Loading the bed on a OR DCSB 4wd

Just to note- I'm not looking to increase payload capacity, I just want it to perform at max payload without hitting the bump stops.
Could I have a bad set of factory leaf springs?
Anyone else slamming the bump stops with a similar load? Ride is ok until you go over a speed bump.
HMaybe someone else with better eyes & smarter than me can figure out the door stickers. I see nothing about payload except the sticker that shows reduced payload by 1 lb.

 

Ok- dumbass me sees it now. 990 lbs minus 1
With me & the load, I'm probably at 1000

 

Well I think I chose my wording poorly, maybe "improve handling of payload" would be better than "increase payload". From a legal standpoint, no modification can legally increase your payload - it is what it is as far as the law is concerned. Anyway RAS, from what I have witnessed people say, seems to have little to no effect on how the truck performs unloaded, but has a distinct improvement once you start putting weight out back. It might be what you're after. I've read all sorts of bad experiences with airbags and aftermarket leaf springs, from bad ride quality to squeaks to entire inches of unexpected ride height increase to outright failure. And of course plenty of happy customers as well - but it's a mixed bag, much more so than RAS from what I recall seeing.

I think what you're experiencing is more or less normal for these trucks. They're made/intended for hauling mountain bikes and a couple/few passengers around, not much more than that. I believe Toyota even describes them as "lifestyle" vehicles and not outright work trucks. They CAN do more, and people do all the time (I am guilty of loading mine up to the max occasionally myself), but neither you nor the truck will be super thrilled about it.

 

This was about 1200lb of gravel in my 1st gen. This is with new OME leaf springs (without the add-a-leaf). So even with leaf springs designed for a lot of weight, the Tacomas aren’t designed to carry that much.

 

RAS has been around for years. Lots of videos on line. I love mine and have no affiliation with the product.

Vastly reduced squat, reduced sway, does not raise the back of the truck and gives a comfortable unloaded ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUmGX0mxUJU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oowVkhLqzlo

 

This is an underside pic of my stock leaf spring and bump stop at no rear load, when I bought my stock 2016 truck in 2023. There isn't much gap between frame and bump stop.

You have a newer truck and springs. However, I bet your frame to bump stop gap is not much better.

 

It isn't. It's actually quite pathetic the designed rear travel. What engineer thought a flat or reverse arched leaf pack was a good idea?
Sounds like that RAS spring is the answer to this poorly designed rear suspension because it doesn't change empty ride quality. Being on a fixed income, I will have to wait & decide if it's worth the money. If I never loaded up that stone (which was the plan), we wouldn't be here. Most of the time I carry some lumber & drywall or a water heater, nowhere near the max payload.

 

This made me laugh… also, factory Tacoma leaf springs are garbage.

 

Even a low capacity dobinsons replacement leaf pack would work 100x better than the factory leaf pack. I would be more for fixing the issue than bolting on a bandaid. That RAS system just looks like extra points of failure.
Correction as I can't seem to find a dobinsons pack that offers no lift. Swear I saw one at some point

 

My guess is the 1" lift pack is the minimum anyone would build for sale, for ex. Deaver j66s with 10 thin leafs, because any less rigid than that would be just as flat and flimsy as Toyota's now or worse, back to the 2G recall packs.