If you could do it over again, would you still have lifted your truck?

Depends on your usage case. The only part of the truck I've ever struck against the ground/dirt is an aftermarket trailer hitch mount. I did raise the front .8" with Bilstein 5100's to level the truck out. I'm gonna say not a big fan of lifts.

 

Air bag suspension works to keep the stock height with a canopy.

 

I had a 2018 TRD OR Access cab (manual) and traded it in to get an identical 2022. I went from no lift on 235/85R16 tires on the old one, to the TRD lift on 255/85R16 on the new one.

I find the off-road ride much better on the new one; the performance on streets and highways is similar, although I may use 5th (instead of 6th) a bit more often on long gentle uphills.

I go off-road enough that I don’t pay close attention to fuel consumption…so I don’t know if the taller effective gearing in 6th makes up for the increased wind resistance at higher speeds. I still get about 600 km out of a tank of 91 on longer trips.

I think it looks better. So, worth it.

 

Mines the least lifted in this family, no issues on any of our trucks, and we added a bunch of crap and weight!!
Plenty of our trips where high clearance was needed!! If you do it correctly, and nothing extreeeeeme you're good!!
No Ragrets!!

 

So a few thoughts on this as I live with the truck more and more.
To summarize my build is as follows.
Elka 2.0 front and rear 650lb springs up front set to 2 or 2.5 depending on the roof rack
Dirt king uca's
OME med leaf pack
Cab mount chop
Clamshell bushing
OME drives haft spacer
17x9 -25 SSW Apex
295/70r17 G003
Cab mount chop
Pinch weld fold
Custom fender liner patch
Sway bar removed
Okx aluminum engine/trans skid
Greenlane aluminum stump bumper with smitty 10k winch
Prinsu roof rack with boxes/awning/lighting
Ov tune

So if I were to do it over again my list would be a bit different and the changes may still happen. Ideally it would look like so.

Elka 2.0 650lb springs 1.5" lift
Stock uca's
Deaver med leaf springs
Cmc/pinchweld with liner
Clamshell bushing
16x8 -10 wheels
285/75r16tires E rated but mindful of weight
Swaybar removed
okx skids
coastal offroad high clearence bumper
No roofrack/accessories up top

the biggest changes is lowest lift possible to keep as much downtravel as possible. Focus on chop clearencing over lift clearance so it doesnt rub at any point throughout the suspension cycle regardless of steering position.
upgrading suspension is 100%worth it but chasing it for a lift I have found to just have far to much compromise, from ride quality based off suspension angle and lack of downtravel causing top out in some situations increased component wear.
I would also maintain a bit more rake this time around so when the truck is used for truck stuff it doesn't roll around nose high.

Over all I am happy with the truck but I don't daily it. It's a weekend truck for trail days camping/fishing. If it was my regular commuter I would drop my thick boy tires and drop to skinnies to try and Maintain a few more mpg's.

 

I wonder where that guy went. Probably yelling at the squirrels about vibrating his trees or something.

Man, I'm so glad that in the intervening three years since posting, that guy never found a way to waste his money. ^^^

 

I haven't run into any issues here with this tacoma needing a lift, big ass tires, or both. Seemed my 2001 tundra was even higher, yet it got hung up in the same places I now drive my tacoma on...go figure. The tacoma imo, is just so much more capable. it never disappoints, plus its performance, and fuel economy are a bonus for roughly a same size truck.

 

Probably just a typo on the tire size right?

I thought a t a certain point you need to change the UCAs just to keep alignment specs.
Were the DKs a problem?


My 17s suspension has reached it’s life’s end and I’m taking the opportunity to upgrade all of it and as he said a smaller lift, 2” if that much, and agree on the rake.
I think the whole leveling thing is for car owners who bought a pickup.

 

If you mean the second size being a 17 yes that's a typo. But I would drop to a 285 over a 295 for better size options and some weight savings.

My DK's have been excellent just a bit noisy being a poly bushing but have outperformed my old SPC's overall. So at a lower 1.5" front lift you can get away with a stock uca. Once your at 2"+ you end up with camber and caster alignment requiring a uca to help correct those angles.

So rather than relying on forcing positive caster to clear the 285 my goal is to gain all the clearence with the chop and lower offset wheels.

 

I ended up doing an Ironman 4x4 foam cell lift. When I went to put the lift on, we took measurements and by comparison to a new Tacoma, my suspension had already sagged, 1” in front and 1.5-2” in back. The back in was bottomed out already with any load in it. The ride sucked at 19’ miles. I ended up getting over 3” of lift in the front and.5” in the back. I had to pull a leaf spring out of the back. I ended up doing the Eggs bushing and a diff drop in front. It rides like a truck, I bet I could pull another leaf in back and the front has settled and needs about a 1/2”-3/4” raise, easy to do since the springs are in the middle right now. I now have over 69k miles on the truck with no problems with the suspension.

 

I run 1.5" of lift overall, and it's been a good middle ground of giving more clearance on the types of trails I drive without causing too many compromises. I did end up trashing the 1" lift block for a 1.75" leaf pack though, which helped my ride quality off pavement over bigger bumps and gave back a slight rake that helps handle weight better. I may go to ~33" tires eventually from the current ~32" but the extra 0.5" clearance and appearance so far hasn't been enough reason for me to deal with the performance impacts of heavier and larger diameter tires, not to mention replacing wheels if I don't want to run a much heavier tire on the current 16" wheels.

 

For sure, but chicks dig the lift

Plus, Bilstein hooked me up with the lift for free including labor, so that helped.

 

If you could do it over again, would you still have lifted your truck?

yes

 

Wow! I had no idea that the 5100's are extended travel. I wonder if the 6112's are also extended travel.

 

Mine came with the dealer-installed 2" lift. I like how it looks, but it's personally not something I'd spend money on myself. It's just not that important to me.

The price was good though, and it was otherwise exactly what I wanted, so I certainly won't complain.

 

Just in case the Op didn't see my 1st answer, I absolutely love how my Bilstein 5100's are bigger, and better than the OEM Off Road Bilstein shocks. No more brake dive. The 2" Lift is the bonus!

Best bang for the buck. I wouldn't go back, nor would I go bigger!

 

Did you put a block in the back or leave it as is and only do the 5100 2 inch lift up front?

 

Basic 2" front 1"rear lift is a great place to start, in my opinion, you can just as easily return to stock. Keep the stock shocks or what ever option Ya with and probably less expensive to go back to the stock setup.

 

I did the OEM 2" lift for one main reason. After I installed the BA Hiline bumper and the 12K Harbor Freight Apex winch, I had a 1" sag in the stock front suspension. The 2" lift took care of that. Looks a lot better.

If I never installed the Hiline bumper and the winch, I would've never lifted.

 

1" block.

I dont usually carry a load, so I had no desire to ad an AAL