3rd Gen Tacoma - Upgrade Suspension Questions

Hi Everyone,

I have a 2016 TRD Sport Double Cab. The measurements stock on my truck are as follows from ground to fender:

Fr Driver - 35"
Fr Passenger - 35 1/2"
Re Driver - 36 1/4"
Re Passenger - 36 1/4"

I was originally thinking of leveling the truck but have started to look at the 3rd gen Bilstein 5100's due to adjustment and maybe lifting the front more than originally thought. I also tow small bassboat with additional gear in the bed so beefing up the rear may not be a bad thing.

Has anyone had any luck with the new 3rd Gen 5100's in combination with AAL in the back that they can recommend?

 

Personally I would not recommend going with an AAL, at least not removing the overload leaf. It gives the truck a great ride but my rear driver's side leaf has sagged faster than the passenger side and am looking into full leaf packs now.

 

What would you recommend? I am new to the lift game.

 

Not really sure, as I am currently in the market myself. I go back and forth between getting an alcan custom pack made, or buying the archive garage SUA and the deaver pack that goes with that setup... You MAY be able to get by with the stock leaf pack entirely intact and then adding the AAL, instead of removing the overload like I did, but it was advertised as being able to be run without the overload which I would say is only partially true

 

Which brand AAL did you add?

 

Dakars?

 

What's the weight of the bass boat and frequency of towing?

I have a wheelers 3 leaf progressive AAL and have the overload leaf installed for about a year now. Great ride and have about 200 lbs of stuff in my toolbox everyday but I don't tow hardly at all.

Still level from side to side, paired with 885 springs and 5100s front and back to retain the factory rake. I also have a 1/4" spacer up front to compensate for lean.

 

Factory leaf springs are very weak. Since my 2018 has been new I’ve put 3500 miles on it. I did tow a car trailer with a Jeep on it for 1600 of those miles and the rear leaves already sit flat with NO weight in the bed or trailer attached post trip. It has sagged almost a full 2” since new which is unacceptable. I’m going to be purchasing the full leaf pack light/medium Dakar’s and removing the long overload as per Marie at Headstrong and kiss the weak factory leaf springs goodbye. I don’t foresee ever towing 6000lbs again half way across our great United States but if I do plan a trip I will put the long overload back in temporarily!

 

Every time I see your truck. Makes me want to just leave myself broke

 

It was an icon AAL! Good ride quality but the sag is unacceptable to me. Will be replacing with beefier rear suspension parts soon after I figure out which direction I want to go

 

High praise indeed.

Thank you sir!

 

Boat gets towed about every other week in the summer. Did you do the ECGS clamshell to help out the carrier issue?

 

Asking me?

Yes I replaced the inferior needle bearing with the ECGS bushing when I lifted.

 

Yeah I did