Solution for sagging rear on 2013 DCSB T|X Baja?

So I have had my new Baja for about a week now and I finally got it loaded with all my stuff from work, as well as getting a Leer topper installed. Coming from a 3/4 ton, I never had any issues carrying all this stuff, but its become more apparent that its a load in my new Taco. I would say all of my stuff weighs around 700 lbs not including the topper, I've also got another 200 lbs of stuff that lives in the back seat of the double cab.

I have a pretty obvious sag in the rear end now, and I am wondering what my options are for correcting this. I checked and my rear end has 4-leafs already. So, I don't know if I need stiffer springs or some sort of lift in the rear. What do you suggest?

 

Many people use airbags. I personally opted for helper springs.

 

+1, but have not really loaded it since I installed them. They do ride a little rougher on concrete that has expansion joints. I did not want to deal with adjusting air bags.

 

^ This then just sell your old leaf pack to offset the cost

 

Nice, good idea. Looks like that has a removable leaf as well, in case I get to a point where I am not hauling stuff all the time. As it is right now, this gear lives in my truck. The only time it comes out is for work, and that is when I drive the least.

 

I have had that experience a lot. Finding people who are looking for stock components is pretty rare, and the ones who do want them don't want to pay much.

So here's the next wrinkle. The local shop here says they can get a set of air bags for about $350 and charge $100-150 to install them.

This seems like a pretty good deal to me, gives me the extra support when I am loaded, but I don't have to deal with the harshness of a really heavy duty spring pack.

Any opinions on why I shouldn't go that route, since its less than the 5 Leaf HD spring pack listed above?

 

Most of my off-pavement driving is high speed gravel. I am not going to be doing many trails where I need a lot of articulation.

 

alot of helpful ideas in this thread, 4WD (OMD) give him a shout.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/194386-tacoma-spring-refurbishing.html

 

Depends on where you are at. Had no problems selling mine.

 

It's all in the marketing

 

Fedex lost the set I sold to another member, I'm sure he'll buy them when we get the Fedex refund.

 

Just do that Ride or Sport Rite Air-bags then. It will let you adjust!

 

It depends on how much you are willing to spend to fix the poor OEM springs. Air bags or Timbrens will fix the sag. A new spring pack is another option. I spent a month studying both and ordered a new spring pack from Alcan today. By the way, Autoanything had a discount on Firestone Air Bags.

If you went to all the trouble to find and pay extra for a Baja edition Taco, maybe you should go the distance and get a custom spring pack.

 

I plan to go with the replacement pack if these Hellwigs do not do the job. Since I have not hooked boat and loaded the truck since the install I do not know if I will keep them. Once I get that 3200 trailer hooked up and 500 lbs in the bed I will know. I think one of the problems with the Tacoma is the bed space in relation to the axle. In a full size truck you can put your load further forward in the bed. Saying this I still think the springs suck.

 

Well, ended up going with the Ride Rites. Got them installed yesterday, and they definitely seem to do the trick. I've taken them out for a few test drives with varying pressures, I've worked my way down to 20 psi so far, and may even drop them to 15. Took some before and after photos with the truck loaded with my 700 lbs or so of gears. With 25 psi I ended up with about 1.5" of lift.

Before:



After:

 

If you plan to always have the load then go with a spring pack. Bags can be fussy the older they get.

A spring pack you can remove a leave may be ideal. Then like you said, if you don't haul all that stuff around, you can soften the ride.

Woops! didn't read to the second page. Seems you made your choice already! Looks good man!

 

Seem's like airing down the bags gives me the same ability without having to mess with adding and removing a leaf, is this not the case?

When I take trips for work, I will have the load, when I take road trips for fun, I will have a load, but a much smaller one, seems like the air bags give me a lot of adjustability without having to mess with the leaves.

I know I may sacrifice some of the articulation, but I am not that type of off-roader.