Went Camping, not stoked on saggy backend

I went camping for the first time with my 2019 TRD Pro (just bought it Jan). Brought the big tent, the full kitchen setup (cast irons, etc), 5 gallons of water, Yeti 45, and my EBIKE on the rack bike rack. The truck dropped nearly down to the bump stops... No joke, I only had an half an inch left.

Pretty bummed this suspension can't handle a pretty basic weekend setup... My old Tacoma w/ Old Man Emu springs and shocks wouldn't have heaved a sigh, while charging washboards no problem.

I'm not looking to swap the springs or suspension until I blow it up, but what about an add-a-leaf? What have you guys done?

 

Air bags. That’s what I did with my truck. And a compressor.. it sucks how bad the rear end is on these trucks

 

Poke around the forum a little bit and you’ll see more stories of woe in regards to the tundras payload capacity.

 

Too many of you guys are overthinking this issue. Why spend all that money on "Airbags" and compressors, that WILL fail sooner or later? Take the smart way out, and install longer "SHACKLES". They fix the problem and never require any maintenance.
Work smarter, not harder.

 

I believe you. I think the Honda Ridgeline has more haul cap than the 3rd Gen. Might be time to sell or trade into a 1st Gen Tundra.

 

You could give sumo springs a try. Affordable and simple to install. Looking to get myself a set.

 

Lots of threads on this. Search on term “squat” and you’ll get a ton of hits.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/stop-the-squat-which-option.86481/

 

You bought a trim level that comes with a leveled, plush suspension, so it’s always going to appear to sag when you put anything in the bed.

 

I installed Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) on my 2017 Limited DC w/TRD package. Lifted the rear about 1.5" so it has a bit of a rake which I like. Sits level when towing my TT with a WDH - about 1,000 lbs static tongue weight.

 

I just bought my first TT and the sales guy tried talking me into a WDH. LITTLE DID I KNOW how important they are. I did some research while I was sitting there waiting to sign paperwork and went ahead and changed my mind. My truck barely squats at all. It was money VERY well spent... and apparently, not all sales dudes are pure filth.

 

OP, any idea how much all that stuff in your bed weighs? It's probably worth figuring out. @Willard has a great point about the front ride height of the PRO contributing to the appearance of sag.

I was curious whether my leaf springs were worn out or not a couple years ago, before I leveled my truck. They certainly looked flat to me. So, I conducted an experiment to see. I parked on level ground with an empty bed and measured from center of hub to fender, then incrementally added weight to the bed and measured. The little table below summarizes my findings...1,380#--essentially my entire payload--in the bed resulted in zero rake (the cab was also empty). This experiment was done with completely stock, ten year old suspension components front and rear. If my truck had been leveled like the PRO at the time, a mere 540# in the bed would have produced negative rake.

 

What is WDH?

I'll probably just add a leaf. Way better than shackles, and not the production as airbags. Cheap too.

 

weight distribution hitch

in what way is AAL better than shackles? I would take the opposite position.

 

Raptor has similar issue, and I thought using the Fox air shocks was a neat solution.

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/finally-got-a-true-removable-towing-solution-see-pics.58963/


I went with RAS route, going to see how it works with the new trailer, this was when I went to pick it up without RAS, towed decent and the sag wasn't so bad, empty it's about 2900lbs.

 

Once you tell us what all that gear weighs, we'll know why it's sagging.

 

Sumosprings are a cheap and easy option.

 

Here's my rough estimate on how much everything weighs:

Yakima HD towers and crossbars - 30 lbs
Retrax Tonneau Cover - 90 lbs
2 water jugs (2.5 gallons) - 45 lbs
American Van drawer - 50 lbs
Miscellaneous camp gear - 30 lbs
Yeti 45 cooler, packed - 50 lbs
E bike and motorcycle hitch rack -- 300 lbs
Total 595 lbs.

In my opinion that is not that much. These numbers are not 100 percent, but I would say, total weight is actually lighter than this.

I'm going to add a leaf. Seems to be the most logical.

 

OP, just got my truck back from bunch of work, during the downtime I had the dealer install RAS, it definitely sits bit higher now, and I have about 200lbs of stuff in the bed all the time, I don't notice any more firmness on normal road, but it felt like I added rear sway bar during corners.

Rear no longer sags.

 

Hey Downytide, Curious question could you have gone with the Coachbuilder plus one or two to raise the back to keep it from squatting. Thanks.

 

OP you can add a leaf, sounds like you kinda decided to do this before you posted, and just wanted to let others know you’re disappointed with the crappy payload. Most on here have not been impressed with add a leaf— essentially, you can count on the actual depth of the added leaf, but it won’t stop the sag happening.

 

Over time, the add a leaf will probably conform to the rest of the leaf pack.

You are not experiencing abnormal sag. You instead bought a truck with a level static stance. There is a reason trucks sit higher in the back when empty. Any leveled truck will “sag” with a small load

 

this has been my experience with AALs. And, it doesn’t take very long to happen, either. My shackles, however, have provided consistent lift for over two years with constant weight in the bed of 300-400#. And, improve the ride quality, thanks to replacing the stock rubber spring bushing with poly.

 

Probably, but I do tow, so the RAS were added mainly to aid towing, I don't think the coachbuilder kit would help much with that.

 

DO NOT do an add a leaf. I went with the @Icon_Adrian add a leaf a couple years ago and all I've had are problems with squeaking. They seem to hold fine when towing, but I've taken my truck back to the shop 3 times in the last two years to get them to work on the squeak. Seems like add a leaf manufacturers aren't able to build their add a leaf to fit perfectly with OEM leafs. Now I'm considering going completely back to stock on leafs and adding lift shackles. The other option is to replace the whole leaf pack, but that's the pricier option. Just my two cents.

 

Agree with SoCalTundy. You can add a leaf as a cheaper option for now, but if going that route might as well change out the whole leaf kit. Unless you don't mind hearing your truck bed squeak when it bounces. This is my rear setup: Coachbuilder Shackles +2 (1.25 inch lift) and SumoSprings. Bilstein 6112 set @ 1.9" in front.



Rear is approx. 1" higher than the front, but levels out nicely when towing/hauling.

 

What’s the purpose of the sumosprings? Is it like a bump stop? I didn’t come across these in my research when I lifted my truck 2.5 years ago.

 

Sumo springs are supplemental. Imagine them as a foam “airbag”. I have the lightest ones on mine. They work fantastic for hauling, but you cannot run them unloaded it is punishing

 

10-4. I tow a few times a year and even then it’s just a utility trailer with dirt toys. Probably not worth considering them for me.

 

I hear ya. My TT is pretty small so a lot of stuff gets loaded in my bed, which the sumos are fantastic for. I will be following the lead of another forum member and ordering a second set, then trimming them down to be normal bumpstops. This way i can have a daily driving and a hauling setup with a quick swap

 

Yes. Upgraded bump stop to help enhance load carrying ability, and stabilize ride. Happy with setup.