New offroad bumper causing front end to sag!

I added a new bumper to my 2006 tacoma. This is the bumper: BODY ARMOR 4X4 2005-2011 TOYOTA TACOMA FRONT WINCH BUMPER

I think it weighs like 225 pounds. Now the truck is uneven. I was thinking of doing a lift anyways and now i think i need to consider a lift just to level it out. Is there a way to know how much the bumper dropped the front end? I never measured it. Anybody gone through this?

 

It's common anytime you add weight to the front unless your running heavy springs to compensate for the additional weight. The only way to really tell how much height you've lost would have been to measure before and after the install.

 

steel bumpers add weight. There are heavy duty springs designed for this.

 

That's a freaking heavy bumper lmao

 

hmm ...

uh oh ... ha ha

 

yeah, i was lured into a deal I think. I've read a lot of posts and lots of bumpers are a lot lighter than this one!

 

so i don't need a lift kit to compensate or just heavy duty springs. If so any idea how stiff? How would I figure that out?

 

hmmm ... is a level ride one where the distance from ground to fender flare the same on the front or back. Or could i measure the distance from the frame to the ground front and back and compare. I could find a stock one and compare, that might be the easiest!

 

don’t know what else is out there. Going with 6112 with HD springs myself. Haven’t determined what clips I’ll set them to yet.

I think the spring rate pounds is only minority different and probably rides the same if not better with a spring designed for the weight rather than low spring rate preloaded by it.

 

I did actually get a rear bumper from the same place!

 

Measure center of hub to fender on your truck and a stock one

 

Front corner weight on a stock 2nd gen is 1200 and probably 1100 sprung weight. We subtract out the unsprung weight (i.e. the stuff moving up and down). Motion ratio of .5 so spring is carrying 2200 lbs per corner.. stock spring is 550#/in, so compressed 4” at ride height. Remember that the first inch or so is preloaded with spring in strut assy, so appears as 3” from extended to ride height, but as far as spring rate, it is still 4” of spring compression. So, adding 125 lbs per corner we apply the .5 to get 250 lbs. this should have netted a 1/2” loss of ride height (550/250=~1/2”). So now math to find the new spring rate to bring it back. 2200/4=550, stock. 2450/4= 610, new config. No surprise that this is a common aftermarket spring rate. Always best to keep spring rate only high enough to maintain ride height and use shock valving if you want things stiffer or less compliant. This is why folks lift with a longer spring vs one with a higher rate, though some also up the rate also to accommodate the unique rigors of off-road conditions.

 

2006 Toyota Tacoma Body Armor 4x4 Pro-Series Rear Bumper | RealTruck

108lb

 

Put a jack on a bathroom scale under the front bumper and crank 'til you hit 225lb. Measure. Viola.

 

wow, awesome information. I've got a lot to learn to do it right. I'd like a little more lift so i could get bigger tires and imprve the look of the truck when the current tire wear down. It's a work truck so having some more capacity in the bed would be good too. I am a stonemason but mainly carry tools, small scaffold, and small quantities of stone, the company has better 3500 series duallies for the heavy stuff and floats. Am I best to look at "leveling kits" instead of "lift kits"? What's the difference? Leveling kits look like spacers, but thos one (Bilstein Tacoma 0 to 3.70-Inch B8 6112 Front Suspension Leveling Kit 47-309975 (05-23 6-Lug Tacoma) - Free Shipping (extremeterrain.com)) has springs.

I've got to spend some time on the forum learning about suspension!

 

Although Body Armor rear bumper design looks decent, that front bumper design is just way too big for a midsize truck like a tacoma. Personally, there are major design flaws with it. Besides the size, other major negatives would be the weak bolt on recovery points, lack of approach angle and the small cut out to reach the winch. As long as you like it, who cares what I think. Invest in some quality adjustable coilovers for the front for lift and ride quality.

 

Thanks for your opinion and advice. I will likely upgrade with 5100's front and back to help level it out. Maybe some AAL too because I do carry loads for work (I'm a stonemason). The bumper is big but apart from the weight I think it looks good. There are better looking one's out there for sure, but this one was $500 and it replaced all the damaged parts from the accident and I have a stronger front end. I'm not using the truck for driving off road just country roads and pavement. The truck is 18 years old so it deserves some love, the suspension is tired i think.

 

How old are your coil overs ?

I hung the bumper and winch on the front and with my new coil overs it did not move enough to notice by eye.

 

I have added almost a 1000lbs of weight to my truck, you need 650 to 700 lb springs. Good luck with your truck.