Lifting/leveling a stock SR- help me avoid spending $$$ on trial and error!

Super long time lurker, first time poster, first up, thanks so much to this community for helping me out with sooo much stuff on my truck.

2018 SR DCSB...suspension and tires are totally stock.
In the back I have an ARE camper top with vantech racks, which over the course of 2 years has slowly settled the rear end a full 1.5", from 22" between hub and fender to 20.5"....
I also keep the back pretty loaded with gear, probably 200lbs in general and much much more on big trips, as well as pull a pretty light trailer for a whitewater raft, which is probably under 200lb tongue weight...
Up front I recently installed a BA highline front bumper with a 13k winch, which dropped my about a half inch, from 21" hub to fender to 20.5" hub to fender, and i wonder if it will settle even more.

As it sits now, the rear sags plenty when i load it up good (the tacoma leafs reallly are garbage apparently), so while if empty i'm sitting level, if anything is in the back i'm nose up like crazy.

So what i'm thinking is bilstein 5100s all the way around, and a full OME Dakar HEAVY DUTY leaf replacement for the rear....
theoretically this should allow for a 1.5" lift up front, and a 2" lift in the back, leaving me with a little bit of rake, which i'm into.

My questions are- do i need to replace the front springs or will the stock SR springs be fine with the bilsteins....AND will the bilsteins in back allow enough travel for the OME heavy leaf pack?

Any suggestions for different setups as far as shocks/struts, or new springs (if i need them) are appreciated!

Does this sound like it adds up right to y'all?
Thanks so much!!!

 

OH! Also, does it make sense to preemptively install shims on the leaf, or should I not worry about it unless i get vibration?

 

I don’t understand how you conclude that the stock springs are shit after observing them bend under a load. That’s their purpose. In any case, I believe the blistein 5100 is a straight oem replacement, so likely won’t work well with the OME leaf pack which has added travel and ride height but will work fine with the stock coils. Someone with more experience with that shock might correct me.

 

My lift kit from headstrong that included a OME leaf pack came with a OME carrier bearing drop kit but not a shim for the axle.

 

When I first added the shell, the back dropped 1/2"....then 2 years later it has dropped another 1" ( I should have clarified this is just with camper, no load)....Taco leaf springs are pretty well known for sagging pretty quick, no?

 

Which overall lift kit did you go with?

 

Lol. I love these posts.
See them at least 5 times a day.

 

says the dude with the "mall crawler" spacer lift. I want to ask specific questions about my specific setup so I have a usable suspension, sorry if you're too cool for that.

 

OP I would go with 5100’s and a leaf pack since it’s sounds like yours are gone. Great budget lift IMO. Don’t pay attention to the children on here sometimes they haven’t taken there naps LOL.
GOOD LUCK

 

Idk. The word “sag” seems ill defined. Sag from added adding weight to the truck or sag from material fatigue over time? I don’t doubt truck parts wear over time, but I suspect most of the rhetoric on this forum about sagging springs is mostly unsubstantiated bro science.

 

I bought a kit from headstrong with king 2.5 rr shocks, OME Dakar leaf packs, and SPC UCAs.

 

correct. Standard 5100s in the rear would not work unless you overloaded the Dakar’s so heavily it sagged to stock ride height bringing the shocks back into their normal stroke range.

otherwise, with the advertised 2-3” of lift in the rear, standard length 5100 rears would top out easily as they’d constantly be operating toward the upper end of their maximum extended lengths.

Longer 5100 B110s should be used - keeping bump stop adjustments in mind for the up travel change given its a longer stock - or a shock relocation if you wish to maximize up travel as well (whole different topic).

 

it’s not bro science - if you do not match the weight you carry in the rear (overloading in this case) with leafs that can support it, you will experience sag. Just how much depends on what kind of weight you have in the rear and that varies person to person thus you have different claims in the amount of sag.

stock leafs simply cannot support a lot of weight that folks end up adding to their rig. That’s fact.

 

As I said originally, i understand that springs are designed to bend under a load. My skepticism is with the people claiming that that leaf pack or the other leak pack “sagged” more than the other without really explaining whether or not they recently began hauling a 500 pound bicycle lock and port-a-potti in their bed

 

Very true hence why I said each persons individuals case is why there’s so many different claims - all that proves is people just aren’t paying attention to leaf pack load ratings, the weight they carry, and adjusting their setup accordingly.

 

It doesn’t surprise me. I have yet to see spring rates published for any of the leaf springs in the Tacoma market. I couldn’t even tell you the spring rate(s) of my standard Dakar’s. My coil springs I know are 600 lb/in. I suspect the lack of specs for leaf springs is because leafs are non-linear by design, but I haven’t found a good answer. I mean non-linear in the sense that they don’t follow hooks law, ie don’t have a constant spring constant.

 

And yes, put in shims with the new leaf pack. Don't worry about the carrier drop unless you need it. I'd start around 2.5* shims. That's what got my angles really close with Dakars.

 

You have a good understanding of your goals.

Pick up the phone and call Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and make your life easy.

 

I mean, i was pretty clear. My springs didn't just sag under load, the dropped a full inch over about 2 years. I have carried big loads, but these measurements are only with the camper shell on.

 

Thanks! this is def next step.