Suspension upgrade for loading up bed

New to the forum. Spent a year looking at the site for a lot of ideas and finally decided to sign up and ask my first question. I'm looking to beef up the rear end suspension because I'm tired of loading up the truck and it turning into a low rider. I dont want to lift it all that much and wanting to keep it level. Any thoughts and suggestions would be great thank you.

 

I would suggest load leveler air bags like these:

$327 Air Lift 57215 LoadLifter 5000 Air Suspension Kit

https://www.amazon.com/LIFT-57215-LoadLifter-Air-Spring/dp/B00017YYIG
It will keep your truck stock height and you just need to air them up when you load your truck.

 

will that handle the extra weight? or just level it out? I just recently went camping and had my truck loaded up that with every bump i had to basically come to a stop because i was bottoming out. im ok with a little lift or not either way. i just want to be able to handle a bit more weight when loaded up and towing.

 

You will not be able to improve the rear leafs and not lift the truck.

You cannot defy the laws of physics. Heavier duty leafs are larger and thus will lift.

Now you can go with air bags and only inflate them while in use.

 

I found this thread interesting:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/for-sale-ome-dakar-leaf-pack-2005.618146/

 

air bags for sure! definitely your best option for the use you describe.

 

I just put in sumo springs before my camping trip this month. They’re a decent option in my opinion. It helped with the bouncing while pulling my camper (350lb tongue weight and use a weight distribution hitch) but they did make a difference in smoothness. And I just loaded the bed with 400lbs of bagged water softener salt this weekend and it really made a difference in the stability of the truck. Leveled out nicely with that weight in the back. It didn’t raise my rear ride height but maybe 1/2”.

I’ve had air bags before and seemed like I was always chasing a leak at some point. And I’m not ready to dump a ton into a full suspension upgrade. So these seemed like a good choice, so far so good.
May be something to look into.

 

Air bags for loading the truck without changing ride height or suspension. That’s what they’re for. Inflate to desired load pressures, load truck and enjoy!

 

Try these...

Firestone Ride Rite’s

 

What are some good airbags? Nothing super expensive But still good quality? So far I think I'm going with the air bags unless others have better options.

 

I had the Firestone airbags on my Tacoma for over one hundred thousand miles, when my truck was a devoted work truck, and I never had cause to regret the decision. I did have a little leak in one of them toward the end, but that would be my only quibble — and the leak was probably my fault anyway for running them for too long without minimum inflation. Airbags would likely be a good call for you.

 

If you've ever seen a dump truck with auxilary rear axle they use air bags for load management. They're the only option that you can tune to match the final spring rate(leafs plus bags) to the load and still retain stock ride/height unloaded. Air adjustable shocks are a poor option because shock mounts aren't made to carry weight whereas the leaf shackles are both frame mounted and the air bags sit between the frame and axle. If your minimum load already has you sagged or bottoming out then I'd reccomend an add-a-leaf to remedy that and the bags for anything more(my cap and base load has me wanting this since my minimum air is ~25psi) but if you drive with an empty bed then just bags is all you need. In spite if this I've never needed more than 65psi with a max load. Sumos or timbrens are a simple option but are like add-a-leafs in that they offer a fixed increase to spring rate. It can be a hassle for some but the volume is so low that even a bike pump will suffice to air up. As a carpenter I carry a CO2 bottle for convenient nail gun use and have my fill valves under the center console so I can air up and check pressure anytime.