Help with rear suspension

I need help deciding if I would need a rear leaf spring pack or not.

I currently always have the camper shell and tent on the bed (original plan was to take the tent off and attach it when I actually needed to use it but I don’t fit into the garage anymore for the hoist I was planning.), usually the bed is empty but will be loaded for when we go over landing and the rear end is just so terrible. I have also added some sumo super springs to help and so far they are but I’d rather not sit on them all the time.

I currently have some icon omega shocks waiting to be rebuilt to be put onto the truck, it also has a spacer that was already installed when I bought the truck and never took it off but I will when I put the shocks on.

another consideration is that someone is selling some el112r for ~400 so that’s what has me thinking but I’ve heard not too many great things and my goal is to be able to take the tent and camper off when I don’t need it so I feel like that would be too much spring to be unloaded

 

Have you considered air bags. You can air them up when loaded and deflate when empty. Although you want to always keep at least 5lbs of air in them when empty.

 

I would say absolutely get a new leaf pack, Icon RXT, Deaver, Alcan, etc. But there is no getting around being oversprung if you want springs that will handle all that weight fully loaded vs. still riding well with the extra weight removed. RXT's allow you to configure their springs to your load so you could maybe find some middle ground that works. The Tacoma rear end is the only thing on the truck that I'm really disappointed in stock, it's laughable how flimsy the rear leaf pack is. Airbags or an Add-a-leaf are just putting lipstick on a pig and not solving the actual problem of incredibly weak stock leaf springs. I also have not heard good things about the OME's and don't see them recommended on here ever.

 

I went new custom leaf pack based on max weigh I might carry. Always have around 200lbs in the bed my leaf springs have been rock solid since I switched them out even reused the oem bump stops don’t come close to bottoming out with my 5160’s in the back. My ride is fine and doesn’t really change much from 200lbs to fully loading the bed. Going on 3 years now.

 

Check out roadmaster...their active suspension sounds like what you are looking for.

 

Custom Alcan 6” 600lb spring.
It’s NOT my daily, although I do drive it empty bed majority of its use. It’s stiff, but still rides better than my lowered Mach 1 on H&R springs with Koni yellows
Although, once there’s ANY weight in the back, this truck rides stupid smooth. Smoother than factory (using 5160s for shocks in the rear)

If you plan on keeping the truck for a while more, buy a pack. Buy a custom pack too. I’m beyond happy with my alcans. They must be 4 years old or so now, and show zero signs of fatigue

 

What brand overland rack is that in the first pic and is it tonneau compatible (can you still open the cover with the rack on)?

 

Are you using Tacoma 5160s or something else? With those springs seems like you would be riding around with shocks fully extended making it harsher than it should be. Also I would think you wouldnt be able to compress them all the way. Extended length 5100s or 5125s or something from another vehicle (Tundra 5160s maybe) seem like a better fit. Maybe thats what you have?

 

Another vote for Alcan's.

I went with 2" lift over stock at 1,300 lbs. of capacity. They also ask you how you plan to use your truck and tailor make the leafs for that type of driving.

Installed at ~9,000 miles, now at ~34,000 miles, loaded with a camper the entire time. No degradation in performance or lift.

Rear Towers plus Misc. by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I have several other upgrades done to the rear, but these leafs are absolutely incredible. As empty as I can easily get, all the way to fully packed with ~45 gallons of liquid on board, they ride the same. From paved roads to the Devils Racetrack, they simply just work.

HSWOR - Day 5 - 102 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Nice. How far out did you have to space the rear tires in order to keep from rubbing on the shocks with the rear towers? Trying to keep my truck from getting too wide since there seem to be a lot of really narrow spots around here.

 

1.25" Spidertrax spacers, though I still do rub the shock body in the most extreme situations. My rear end is very droopy, the small bundle of wiring at the third member from the underside of the bed is unclipped both top and bottom and it still straightens out a good bit when I have the rear flexed.

 

Uptop Overland
Mines a softtopper rack, it’s been a minute but I think they have a tonneau cover one. I think

 

Idk. I just measured my truck, and bought the measurement extended/collapsed I needed. Also had to buy the stem conversion adapter.
Extended my timbrens to match it up so it doesn’t completely bottom. You never want it to bottom. IIRC, I think I had it 2” from fully collapsed, accounting for the timbrens to compress a tad. Never had an issue

Trust me, it ain’t fully extended. I have a lot of downtravel, had to really extended my brake lines lol

 

So the universal application shocks, I think they call them 5165s or something like that. That makes more sense. Sounds like you did it right.

 

Yes.
Took me a bit to cross reference everything off bilsteins website.
Sorry, I’m a bit tired. I see a few typos in my previous post (“really extended”) LOL