Rough Country...anyone???

I wouldn't put off the brake line for a 2.5" lift... *Maybe* if you're mall crawling, maybe... But if you are going to articulate that rear axle, get the brake line for sure.

The reason I suggest a 1.5 AAL and a 1" shackle (as opposed to a 2.5" or 3" AAL) is because of ride quality. The higher the lift for an ALL essentially just makes the ride stiffer (bigger arch on the spring), so a combo of leaf and shackle lifts minimizes that increase in stiffness, and you might get a little more articulation, too.

Now, if you ended up needing all new springs because your factory ones are worn out, then yeah, you're looking at like $800-1000 minimum for the whole package. But if you're springs are shot, a spacer lift isn't going to do anything about that anyway...

 

Yeah, sorry I should have clarified that. I meant just doing a 1.5" AAL to make the 5100's fit, then doing the brake line when you add the 1" shackle.

 

When I did my lift on my '01 way back in 2011 or so, I got Rough Country shocks from Wheeler's. This is a suspension lift with Wheeler's 5 leafs in the back and OME 880s in the front. They ride great. This whole setup in now on my '03 because the buyer of the '01 didn't want it. Should I have the truck much longer, I will probably replace the shocks due to age.

 

I put RC 2.5 inch leveling kit on mine over 2 months ago. It's holding up pretty good! But that's only over a short amount of time. But the only bad thing is that it made it a little bit stiffer in the back.

 

Good article on spacers vs coils. I know it's on a Jeep but the results and findings should apply to Tacos. No reason why they shouldn't.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/s...w-springs-the-need-to-knows-before-you-lift/#

 

I have an 08 GMC Z71 and a 99 Tacoma. Both have HAD Rough Country lifts. If you're just wanting to lift/level it, RC is fine. If you're rough on your equipment and really gonna get your money's worth, look elsewhere. My Z71 is my baby and I actually rarely drive it, the RC 3.5" I have on it is just fine for what I use it for. My Toyota doesn't necessarily get abused, but I bought it to hunt out of and it sees more than it's share of dirt rds and trails. I recently took the RC 2.5" off and put Toytec on it.

I will say, I installed the RC on my GMC... by the time I got to the rear I installed the shocks and left it alone. The block that came with the kit was only 1/8" difference than the stock block. I'm glad I did. It sags just a hair, but it's hardly noticeable. Definitely wouldn't be confused with a "squatted truck." Keep this in mind. When it came time to install the RC on my Toyota, I had my buddy do it. Completely forget to mention anything about the rear... sure enough, when I went to get the truck, the shackles in the rear kept the stock "rake" of the truck. It still seemed to sag in the front, just the truck itself was another 2.5" taller.