Sag After TSB

[megamole]

Ok, I had the TSB done back in october. I have only loading the truck up a few times and it still sags pretty bad. This is a picture showing the truck with six logs in the back, I estimate about 500#s max. They can't be that bad my dad and I loaded them by hand. Pics are in my photo gallery

My question has anyone added road handlers or air bags to a TSB'd Tacoma?
I would really like to be able to use the truck as a truck and I guess it is up to me to make it work that way since Toyota didn't!

[L R H]

That does not look that bad, the first few inches of travel are always going to be the softest; if you put ~500lbs in the bed and the suspension compressed none at all, it really would have a rough ride. It looks much better than the pic of the 4-wheeler in the bed does, although in the 4-wheeler pic, the load is mostly to the rear of the axle as shown.

[jpsmith]

Before getting the TSB done I had SuperSprings on the back. I took them off to get the TSB done. After testing it for about a month, I found that the TSB leaf packs still didn't suit my needs. It still sagged pretty bad with 1200lbs in the bed. Sure, it was much better than the stock 3-leaf packs, but it wasn't good enough for me. So I put my SuperSprings back on top of the TSB leaf packs. I'm happy with this setup.

The ride is pretty stiff, but not what I'd call harsh. I also have a '06 Liberty, and had a '96 Cherokee before that, so obviously I'm willing to deal with a "harsh" ride. I don't mind feeling the bumps.

SuperSprings do lift the rear end, even on their least-preloaded setting, so if you go that route plan to level your front with spacers or 5100s unless you're OK with a good deal of rake. My sig pic shows the truck with the SuperSprings on top of the stock leaf packs. Imagine about 1" hire with the TSB leaves.

[stevegillings]

jpsmith, how difficult is it to install the supersprings? Is there a DIY writeup somewhere?
And where did you buy them / cost?

Thanks,
Steve.

[07DCwhiteSR5]

but aint saggin cool yo? just kiddin haha.

i just wandered over here and looking at your photos the logs dont seem to be too saggy back there but that 4 wheeler sure brought it down....but some of that is going to be hard to get around having such a short bed- almost anything u put back there is going to have to have considerable part of its weight behind the axle....never thought about it till i saw that 4 wheeler pic but theres no choice around it.

[Gregory_K]

Originally Posted by stevegillings

jpsmith, how difficult is it to install the supersprings? Is there a DIY writeup somewhere?
And where did you buy them / cost?

Thanks,
Steve.

SS install is pretty simple, but you will need jack stands and a floor jack helps.

you have to remove the u bolts then remove the rubber bumpers. reinstall the ubolts.

then jack the frame up to unload the leaf springs. Makes installing the ss to the leaf pack a one handed job.

[stevegillings]

Gregory, thanks for the reply.
I think I'll go with a 1" block in the rear instead. I can live with the unloaded stance, but would not want the ride to be any more harsh than with the TSB springs. I am probably one of the extreme cases: 95% of the time the truck is empty, but we do use it for camping, meaning towing a 4,000lbs plus trailer with a 400lbs tongue weight. At the same time, the bed will be loaded with gear.
I have 5100's at 1.75" setting in the front now, and it looks perfectly level unloaded. Just the imagination of the loaded look made me order the 1" blocks. I want to use it as a truck every once in a while, but don't want to compromise everyday ride quality too much. The stance is the lesser of the evils in my case.

[jpsmith]

Thanks, Gregory K, for replying. +1 on the install being very easy. You don't even have to remove the wheels. The instructions say to use a large C-clamp to compress the superspring on to the leaf pack so you can get the bolt into the shackles, but if you jack the frame up enough you don't even need to do this. I just falls right on, more or less. You might need to compress it an inch or so, but you should be able to do this with one hand.