Thinking of a Leveling Kit

Hi all,
I'm thinking of throwing a leveling kit on my 1st gen access cab before I get new tires, just good timing so that I pay for the tires I want. I'm no expert, so I'm looking at paying someone to do it for me. Thus far, Les Schwab hs the best price ($350) for a simple 2" leveling kit.
Does anybody have suggestions or recommendations on what to ask or look for? Price range, type of install, concerns about level kits in general?

Thanks all!

 

I think the main thing you will hear is concerns with leveling kits. I'm assuming you mean the spacer lifts. Those put extra strain and preload on your springs/shocks. This will result in premature wear and an unpleasant ride, not to mention the suspension won't cycle to it's full potential.

If you plan to never go offroad, I have heard of many people running them without issue. I am a big believer in live and let live, so if that is something you want then go for it!

For not much more you could do the classic Bilstien 5100 shocks and move them up a few settings. These reuse your factory springs. It is a much better option over spacers. Depending on budget, the sky is the limit of course!

If you're doing only 2 inches you should be fine without replacing any other components. By that I mean once you go roughly 3" and above certain parts need replacing because they do not work well with the new suspension angle.

 

My truck came with one....I'm going to take it off the next time I do suspension work. Even with air bags in the rear without the factory rake its really hard to haul anything without the truck squatting.

 

This. @TypicallyConfused It's your truck so do what makes you happy. But most of us wouldn't do a spacer lift. If it were me, I'd just get the 5100's mentioned above. Also, I see your truck is a 2000. Have you had any front suspension work done? If you still have the original 19 year old coilovers then you'd likely enjoy having new ones.

 

I leveled my '02 by replacing the standard 4wd coil springs with a set of 4wd TRD Off road coils springs that were available at the time, I don't know if they are available today but they did lift the front enough to bring level with the rear loaded & capped. I also have an Air-Lift kit for towing, but I have not installed it yet.

Leveled with the 250 lb LEER cap, and approximately 400 lbs of gear in the bed.

 

I agree with the mention of the old coil springs. Mine is a 2000 as well. I purchased the Eibcach coils and springs with hopes to have a nicer ride. They are not yet installed.

Old Man Emu (OME) shocks and springs are great as well from what I have read by many. They sometimes are called ARB as well if you have difficulty locating them.

Money can be spent very fast doing stuff like this, but buy once cry once. I HATE doing my work twice when in the beginning I could have just waited and saved a little longer to have done it with be longevity.

Let us know what you decide and many of us will chime in wherever we can. Best of luck in modding out your truck, and do what YOU want to do. It's YOUR truck man!

 

Thanks all! I'm out of my element, so this is exactly the kind of input I was looking for. As of now, I think some more research is the right direction. In response to a few comments:

I'm not a big off-road type driver, but the main point of this was to get some larger/more capable tires for the few times I need to go off-road (good fishings spots aren't always easy to access).

If you have any suggested places to look into this (past threads or something) please send them my way. I keep seeing stuff about Bilstien, but don't really know anything about them.

I'm almost certain the front end has never been touched, the owner prior to me had zero interest in the truck other than A to B for work.


Thanks again for all the replies, I'll at least consider all options for the time being. I would prefer to do this somewhat right the first time around, mostly because I probably won't be up for dumping any more money into the same project after the initial hit to the account.

 

I don't have any specific threads in mind, however you should check out the 1st gen builds page. Lots of good info in there with guys who have real hands on experience.

https://www.tundras.com/forums/1st-gen-builds-2000-2006.22/

 

The ‘Off Road Package’ on the 1st Gens definitely makes them sit differently than the standard package. Never knew there was a distinction until researching (via VIN#) suspension coils and leaf springs parts.

Your truck sits about like mine with #100 in the bed. You haul around weight on a regular basis, as do I. Max payload of 1600lbs only drops the bed bump stop to about an inch off the frame.

I’m amazed at how well these original springs and coils are holding without sag after so many years of service.

 

Yes sir, the TRD coils from that time were a true upgrade. My leaf packs were replaced under warranty in '03 when the truck had about 20k, and I have put a little over 140k on them. I have hauled 2000 lbs of bottled water in the bed while pulling a utility trailer loaded with another 2000 lb. of bottled water... she sagged a bit but made the trip just fine. I was about to install an Air-Lift kit when my bottler went out of business.

 

This sounds like a great solution! Did you keep stock leaf springs in the back or did you need to do any work to the back half?

 

Stock leaf packs, but I did add a Hellwig rear sway bar it enabled me to manage 4K of sloshing water better.