New to tacomas and truck, what is this?

Hola amigos,

A quick introduction, I've been into cars my entire life, and only know cars. I've never had any interest in trucks or learning about them, but a shift in my life is leading me to want more adventures and something practical for Canadian winters. I've been looking to get a Tacoma. It's the only truck I've ever looked twice at.

The truck in question is a used 2017 TRD Sport. It looks really well taken care of, I've noticed oil in some of the door jams from undercoating, has the optional Rigid fog lights, has the off road front end (no air dam) with a TRD skid plate, and has BF K02s.

My question is what the hell is this rear spring thing on the back suspension? I also noticed a leaf was added and I tried looking for a kit based on markings but no luck. If you recognize it let me know.

 

It’s to eliminate axle wrap when accelerating hard. Don’t know if it’s stock but I doubt it.

 

Looks like it is one of these:
https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Su...MIu7egurSt5AIVCbDtCh2kOgtHEAQYASABEgIeHfD_BwE

 

https://youtu.be/gW-24P4AkCw

 

Axle wrap. Not stock. If your having issues custom order springs and you will be alot happier

 

This truck may not be "as well taken care of" as you think that it has been. I'd shy away from any used truck that is basically not "bone stock".

 

According to Mike Sweers, typical mod and accessory spend for pickups, depending on region and segment, is $3000-8000 US. It would actually be unusal to find a "bone stock" Taco. Just have to look at the quality of the parts and quality of the installation on a case-by-case basis. At least you know this truck was a pavement queen.

Welcome to TW. @Irish Lion gave the answer. As the brand name implies, it's a pavement-friendly system. The main drawback is it limits rear suspension travel and articulation off road. If you ever get upgraded leaf packs from Icon, OME, Wheelers, etc. for lift and/or extra weight capacity, this anti-wrap system may become redundant.

 

There is a thread about these on here. They all pretty much seem happy with the addition. I wonder if it helps to eliminate one of the multitude of variables that leads to brake vibrations.

 

This!
Don't buy someone else's butchery

 

I've got them on my Taco and they work great. They are adjustable too. Plus If you don't like them they are stupid easy to remove.

 

It may look hack but they actually work and serve of few different functions all in one....towing, axle wrap, traction bar, etc.

 

@oostroma has these, i believe

 

I hate 'sub-sequent' hop...

 

You are correct. I purchased the RMAS system on a suggestion from another TW member. I am quite happy with the system because it has really helped with pulling my pop-up camper without effecting everyday driving when the truck is empty. I think they will work fine out 4x4ing except in extreme suspension travel situations.

 

OP, that is not stock as many pointed out.

If you don't tow and do offroad think about removing it. Can't imaging that being great for articulation.

 

Or to say it another way: The 10 percent or so of modified Tacos running around spend between $3k to $8K USD in modifications.

The other 90 percent of Tacos are virtually stock.

 

Wow I got a lot more replies than expected. Thanks everyone for the information. According to the salesman (who is a friend so i somewhat trust him), the guy who owned it traded the taco for an F150 because he needed more towing capacity, sounds like this addition lines up with that need. Which brings up a new concern, this truck is a manual and god knows how much he was trying to tow and how much he stressed the clutch/trans doing it...

 

I'm thinking the clutch would burn up long before the damage to the tranny.

 

Don’t know where in Canada you live, but in Ontario you could buy a ‘Seller’s Package’ ($20) and get the previous owners info. With a bit of Google-ing you could prob call the guy up and ask why he upgraded trucks and what he towed. Most Canadians are nice and would help out if you’re polite about it.
If not, get it fully inspected by a mechanic you trust and consider buying some kind of drivetrain warranty. Good luck.

 

You already know this isn't the truck for you. Your concerns are real. This truck was modified to tow more, AND the owner traded it on a full size truck. I would assume it's had a hard life, and run to the next used lot. There's tons out there, unless they're so confident they want to add a free extended warranty???? (That's sarcasm, they won't, if they did, they'd just be baking it in to the sell)
That leaf spring thingambob looks like it has been on there a long time, so assuming the truck has many hard towing miles on it, is not off base.