews on SPCs you either love them or hate them.. id probably just buy tires as needed and keep it as it until you have more solid tent plans though.. sounds like truck does truck stuff just fine

 

Thanks for the reply and the two cents!

Stock truck is doing fine. But I'm 6'2" and the lift is more for my comfort than anything to be honest. I also hate the rake.

Thank you for taking the time, I'll look into SPC a bit more

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/spc-upper-control-arms-yay-or-nay.825270/

 

If you get rid of the rake (level the truck) then you will pointing the nose in the air every time you load it heavy.

 

I did essentially the same suspension but opted for Icon RXT leaf pack. I have heard reports of the Dakars squeaking and flattening out but have no personal experience with them. People complain about the Icons squeaking as well but mine have been fine over the last two years.

2k seems like a lot for just labor but prices vary regionally. I found a shade tree mobile mechanic off a Toyota facebook group who installed mine for $800 in my parking lot. Along with changing the fluids in both diffs and transfer case. (I bought the fluid)

My SPC UCA’s have been fine, however I have had trouble finding competent shops to adjust my alignment with them. Also you have to grease them once or twice a year (more if you log a lot of miles) it’s not hard to do but added maintenance you may not want to do.

If you plan on lifting the truck with your new suspension go ahead and do the ECGS needle bearing replacement while you’re at it in order to prevent potential vibes. Might wanna upgrade your bump stops as well. Also could do the U bolt flip kit if you’re so inclined. Probably not necessary for running gravel/forest roads but does look better in my opinion and gives a bit of extra clearance should you encounter more aggressive terrain.

Overall I’ve been happy with my setup. Only things I’d do differently if I could go back is, I wouldn’t have maxed out my preload on my front shocks, possibly a different UCA and would have went stage 3 on the RXT’s.

Keeping a bit of rake is good if you load up the bed at times which it sounds like you do.

 

I'd look into better leafs. Dakars are garbage. They ride stiff yet sag/flatten with any amount of weight. They get axle wrap cause they don't have a full military wrap. They also rub on the shackle and can ruin it over time unless you cut the ends of one of the leafs off. And don't get me started on the squeaking. I had a set for a few years and it was by the far the most regrettable decision I've made on my truck. Absolutely horrendous ride. I switched to Deaver's and am mad at myself for not doing that sooner.

Icon RXT's like HighCountry mentions would be a good choice for you, as they are adjustable (sort of, still need to take them off and rebuild them with different leafs). So you can start light and then stiffen them up if you add a RTT. Id also highly recommend Deaver, Stage 2s would work best for the RTT but will ride stiff unless you have at least 200lbs in the box at all times. Or look into the Archive Garage leafs, they are new but Archive knows their shit and makes awesome products.

 

Thank you all for the advice, this is exactly what I was hoping for with some personal experience and pointing in a good direction for better options. I'll look into the Deavers (more than I wanted to spend, but I get it), will reconsider the SPC's, and look into the needle bearing replacement!

 

Remember if you go with any heavy duty leaf when unloaded you may have stiff ride in the back. IMO I’d go medium duty leafy paired with some air bags for when you really load it down to keep level. Just my 2 cents.