800LBS in bed, bags or suspension?!

Hey guys, looking at grabbing a slide in camper right at 800lbs in the bed of stock 23 trd off-road. The shop is recommending air bags but I want some other opinions. The camper will probably stay in the truck a good bit maybe 50-50 a year. I will do some mild off-roading mostly FSR and the occasional mild off-roading trail here in Colorado. I’m not sure what the best option is… full suspension or airbags & cradles. I would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks everyone!!

 

Full sized truck. Your really looking at bolth to support that one. By the time you add camper, gear, passengers your going to well exceed payload of the truck regardless of suspension upgrades.

 

Bags will limit up travel.
Spring will make you sit high in the back when the camper is not on the truck.

 

You need a new truck designed to carry that kind of weight.

If you want to stick to a Tacoma you need a full leaf pack and front spring replacement.

 

Sumo springs...

 

I have to agree with the Tacoma being the wrong truck for what you want to do. No matter what you do to the suspension it's not going to change your max payload. At 1,135 lbs max payload, you put in that camper and 2 normal size adults and you're done. Forget any gear. Plus it's not going to be a real pleasure to drive.

 

added to the weight overload, a large increase of center of gravity.
I'd rethink base of this project too. I know it has and can be done, but it doesn't sound fun, or even safe to me.

 

That might be generous depending on his configuration - if I recall payload on my ‘22 is less than 950#…or for persoective, about 100 pounds less than our Subaru…and it’s not even an Ascent, it’s an Outback.

 

Agreed on either finding a different platform or rethinking your camper set up, seems like a lot of weight for a poor little Tacoma. But to answer your question, I've got: Decked drawers, bed rack, an RTT which weighs ~450 lbs fully loaded. For suspension I've got Fox 2.0 resis, AAL, and Ride Rite bags w/ Daystar Cradles. The ride sucks and is pretty stiff. Doing it again I wished I went with a Deaver leaf pack instead.

 

I am similarly loaded and experimented with ARB heavy duty leaf-pack plus air-bags, then added their add-a-leaf (for a fixed load of about 800 lb - see reason below), and then removed the airbags and installed Dobinsons EL113R (EL112R plus a EL113R leaf), and finally went back to 112R and installed Timbren bump stops. My shocks are ARB BP51's all around.

I weigh 6850 lb fully loaded for expeditions (1200 lb above curb, I know, crazy) and 6350 when I off-load everything. Yes, I will go full size Tundra (and reduce weight with no ARB bumper and such), but the current config works.

Here are my thoughts about the load and the various configurations:
- Not too concerned about the total load - I am at most 7% above GAWR in the rear and 10% in the front. The axle components of the Tacoma are similar to the non-US Hilux, which has a load capacity of about 2200 lb. Chasis is not the same, and that is what worries me, so I watch carefully for any sign of damage (buckling, etc).
- The ARB rear spring ended not being enough only because it was installed incorrectly (by yours truly). The U-bolts were skewed towards the end of the springs, and they bent the springs around the spacers that each spring had. It caused them to be weakened. I think if not for that, all would have been ok.
- I hated the airbags. I had them installed with Daystar cups, but the overall thickness of the compressed airbags and cups reduced a few inches of up travel. Also, installing airbags require the removal of the bump stops and that made me nervous.
- More, an air bag spring has a non-linear compression curve, unlike a metal spring that is almost linear. This caused a very aggressive rebound, that I had to compensate with increased damping, and that caused poor riding in the middle of the stroke.
- I am very happy with my current, final config, especially fully loaded. Ride is amazingly smooth, and with the BP51's I can travel rough roads at speeds far greater than any of my friends.
- I do recommend the Dobinson solution, and probably the ARB heavy duty too.

Finally, carefully weigh your truck to find a starting point and then track everything you load. I have an Excel for that. The EL112R allows for 880-1200 fixed/permanent load in the bed. My understanding from talking to Dobinson, is that with that capacity, the truck is capable to be loaded with the stock payload ABOVE the fixed load in bed. In my case I have:
- When fully loaded, I have 845 lb static (fixed load) and another 600 variable load.
- When fully unloaded, I have 845 of static load and 120 lb of variable (2 people, luggage)
- My rear shocks have a static sag of 25% of the travel unloaded and approaching 40% fully loaded. I think this is optimal.

Let me know if you have any further questions.