New leaf springs, what about front?

I have a tent on the bed of my truck and I am considering getting new leaf springs to handle the load and also give me a lift in the back. What would I put in the front to lift it up since the new leaf springs would lift the rear of the truck even more? And how much would the new leaf springs lift my truck?

 

what is the use of the truck and how high of a lift do you want? Also budget? What research have you done or options are on the table?

 

I don’t plan on off-roading that much. I like the 2-3” lift look but I know lifts are expensive. I was looking at leveling kits but just read that it is smart to get new leaf springs if you are having weight on the bed of your truck constantly like a bed rack tent. Budget is less than $1,000 and I don’t have any options since I am not educated in this and this is my first truck

Cause I know you normally get new leaf springs when you get a lift but I didn’t know if you are able to just change your leaf springs and skit the lift kit part. Hope my stupidity isn’t confusing. Thank you

 

This (from the busy "suspensions and lift" forum) can tell you much, then you can ask more specific question. Expand the first post. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-lift-faq-guide-read-this.11282/.

 

The Bilstein 5100's give you a lift of up to 2" and are a bigger and better shock than the OEM Off Road Bilstein shocks.

 

Add-a-leaf.

 

No one can answer that because every leaf pack is different and if you have a specific one in mind, we don’t know which one it is.

There are a ton of resources on this forum in the various pre-existing suspension threads. Use the search bar or Google to learn about suspension lifts in general and also all the individual product options. The suspension specs for any component or system are all super easy to find online. Be a sponge, go do the work to educate yourself, come back with specific questions afterwards.

 

This is what I went with.

 

Could I do it with these. The leaf springs and then the lift kit in the front. Or would that not work or would I need a smaller lift from the leaf springs?

 

From what I'm gathering it sounds like you need higher capacity rather than a lift. I would avoid a front lift if possible if your aiming to do this in a budget friendly manner.

Depending on how hard you are on your truck you can get away with front spacers but you do risk bending the shock leg as your new bottom out point becomes the shock not the bump stop.

I would consider just running a leaf pack to start with. Look the direction of OME they promote a lower lift than the RC.

 

Do yourself a favor and don't buy the cheapest stuff you can. Also don't use spacers for a 2.5" lift, that's a good way to bottom out your shocks when you git a bump.

How much does the tent weigh? If you don't want to do the research yourself, you should call one of the shops / vendors on here and see what they recommend for your setup. My money is on a new leaf pack and new springs up front, with appropriate matching shocks as the best option. I have no experience with them, but OME is one example that offers a higher spring rate and lift for heavier loads.

Really though, you should do a lot more research. You have a $40k-ish truck, don't screw it up with shitty bolt ons. There are also a slew of other issues you can experience with that much lift, which can be mitigated (or at least known) with some research.

 

Spacers and blocks are the worst.

 

It’d be helpful to know what your tent weighs. You certainly don’t need to install leaf springs that give you 3.5” of lift. And do not install 2.5” front spacers, you’re getting yourself into aftermarket UCA territory and, spacers are crap.

Just call Wheeler’s if you’re not going to do all the upfront research you need to do, tell them what you have and what you’re trying to do, and let them guide you with some choices. After that you can come back and ask for some input.

 

Airbags? May save the lid of your leafs for what you need.

Add the Daystar cradles and you are cherry for any use. You can even mount the air nips where you want and use a hand held bike pump. $400 I think is what I paid total

you can always air down to 5 psi which is like 3-5 pumps with a hand pump. This allows max articulation

 

Just had that thought!!

 

Bags can work well as long as you don't plan on wheeling your truck much. Just like extended bumps they can reduce up travel limiting rear flex

 

I use those too. Great for towing

 

The internal bumps don’t prevent that much in my extended travel setup. When I run desert roads it can actually smooth out the ride, but my shock never compresses more than 1” from no rod showing. The cradles are a must for offroading…keeps articulation at speed. Rock crawling may be a different story…I don’t do much of that

 

Up here we can get some really nasty ruts and v notches that have had me on bump in the rear with that tire chewing at the fender flare. If all you do is run fire road with easy trail it's no problem, just one aspect to keep in mind pending how the truck gets used.

 

I get it, but if you can rip 40mph it's still not a "difficult" trail that's just as equivalent to running the old trunk/forestry roads. Where having a slight reduction in travel/articulation is less noticeable compared to trying to cross big ruts/washouts where if you lift a tire and don't have a locker you damn well notice it.