Recommended Suspension Enhancement for 2017 Toyota Tacoma for Occasional Towing

Question:

I have a 2017 Tacoma TRD Off Road double cab with the tow package and rated at 6400/lb towing capacity. I am planning on purchasing 23.5 foot travel trailer with a dry weight of 3500lbs. After the family and gear is loaded, I don’t anticipate ever going higher than 5000lbs of total weight, more likely closer to 4500lbs. Plan on taking roughly 12 trips per year, the rest of the time the truck is my everyday vehicle. With this info in mind, do you recommend that I get the sumosprings 40s or 47s? I am reading reviews that the 47s make for a rougher ride when not towing, but would the 40’s be adequate for the amount of weight I am planning to tow? not sure if it matters, but the tongue load is rated at 640lbs Thank you for your help,

asked by: Dan

Expert Reply:

If the loaded tongue weight of your trailer will be around 640 pounds, the better option between the two SumoSprings systems that you mentioned will be the higher-rated # SSR-612-47, which features a weight capacity of 1,000 pounds. The # SSR-612-40 that you also referenced has a weight capacity of 500 pounds so it may be a bit under-rated when hooked up to your fully loaded trailer. Both systems are confirmed to fit your 2017 Toyota Tacoma.

With this in mind, any jounce style spring may indeed provide a bit of a rougher ride when you aren't towing or don't have anything loaded into the truck bed. This wiill really be the case with the lower-rated springs as well. If you don't plan on towing too often and only occasionally load heavy cargo into the bed, a better option for your particular application in terms of suspension enhancement may be air springs like the Firestone # F2410 if you have 2WD. This is because the air bags can be adjusted manually (5 psi to 100 psi) to account for changes in loads to maintain a smooth ride regardless of what you are towing or carrying.

I have attached the written installation instructions for this system that you can also take a look at.

expert reply by: Chris R