Do I need a leaf spring kit?

Reading through TW and read lots of threads about guys upgrading their leaf springs.

The only thing I have loaded is my leer shell but I will be towing a 1500lb boat throughout the year for fishing.

I also want to keep stock height if possible.
With my leer my tacoma is level, no sag.

Thanks for any info.

 

What kind of trailer? What will be the tongue weight on your hitch? Without any significant or regular bed load, or time off-road, a set of air bags might serve you better than stiffer springs.

 

towing that small of a boat and not very often, I would think not.
If you get a lot of sag, this is a good situation to add bags, as mentioned.

 

Roadmaster Active Suspension is a great setup.

 

I'm not sure of the tongue weight.

I haven't put my boat on this truck yet, probably next week.

 

I'd say airbags or sumo springs/timbrens would be a better choice because the load you got isn't constant.

 

These?

$282 SuperSprings SSR-612-40 | SumoSprings Rear for Toyota Tacoma, blue

https://www.amazon.com/SSR-612-40-S...rds=sumo+springs+tacoma&qid=1711151415&sr=8-3

 

I don’t like “level” because when you add weight it will sag. I like the stock rake but after my 1st cap and a year I had sagged (no additional weight). So for me the best option (not wanting a lift) was to get hs 3leaf progressive add a leaf to get back to stock height/rake- it actually raised slightly more than stock but I figured it would settle some in time. Then to keep it from sagging further I did the sumo springs progressive bump stops- this has multiple benefits and I’d say 1 of the best upgrades for minimal effort and cost… definitely recommended to limit sagging when carrying weight/towing.

Don’t have any solo side pics. Drive also slopes

 

Yeah

 

I would suggest leafs. I had a leer 100xl and tow 17ft G3 jet with Dakar medium leafs and its not bad if empty you get any amount of gear to go with a longer trip and my nose was sky high.


I'm in the process of putting on dobinsons 112's on to better manage camp weight and towing.
Air bags are a very good option aswell for varying load weight but i didn't want to interfere with suspension travel and have an additional point of failure.
It doesn't take much to sag out my ome mediums, first pic has recovery/tool box and some work tools its sagged to just past level.

Second pic is completely empty including spare gained back 2" in the rear and dropped the front .5" Truck drives much better when there is some good rake present.

 

What Tonneau cover are you using?

 

It's a bakflip mx4

 

Air bags: If you don't sag with the leer shell and you want to stay close to stock, I would think bags would do. Plus you can compensate for weight in the back.
Sumo springs: With stock leaf packs, if you have enough weight in the back the frame literally rides on the bump stop. They do offer a more heavy duty version though.
My complaint about my sumo springs on stock leafs is that I'm hitting the bump stop a lot sooner on some gnarly dips/ bumps.

New leaf packs..
Depending on your mileage and budget, might make more sense to upgrade leaf packs. However, this is probably the most expensive upgrade out of the three.

 

Is this the correct ones, I like how this sounds.
https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s..._AAL_with_u-bolts_(PAIR)_-_HS-TOY516-3AL.html

 

That’s the point of the sumo springs. Proper clearance between sumo and frame is roughly 1/2-1” unloaded. The problem most people think it’s just a replacement bump stop but it’s not, it functions go beyond that. It’s supposed to make contact, to cushion the load/bump/dip. Now I don’t do any off-roading so can’t speak to that but normal driving they are great and going over road bumps are muted/cushioned making a much more comfortable ride experience.

the fronts are great too and are actually supposed to make contact full time

Yes. I added a shim to my setup (drivers rear) because of a drastic lean (to me) I’ll take a look real quick because I think I also used a spacer on the sumo springs also to make contact to frame more even side to side.

 

So I checked and I added a steel spacer- I believe from hs also (maybe 1/2”) only on the drivers side under the leaf pack. This was to get the lean out the rear as much as possible. Then I added a plastic spacer under the passenger sumo spring (provided by sumo) to have the same distance to frame on both sides. I have basically a fingers thickness between sumo spring and frame and if I’m not mistaken that’s pretty close to what it was on install maybe 1-2 yrs. Ago

 

Ordered sumo springs ssr 612-40 for now.

 

Curious to see if it suits your needs I just got my dobinsons 112's on today and man is it nice having rake on the truck again. It's unloaded and I'm sure they will settle a bit. Curious to put some KM on them this weekend and see how the unloaded ride quality is.

 

The tough thing about buying off the shelf is you are wanting to stay stock height. Most aftermarket leaf packs are designed to lift in addition to supporting more weight. There are companies that will custom make a pack for you based on your weight and desired height though.

 

Icon add a leaf and firestone airbags. You likely lost about 1" of rear height with a topper. Stock height is 21 front 22" rear when measuring center of hub to fender.

The airbags will allow you to adjust the height for the times that you have extra weight