Cancer and SE Asia: Suspension and ride quality help!

Greetings! First post here. I'm a new Tacoma owner, and have some questions about suspensions and ride quality. I've searched around and researched a fare amount, but wanted to make a specific post as my situation is a bit unusual. I recently bought a 2003 Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 V6 in SE Asia that was imported from the U.S. with a salvaged title (150,000 last reported according to VIN check). Buying a truck here is somewhat of a nightmare, as you never really know what kind of crazy repairs have been done. But, I looked at LOTS of trucks with my local mechanic, and we found a great one that has just had some minor repairs in the front and rear, with all original parts. No frame rust. Engine, tranny, and 4x4 are working great.

I'm in SE Asia for NGO (anti minor sex trafficking) work and this seemed to be the best vehicle for work/family in terms of functionality and being able to find parts and have repairs done easily out in the provinces. Most of the highways here are pretty rough, and the smaller roads even more so. I just made a 3 hour trip and the ride seemed quite rough going around 50 mph on average. I'll have a lot of trips in less than desirable conditions and quite a bit of long highway drives as well.

I've had testicular cancer twice and an appendectomy-gone-wrong, meaning that I've had a LOT of abdominal surgery, and my abs are quickly worn out / fatigued / hurting from the rough roads. It's not damaging me, I'm long since healed, but I've got a lot of scar tissue and bouncing just wears me out! My body / muscles don't recover quite as fast since chemotherapy either. (But I'm still alive!)

Sooooooo, I'm trying to see about improving the ride quality of my Tacoma. It looks like everything is original in terms of my suspension, so I'm somewhat assuming (could totally be wrong) that at least my shocks need to be replaced all around. Is this correct?

I've looked up the "bounce test", but I'm reading mixed reviews of its accuracy. There's no leaking that I can tell or that my local mechanic has noticed. He says they are fine... But people here don't really fix something until it breaks. He's great at that, but doesn't have a lot of suspension experience and we're having a bit of a language barrier (I'm still learning the language). I also don't know the best way to inspect the springs and leafs for sag / wear. And most shops have quickly said to just replace everything... And that they're give me a great price on some used and abused parts.

So, assuming something needs to be replaced, I'd like to get something that makes driving my Tacoma enjoyable. My main goal is ride quality/comfort, but I'd be happy if a 2-3" lift could accompany that. But I'm a little limited with what's available here. There are a few shops in the capital city that can import parts. And I also have the option of ordering them myself from the U.S. ... but shipping is slow and expensive, and it can be hit or miss at times anyways. One local shop has full Ironman lift kits for around $900 (shocks, coils and new leaf springs) which they import as needed. I'm a little hesitant of this, as I've seen a few reports of some severe rust on the shocks and springs that people have posted (it seems Ironman had a big sale in 2012 and a lot of people jumped on board). But there's not any snow / road salt here if that matters, and I've read lots of positive reviews elsewhere as well.

So a few questions:
Should I swap out everything?
Or just replace the shocks with new parts?
Will riding at stock height on quality shocks or riding with all new parts with a small lift be better for ride quality?
What shocks / lift kit should I consider? Anything specific to avoid? (I'm not interested in anything cheap or doing body lifts)
What I'm I failing to consider here?

Additional thoughts:
I need to consider future maintenance/repairs, as I won't be living in the capital city, and so getting parts later on will be even more of a headache.
I've got 3 young kiddos.
Normally I won't be traveling with the bed loaded down. And I don't think a new bumper and winch are in the budget, so I shouldn't need heavy duty springs (I don't think). I'll be doing rice / food / supply deliveries to families under our social work umbrella, but these runs shouldn't be more than 30 miles.
I won't be doing much off-road for fun, though a LOT of my normal driving will be like light off-roading... Which I'll have fun while doing. . I don't plan on being rough or abusing my Taco.
I just put on new tires, I found a good price of Yokohama Geolander ATS' in 265/70R16.
I'm totally new to Tacomas and driving a truck in SE Asia.

Sorry for the MASSIVE post, but I thought more information would be helpful. LOVE the truck so far!

 

If you want a little bit of life I love the rancho pre loaded struts with the adjustable ride control. Got mine for about $300 for the pair. If you want to maintain stock ride quality on the rear end, I'd suggest just a lift block. An add a leaf will stiffen the ride. I can imagine it would be difficult to get a full leaf pack over there too but that would be optimal. With the rancho struts you can adjust how cushioned your ride is (a small knob on the base of the strut is adjustable 1-9, 9 being the firmest). If you want increased load capacity but don't want a stiffer ride an air bag setup (air lift, Or equivalent) on the rear end will boost your towing and load capacity quite greatly. I have that setup for hauling my heavy trailers and it works like a charm. Just pump it up when you're ready to load up the truck and deflate when the truck is empty. I think I got my setup for around $250 and then got a rebate for maybe $25? I can't remember exactly. Everything I've spoken about here I have on my current truck. It gets used as my daily driver, my work truck (lots of trailer towing, and my off-road vehicle, so I can speak highly of the durability of all the components I have mentioned! The front struts take care of the front end, but with the block kit you will need new rear shocks (pro comp makes some nice ones in an extended version for the amount of lift you have). I'm probably missing some information here as I'm replying "on the go" but feel free to ask me questions as needed! Hope this helps!

Edit: I also installed everything myself, so if you are mechanically inclined or good at looking up install videos on YouTube, it is cheaper to do yourself if you have the tools. I'm not sure of your garage situation so that may not be the best option but it is doable

 

Thanks for the helpful reply. I'll have to research those shocks, I'm not sure how easy they will be to import.

I hadn't thought about air bags for the rear, good idea. I had a cheapo set in our minivan for when we pulled the trailer back in the US

 

No problem! I think DSL has good international shipping. Good luck and have fun over in Asia!