Summo vs bags for me?

I've always heard that a 1/4" spacer on the driverside front strut is the way to fix it.

 

Hmm. Never thought of that. But it’s done it since day one.

 

We have a taco lean? Darn it!

But on the positive side, I find it too convenient having the gas tank on driver's side in case I leave the gas open I can see it, and the battery...I like it there on my side, so...I can eat with that

 

so Am I just being a bit extra (likely) but I definitely see your ubolt not sitting exactly flat- it does touch on the edges obviously but if you look closely at the curve it’s slightly above the bracket. A light positioned at the backside I’m positive will show a light leak (maybe even on others that say it’s flat). Is it something to be concerned about? I have no idea, probably not but I haven’t gotten that 100% confirmation from any of the companies dealing with this

I really wish I had these installed when I had to rent a dingo this past weekend.

 

Shadows. If you look at the other side the bracket is up against the vertical part of the flange. If I take the pic from the other side, you’d see the same thing.
I double and triple checked before finishing tightening them down.

 

Ok so I posted examples of used sumos for sale with clear signs of the edges of the brackets missing paint and slightly dented- is it possible once tighten they (ubolts) crush the bracket enough? My gapped pictures are taken as dry fit (so that’s not apples to apples). I wondering if this scenario is most likely

 

I would guess that it doesn't matter. Sure, because of the thicker bracket and the bend of the ubolt its probably seeing a more uneven distribution of stress/strain between the two. However, the overall apparatus is still doing its job of keeping the leaf pack compressed and centered, and the stress between bracket and leaf would be essentially the same as before. So, splitting hairs, in my opinion.



Alternatively, the roadmasters dont mess with the ubolts. They go around.

 

11,000 miles on my Sumo Springs. Easy install. No space/u-bolt issue. Doesn't affect ride until you want it to. Dead simple.

 

From what i’ve read, the Firestone bags mount directly over the axle and you’d have to remove the stock bump stops.
The AirLift bags I bought mount on the leafs about half way between the axle and the front spring perch. The stock bump stops or Duro Bumps (i’m assuming) can be used with the AL kit.

 

Did you ever get this sorted out?

I just installed these on my 2020 OR this morning, and my U-Bolts sit flat in the Sumo-Spring channel.
Here's the Sumos I got:

$260 SuperSprings SSR-612-40 | SumoSprings Rear for Toyota Tacoma, blue

https://www.amazon.com/SSR-612-40-S...Y3EX5VQPH8CYK3KYW&refRID=X98Y3EX5VQPH8CYK3KYW

Perhaps they put the wrong pair in the box they sent you. Or, maybe your U-Bolts are slightly different.
You can get a Rotary File for your cordless drill, and use it to round out the ends of the channels on your Sumos quite easily & quickly - maybe that is your answer.

As an aside, I also installed a pair of

$104 Bilstein 24-186728 5100 Series Rear Shock fits 2005 2023 Tacoma 4WD with 0-1" Lift - Monotube Design, Fade Free Performance, Optimal Performance

Bilstein 5100 shocks on the rear last week, and what a nice improvement they made - much firmer & controlled feeling. Between them and the Sumos, I'm ready to haul a load now!

 

So I’m going to add a twist- hopefully those reading have followed this quest of mine, seen the pictures of the used sumos brackets I posted etc etc.

so brief recap. During my test fitting (dry fit, not installed or tighten down) I had gaps between ubolt and sumo bracket (only contacting edges). This was with 3 different brand ubolts including oem but oem was the least amount of gap. This concerned me. Everyone has said no gap, I notice used sumo brackets being crushed on the edges.

So my thought is when you actually tighten down the sumos/ubolts then it crushes the edges which would explain everyone saying no gap.

so I’ve been in contact with the company since this quest of mine started and they have always responded in a timely matter but not necessarily with something you’d want/expect to hear (considering it’s marketed towards specific vehicles). There recommendations from the beginning was to notch the bracket. That’s when I mentioned that it’s highly likely when customers tighten everything down, it eliminates the gap. Then I get a 3way call including the engineer to go over everything. He proceeded to tell me that’s absolutely not what you want to do and basically everyone who installed their kit did it wrong in that it shouldn’t be crushing the edges of the bracket. explained that it would effect the torque values and what not (which did make some sense but not sure exactly how much of a difference it would make or if it would be enough to cause failure) also not sure if they were ultimately trying to cover their own ass (which is highly likely). So basically they have a vehicle specific kit that they admit is not being installed correctly because of their brackets and yet their solution is still to notch the brackets! I found this kinda funny… being highly concerned about the change of torque value it causes (which ultimately is admitting faulty design) but instead of fixing the bracket/design tells you (me) to modify it no problem. But what about everyone else that has or will install their kit? Did you see this note in the description? Did someone call you (call everyone) to explain their concern and how it’s been installed improper? Weird right?

I bet if you took your sumos off, you would see the edges of your bracket crushed. I haven’t installed them yet and despite all that, I still plan to. Not sure if I’ll notch them or just say screw it and crush them yet but I’ll look into that rotary file for the drill (never heard of it so sounds interesting).

 

I recently took my Sumos off to install an AAL. I saw no issues consistent with yours.

 

Wow, interesting! Thanks for the update.

Rotary Files:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rotary+f...otary+file,aps,209&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_5_11

I have used these a lot over the years, and I am confident that a Rotary File would notch the Sumo Channels quickly and easily, and solve your issue.

Keep us posted.

 

FWIW to future perusers of this thread, I installed Firestone air bags with daystar cradles and they work perfectly, no issues with install and function even with a U-Bolt flip. I like them just fine.

That said, I now wish I would have instead put on sumo springs with the U bolt flip adapter simply for ease of maintenance and because I don't tow more than 2800lbs - and have Dakar springs.