Help me add load capacity conservatively

I hace 5100’s all around, stock coils up front, and a single leaf AAL Dakar in rear. Tow and have steel armor and sliders plus RTT and camper shell. And I have E-series KO2’s. No probs here.

 

This sounds like where I'm leaning. As far as the wieght limit conversation goes, you have to be over, huh?

 

I’m at about 300 lbs in extra steel and with the cap its at 500lbs total. Add a full tank of gas, RTT and Prinsu, me and my family and we’re looking at about 1000 lbs total. Im not getting steel bumpers or other add-ons, so what’s left over is for gear, water and food, and sometimes extra fuel and my trailer. I really don’t see any issues in how it handles on and off road, and have driven many miles on crappy washboard roads, including on a hot day in Death Valley on the Racetrack Valley road (it is known for overheating and eating shocks alive). So, IMHO, its a great setup.

 

So based on all the recomendations here and locally, and my desire to change as little as possible while keeping it affordable for now, I think I'm going with:

Billstein 5100s for the front, leave the factory springs until I add a bumper/winch
Headstrong 3 leaf add-a-leaf for the back, leave the stock shocks for now

Who wants to tell me it's a terrible idea? lol

thanks for all your help!!!

 

That works, but the 3 lead add a leaf is for the rear. You’ll have to change up the coils in the front for a bumper/winch to avoid the sag. OME coils can be swapped with factory coils.

The OME coils are longer, and come in different strengths. You can only use them with the 5100s set to the factory level perch (bottom), but still lift the front end, and with a higher spring rate, it will handle your bumper.

PS, Tacoma’s usually start to lean slightly with lifts. More heavy stuff on the left. Most people add a quarter inch spacer on the driver side coil to counter this, which you will likely need when you change the coils. (Stock coils already balance this, aftermarket won’t.)

 

The lean, I've noticed this mentioned a few times. that is piss poor. lol.

not sure what you meant by "but the 3 leaf is for the rear"

 

Taco lean is real. The left side is heavier than the right, so it will lean left. The factory coils are heavier on the left to make up for this, once you remove them and put equal strength coils on the left and right, then you get lean. The spacer fixes it.

Nothing wrong with the add a leafs, but the leafs go in the rear of the truck. They won’t help you when you add weight to the front of the truck. I’m assuming you’ll put the bumper and winch on the front.

 

oh ok, yea I understood that. Thanks for the details about the lean. i wouldn't think Toyota would release a vehicle that would eventually sag lol

 

It won’t sag with factory coils since the spring rates are different on each side. That’ll keep it level for the whole life of the truck. The only time that changes is if you change the coils to something else other than the ones the truck came with.

Some people add a spacer on the left. For adjustable coils, they will put the driver side one perch higher, or for true coil overs, preload the driver side until level. Or you could just let it lean. Up to you. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you know what’s coming when you change the coils.

 

Yea, I get it. I was just saying "ahh, it makes sense that Toyota compensated for that in some way, I wouldn't think they would ever release a vehicle that would eventually lean"

 

Don't forget tires. They make a big difference.

 

Yea, I know... it's just really hard to ditch 800$ worth of tires. I can't imagine I'd get anything for them... They apparently wear very quickly so I think I'm going to put 20k on them before upgrading. They can't be THAT bad can they? they effing cost 200$ each! lol

 

No it's the sidewall construction. A P tire will let the truck wallow under a full load. A C or E tire will much improve the handling while loaded. Everyone has their budget. I changed tires after less than 500 miles. I gave mine to a guy who has no money and really needed tires. His were bald.

 

Sigh, yea are so right... Well, Ill keep it in mind for the next thing.... What tires would you recomend? Tires are tough to understand as well. lol. Would you suggest sticking with the same size, or going slightly bigger? We don't want to lose any turn radius in favor of bigger tires...

 

265/75/16’s if you have a 16-inch rim, or pizza cutters if you like those... I like KO2’s, but there are as many brands favored here as there are different types of lift configurations.