Tacoma With a Sled Deck?

Just a little bit heavier lol.

 

How does the truck 'feel' handling-wise with a sled deck and sled loaded on it?

It looks like it would be top heavy and want to wallow in turns.

Not being a Debbie downer, just asking because I have zero experience with this setup.

 

At least you have that big ol chin to balance out the weight on the back.

I never bothered with a sled deck, just run a single sled up in the bed or towed a trailer for more than one.

 

As someone who does long road trips in an access cab with sleds I can see how a sled deck would help with space. Underneath the deck you have tons of room for your stuff

 

Honestly the massive front bumper probably does help lol. It honestly rides way better than I would've expected. Having the HD Dakars and airbags is essential though. Before I had the sled deck I used to just put the sled in the bed of the truck, and that was on stock suspension with no airbags, and that rode worse than my current set up with the deck. The biggest thing with adding that much weight is stopping on ice. It's way heavier and you definitely need to anticipate braking sooner, as it is easier to lock up the brakes and slide.

Totally. If I was just ripping around town doing day trips mainly, putting the sled in the bed is totally fine, and I did that for a season. But I use my sled for work and will be doing long road trips constantly and have a lot of gear and equipment that can't fit in the cab. Having the space under the deck is massively helpful. Plus I can lock the tailgate and keep everything more secure than having the bed open.

 

Hey @cchicoine, this setup looks awesome. Also the same rims I was about to buy. Some questions for you: which sled deck is this? What size tires do you have, with what lift, and did it require CMC etc? For someone with a DCLB using the sled only on weekends, would you suggest the sled deck for the locking storage bonus or say save the $$/effort? Thank you!

 

It was a custom homebuilt sled deck. I actually sold it a few months ago to someone in Bozeman and I think they are actually selling it again if you're interested haha!

I have 285/75/R16, didn't need CMC and they don't rub at all. To that point I've talked to other people with the same set up and needed a CMC, I think every truck is just a tad different and its kind of a crap shoot.

As far as is the sled deck on a tacoma worth it? Totally depends on the person. I used my sled and skis for work so I used it almost everyday, so it was really nice to be able to throw my skis in the bed.

The biggest downside was the ramp. I had a black widow ramp that I think was like 7 feet long, so it didnt fit in the bed and I had to strap it on the deck, and it was really steep when loading the sled with the lift and everything.

Also, how often do you see a tacoma with a sled deck lol, pretty cool IMO.

But now my girlfriend got a sled too, so I ended up getting a '94 F250 7.3 with an aluminum two place deck. Way better for two sleds expect for the fact that the truck is always broken lol