Squat

Today I'm getting an extra leaf added to my truck. I tow a trailer loaded with timbers from the sawmill fairly regularly and I hate the squat. My outgoing Tacoma had two extra leafs installed and it held tongue loads well. The Tacoma is a great hard working truck and has been super reliable but I decided to move to the tundra because I was often towing the maximum for the Tacoma plus maybe I'm getting old and am liking comfort over sporty. I fully expect my new Tundra will not let me down What have others done to prevent "The squat"?
Here are some pics of my outgoing Tacoma and a pic of my new (to me) Tundra.

 

Nice!

 

There are airbags, aftermarket leaf springs, weight distribution hitches, etc. Many like the RAS system (Roadmaster Active suspension). I'll link that thread for you. Good looking dogs by the way.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/roadmaster-active-suspension-review.103453/

 

I originally bought the "Super Spring" for the Tacoma. What a waste of money that was. I still have them in the sea can. I went with the properly added leaf at a spring shop because I knew it would work and also add more lateral stability as well. My faith in aftermarket gimmicks has been marred.

 

The Tundra pictured in the link, did it have the RAS spring on it? That’s quite the squat with only 500 lbs. Also looked up that product on Amazon and it’s almost $900 cdn. I’m getting my leafs professionally installed for only $500. Also, they are installing the extra leafs without lifting the truck. Unless you are just putting in rubber stoppers, and any helper spring will lift the rear of the truck. If they aren’t, they’re not doing anything. As far as ride quality on the Tacoma, it was rough going over train tracks and when on bad roads but on good roads, it was a good ride.

 

I really like the RAS. It is the only aftermarket add-on that improves the ride loaded and unloaded. They also behave similarly to a rear anti-sway bar. I got the HD set and dialed them in to the max setting. The ride is no more rough or bouncy than it was without them.

Before the RAS, I had Ride Rite airbags. Those were awful. From the minimum required 5psi and up, they added annoying bounce and rebound to the truck that wasn't there stock.

 

I've been very happy with my Firestone RideRite air bags for the last 100k miles. I tow an haul often, and hate a squatted rear. I usually have 4-800 lbs of gear in the truck including a topper, so I just swapped in an Icon 3 leaf add a leaf kit to rely a little less on the bags for daily driving. Still have the bags and I don't mind filling them up when needed. I've got a compressor in the bed, but just picked up a Milwaukee inflator and it makes it a cinch to air up when not at the shop or house.

Also, LT tires helped to firm up the ride a bit but aren't strictly necessary. If you spend much time driving around empty, you may want to keep a p rated tire on there. Personally, I don't mind the ride of an LT tire, even unloaded.