What do i need to do to my 2009 tacoma trd offroad to add permanent weight

Hello everyone, I am planning to add approximately 600-700 pounds of permanent add-ons to the rear of my Tacoma. This includes a Retrax Pro, XTR3, a 270-pound RTT (this will only be on during camping trips), and a rear bumper. I would like to know what modifications or upgrades I would need to make to my vehicle to safely support all this additional weight. Thank you for your assistance.

 

What will be the use of the truck? Do you want lift or stock height? Can't go wrong with some custom alcan springs and shocks with appropriate valving

 

The truck is mainly going to be used as a 60/40 on road/offroad truck doing light to moderate trails on the weekends. I was planning on adding a OME BP51 kit to the truck piece by piece but am not sure if its the proper use for that kit model.

 

You’ll want beefier leaf springs for a start and better shocks

 

Your truck has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) printed on a sticker on the door jamb. Most likely 5450 lbs. The empty weight of each truck varies a bit depending on what equipment comes on it from the factory, but it will be around 4200-4300 lbs for MOST 4X4 crew cab 2nd gen Tacoma's. That leaves you about 1200 lbs for modifications, cargo, and passengers in the truck. There is a statement that reads "The combined weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed XXXX lbs."

Bear in mind that those numbers vary, and your truck could be 200-300 lbs different in either direction. You just have to look at your sticker. A skinny driver and one skinny passenger can easily be 300 lbs. Two large adult men can easily be 400-500 lbs in addition to the 600-700 lbs you plan to add.

You can modify the truck to give a better ride when operating close to the upper limits it is rated for, but I don't advise setting up the truck to exceed those limits. There isn't a truck ever built that someone didn't overload from time to time. Occasional short trips from the lumber yard to home 300-400 lbs over the limit is something we have all done. But daily driving several hundred pounds over what it's rated for is going to lead to unsafe driving and premature parts failure.

If you modify the truck to sit level when overloaded you are not correcting the problem, only hiding it. The more weight you put on the rear axle the less is on the front. And it is the front axle that does 100% of the steering and about 80% of the braking. If the front wheels aren't firmly planted on the pavement your steering and braking are compromised. Especially on wet pavement.

I think you can do what you want to do especially if the RTT isn't always on the truck. Just don't forget about the weight of passengers and other cargo. You're going to be working close to the upper limits of what the truck is rated for. You won't be able to pull a trailer with this set-up either. You've used up all of your payload and have none left for the tongue weight of a trailer.

 

Upgrade your brakes

 

If you are really going to have that much constant weight, the easiest, but not necessarily the cheapest thing to do is just buy a set of Deaver U402 Stage 3 Expedition Springs. I paired them with Bilstein 5160s, which I think came with the small spacer block to help relieve pressure on your rear brake line. No longer brake lines were needed which was a plus. Many many miles on with this setup, and it's been great.

Stage 2 MIGHT be ok, but you're usually much heavier than you expect, so really your 700 might be closer to your constant added weight BEFORE your RTT gets on there.

 

A 270lb tent that will be installed/removed on a regular basis?
Holeee fack.

 

Upgraded leaf pack rides better and handles more weight in the back. Icon RXT is adjustable. Mine came as op3, I have weight in the back, it has a nice slight rake and compresses when more weighted so I just left it at that config.

 

Now, people know I'm about as far from being the weight police as possible, but I wanted to reiterate how fast weight adds up for choosing your leaf pack. This is my truck at GVWR... I have bumpers front and rear, winch, and sliders. No skids. I'm loaded for camping, including 17 gallons of water at or behind the tailgate. This is far more than 700 pounds, lol, and it doesn't include a RTT.

 

My whole GFC weighs ~270