Extra weight: add a leaf, bags, new coils or full lift.

Hi All.

I have a decision to make, do I just raise the rear to level out the pickup or do I do something more substantial? Lets say I added 500 lbs or so to the pickup. The bed sags a little so I want to level it & I also think the front coils are working a little bit overtime. I weigh about 200 lbs too so the damn thing is near the payload already... /cry

My tires almost need to be replaced and my struts/shocks could also be replaced soon.

Itemizing the Added weight to let us infer weight distribution from front to back.

1. Sound damper/MLV/amplifiers: 100-200 lbs? idk stuff is heavy
2. Sliders: ~100 lbs
3. Leer camper shell: ~150 lbs no idea.
4. Full bed Aluminum drawer system: ~150 lbs

Pretty much none of these things will ever come out of the truck. I also frequently fill up an ice chest and toss in another 50-100 lbs of stuff for weekend activities.

I'm trying to figure out what I want to do here b/c I have a few options.
1) Add a leaf.
2) Air bag tow management system.
3) New leafs only (Was thinking OME. but would I their stock spring weight or medium?)
4) Lift the truck. (OME Medium front coils, medium rear leafs?) I need to get tires, and struts anyways. For this would I get new UCA's? Does medium front coil and rear leaf make sense or should it be medium front coil, heavy rear leaf?

What do you clever folk think? I'm leaning more and more to option #4 because tires/struts/shocks already due, but I'm not sure which coils/leafs would set me straight.

Cheers

 

Air bags give you the most versatility and are easy to install. I would get one with an air compressor and gauge that can pump each side independently.

 

Airbags are really best for highly variable weight.

For that much fixed weight, I'd personally recommend a full pack swap.

I lifted mine 1 inch front, 3 leaf AAL rear. Just 80 pounds worth of bumper and skid, 20 pounds soundmat and speakers, and a 30 pound softopper. Occasional trailer and 600 pound payload including tongue weight. AAL works for me.

For you, Icon RXT or medium pack.

 

The main reason I'm not leaning towards bags is that I mostly just have a sustained load. Don't really tow and during the week I don't put much in the truck its just a daily driver. Not to mention they're not cheap if you start talking about compressors. It is something that I would like to get eventually.

If I go with medium leafs and medium coils am I still going to have some backwards lean? I guess my weight fairly centered since I'm not running steel bumpers. OME has a different lift height specified for the standard/medium and heavy leafs, but I guess does that assume no excess load? I guess it would be nice to have the rear sit slightly higher than the front.

 

I installed a set of heavy load OME leafs in the back of my daily after I blew out the stock leafs hauling some big ol rocks. The rear sits about half an inch higher than the front with 3" coilovers. The ride is noticeably rough without weight but I like it, finally rides like a truck. If you want to lift the front to match the rear, you're going to need new UCA's for sure. You can get heavy leafs and remove the overload spring to bring it down to medium, if you find its too rough.

Some soft costs I didn't consider when swapping out the rear packs:
-You'll need to drop the carrier bearing to reduce drivetrain vibration
-you'll probably need to figure out a traction bar setup, my axle wrap with the OME's was craaaazy
-u-bolts (not too bad cost wise).

 

What do you mean by backwards lean, like Carolina squat (front high) or stink-bug/rake (rear high)?

Theoretically if you lift both front and rear by 2" it should maintain the factory rake, which is about 1 inch delta between rear and front. If you want level, get one inch taller fronts than rears.

 

Right now I'm front high, but I'm wanting to put a lift on the truck and end up rear high.

 

I'd do it piecemeal. Lift the rear first, then lift the front to achieve your desired rake.

 

Ok that was another thing I was about to get into. Whether I could just throw in the OME medium leaf pack and then leave the front on the oem for a little while. Once I go and do the front I have to get an alignment, and might as well get the tires then etc.

 

I'd recommend a new leaf pack. The factory leaf pack doesn't handle weight well and an AAL is just a bandaid.

I have a bit more weight and I'm running the old style HD OME pack along with superbumps. Replacing the factory bump stop made a big improvement in ride when bottoming out offroad. I would recommend the medium pack and then pull the 3rd leaf if the rear is too tall.

For the front 5100s and the OME coils are popular or you can spend a bit more and go with a coilover.

 

Yep. Nothing wrong with going that route.

 

Is the leaf squeak still an issue with the OME leafs? Any alternatives that don’t squeak? I’ve always tried to stay away from poly bushings bc I hear about the squeaking.

 

Lots of dissatisfaction with the ome springs long term.

If I were buying leaf springs right now it would be Icon, or custom from our leaf company in my city.

 

Once I get the front height settled I'll order another custom set from Alcan, but in the mean time I need to figure out what height I need.
Local spring company only builds packs for big rigs

 

Thats the plan. Front measures 44" ground to front fender right now. I tried putting 4.5" blocks and the rear was still about 2 inches too low. So want to try 4,5" blocks and 2" AAL to see what it looks like right now it looks like this... while waiting to figure out the rear height it's giving me time to put the extended brake lines and ABS sensor wires, etc..



i do have some 3" blocks, I might try stacking the blocks and setting it down to see where that stands.

 

Hey friend, Aren't blocks the same as spacers?



"FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRIVE WITH SPACERS!"

 

it would just be to see what height the springs need to be, i wouldn't drive it like that

 

For what its worth, I've got around 400 lbs in the rear full time. My factory leaf springs with an AAL couldn't handle it. I went with Icon RXT at option 3 and some new bumps. The rear raised to ~1.5-2" over stock height and hold the weight + extra camping gear very well. Not really harsh at all and wasn't too bad of an install either. I'd go full leaf pack swap, see how you like it then move on from there. After a few dessert trips and ~3k miles I have a squeak but its not terrible.

 

oh, and before anyone says anything, the bricks under the draw tie and there for safety in case the jack stands fail, lol! surprised no one mentioned that

 

Modifying the truck may improve the ride if you're close to your max payload but it doesn't increase your payload. It just hides the problem. A sagging suspension is a visual cue that you've got too much stuff in your truck.

My cap weighs about 180 lbs which is typical for a Tacoma. Full size trucks will be around 200 lbs. I make it a point to not carry any unnecessary stuff in my truck on a regular basis.

My truck has 1200 lbs payload. With me in the cab and with the cap I've got about 800 lbs to spare. I'm not afraid to exceed that by a small amount occasionally but wouldn't do it on a regular basis.

You probably need to leave some stuff at home or get a truck with more payload.