Just got my GFC installed on a stock 2023 Tacoma OR DCLB. I’ve read a ton of posts about needing suspension upgrades and sagging but have no idea what I should get. I’m not planning on doing any serious off-roading (maybe a little bit might come up). What’s the ideal upgrade?
While it would be helpful to know your overall weight when camping and what type of off-roading may come up, you’re only looking at around 250- 275lbs of additional weight, which means your stock suspension will handle the load just fine.
If you start increasing weight, adding a leaf or upgrading your leaf springs would be a good first option before looking into other suspension platforms.
A similar topic was posted the other day, and granted they’re a TRD Pro owner, we would still suggest stock until you truly need (or want) the upgrade.
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With two people and gear probably adding another 300-350lbs when camping. Thanks for linking that other topic! so I could just add a leaf to the stock suspension? Any recommendations for which?
Some of that comes down to brand preference and price point, but to name a few options with both add-a-leaf and full leaf pack upgrades, check these out:
You could also look at Old Man Emu, but a few notable sources mentioned more squeaking compared to other brands. Hopefully anyone w/ OME leafs can add to that commentary. As for me, I run the Dobinsons MRR + 3-Way, and I’ve been pretty impressed with the leaf springs.
I put SumoSprings on my access cab SR5 as a short term solution until I work towards doing a full kit for a lift and additional load capacity. With camper, gear, food, and water I’m at roughly at 600 lbs of static load. I found that to be enough to result in a bit of a squatted stance on stock suspension.
Blue SumoSprings bring the loaded truck back to level when loaded. Unloaded it sits with just about 1/4-1/2" airgap between the frame and the SumoSpring. Loaded ride quality feels much less wallow-y in the travel over bumps. Unloaded ride quality decreased a bit and is a tad stiff, but I think an OK compromise for now.
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+1 on Icon suspension upgrade. I did their stage 3 lift with full RXT leaf pack and I love the overall performance and responsiveness. I wanted a ~2” lift all around and got the front right there and the rear a bit higher.
Got back the rake, no worries loading the bed with a ton of stuff either. The factory suspension on my ‘18 OR DCSB held up fine, but the camper leveled it out. You could do an add-a-leaf to support the camper in the rear as a much more economical option.
+1 for Sumo Springs (@aeevard). Simple to install and help with heavy loads and bottoming out. That being said I recently put in an Icon Add a Leaf kit in and am very happy with it so far. The truck no longer sits directly on the Sumo Springs.
Do you also add anything to the front to keep it level?
There are a few different solutions to the squeaking on OME/Dakar’s. I believe the easiest was using factory bushings. There is a bunch of info on Tacomaworld. The biggest gripe most people have, in my experience, is that they sag easier/quicker than competitors.
I’ve been running the OME leaf since 2014. It’s the older leaf pack so not sure this review is relevant but mine have been great.
Initially I ran them with the 3rd leaf removed (I guess that the equivalent of the current medium duty pack). In 2021 I added the 3rd leaf back because my truck has gained some weight over the years.
I’ll be refreshing my suspension in the next 2 or 3 years and will install hammer hangers and a fresh leaf pack at that point but could likely get much more use out of the dakars still…they haven’t flattened out much and I have used them pretty hard over the years.
If I were the OP and not wanting to lift the vehicle or wheel I’d look into airbags or timberin bumps.
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All around upgrade with Bilstein 5160’s in the rear, and Bilstein 6112’s up front.
The 6112/5160’s would also be my recommendation for the cheapest “performance” suspension upgrade
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I have a generation two 2014 Tacoma double cab, and I had at least 3 inches of sag after I installed the camper. Once I put gear and camping stuff inside, it dropped another inch. I had heavy duty leaf springs installed, and that fixed it. I don’t do serious offloading, but I do have a 3 inch lift kit. (Toytec). Without the heavy duty leaf springs on the rear, the truck always appeared like it was going uphill.
I have have a 2020, trd sport.
I chose the OME nitrocharger Kit. P# OME-TAK16 (2" lift). kit is struts, coils(stock front weight) new leaf packs(+300lb continuous weight). And the needed hardware etc. They had many options for weight requirements at check out.
With the +300lb springs it handled the camper great but with additional equipment it started to sag. I upgraded to the +600 lb OME leaf packs and it has been fantastic. Does squeak some, doesn’t bother me.
It definitely is the budget friendly option, but overall ride and handling is way better than it was stock. Soft enough when it matters, but stiff enough when it matters.
I have the light weight coils in front. I have no plan for a heavy duty front bumper.
The nice thing about OME kits, they have many different kits depending on the necessary weight requirements you need. The Aussies do a lot of wheeling, they know there stuff.
I did replace my upper control arms with SPC, with my 33s i was getting some rubbing, the SPC/UCAs allow for additional forward caster adjustment.
+2, or whatever number we are on, for the SumoSprings. I actually went with the Timbrens b/c I felt they had slightly better reviews, but the 2 products are the same. I liked this option a lot as it is an easy upgrade in a permanent or temp solution as the lift springs can add more weight and have more possibility of wearing down quicker than the Timbrens/SumoSprings. We have a Crewmax Tundra and installed the decked system, so with the GFC and Decked System w/ gear we are around 600ish w/o additional overnight gear for trips. That is our daily weight. Of note, we did put a FOX 2.0 system and the rear did sag w the additional weight, thus the reason for the Timbrens.
I thought it was worth a try at least! They will be installed this week, but so far everything I have read about them is positive.
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Thanks! I’ve landed on Bilstein 6112 in the front and 5110 in the back. Two months after putting the GFC on, I started noticing some very light sagging
You’ve just gotta grease the OME leaf packs using a gun and needle. Tons of guidance around that on teh YouTubez. It’s crazy easy.
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make sure you get the right ones. if you over spec the weight these things will kick you out of your seat on recoil
I also have the Dobinsons MRR and Dobinsons leaf springs 600 lbs. Never have I had a squeaking problem, but I am only 1.5 years in! No sag in the rear with my GFC platform camper!