Rear End Sag with Tundra Suspension Leveling Kit???

Tundra owner here; my first choice would be to remove the front end leveling kit. However, if you're only 1/2" lower in the rear, I would not worry about it. I went with Timbrens on the rear of my Tundra btw.

I think I would remove the front end leveling kit and forget about adding air bags to the rear.

Ron

Yeah...removing the leveling kit is an option. I am not mechanical myself--not sure how much labor it would be to do that / how much it would cost me.

My idea of the airbags was that it might actually be cheaper to get those than to remove the leveling kit, or comparable in price perhaps.


Also, just modified my post--the rear end is actually about an inch lower than the front and not a half inch.

Matt

Removing the leveling kit would be the best option, how difficult it is depends on how it was installed....if it's a bolt on it should be easy to remove. However if they replaced OEM parts with new/different kit parts, then you will be looking at parts costs in addition to labor costs to remove.

Maybe snap a few pics of the front suspension and post on one of the Toyota forums and see if anyone can identify the kit and tell you what's involved in removing it. There's likely only a couple of kit options for your specific truck, so somebody should recognize it, not like there's a hundred choices....

This Rough Country Kit says it's easily removable and easy to return the vehicle to its stock height.

Here's an assortment of kits at Summit Racing, see if you can see one that looks familiar.

Just for costs comparisons sake, we had air bags installed last week in our '12 Dodge 1500 Laramie. It was $243 labor and materials. In California where everything is more expensive....

That's pretty cheap. That was going to be one of my other questions--how much air bags would cost.

As stated by the poster above there are some unknown variables with the leveling kit. I really don't know who made it so I am not sure what other parts may have been swapped out or modified to accommodate the kit...longer shocks, etc...???

I also think that getting them off may be labor intensive, but not sure. Again, I know very little about these things.

The leveling kit does look pretty cool when not towing. I would "think" that keeping the leveling kit on and then putting the money towards the airbags (rather than labor to remove the leveling kit) might offer the better value since the air bags are generally a good upgrade for towing anyway, right? Or at least I would think...???

Matt

Matt

For what it's worth I have both a level kit and bags installed on my Tundra. For the level kit you have 2 ways. Bilstien 5100 struts with the adjustable spring perch (3 settings) or a spacer that sits on top of the spring. Most use the spacer and it is easy to remove but you will need to take the struts out of the truck. Most garages should be able to do both sides in an hour. You will need an alignment as well.
If they used the Bilstiens, you can keep them and lower the ride height back to stock by adjusting the lower spring mount. Involves removing the strut as well to do this.

The other option is to leave it as it is. Assuming the hitch is set up correctly, 1" of sag from unloaded height is reasonable. It just looks like more because the nose started out high. As long as your headlights aren't bothering other drivers it should be fine.

Bags can take the sag out but can have a negative affect on the WD hitch which can make it difficult to set up correctly. They do help smooth out the ride though and will lift the rear. Airlift and Firestone make some good ones for around $350 without the compressor.

Thanks for all the replies. At the suggestion of my local dealer, I tried putting some more tension on the WDH to transfer more weight to the front axle.

The result is that the front end sits about a quarter inch lower than without the trailer hooked up so it is transferring a bit more weight to the front axle than optimal perhaps; however, now the truck sits dead level without a load in the back and with the camper dry.

I would think that a bit of a load and some water in the trailer should bring it down about an inch or so...??? I will have to test it out and see. I guess that passengers in the front seat will have an impact too

My dealer recommended the option of just adding a 1 or 1.5 inch block under the leaf springs in the rear in order to bring the rear up a bit. He thought that air bags might make a rough ride.

Matt

Matt,
I would not add blocks if I am towing.
I'd also be cautious about over adjusting the WD to compensate for a leveling kit. You may put too much pressure on the front (especially if the leveling kit contains third party components) or even the frame, and you could negatively impact handling.
Not sure it's wise to follow your dealers recommendations on this ....

One inch is nothing to worry about. I think equalizer says 1/2" is acceptable.

There are STOCK TRUCKS out there that will not adjust to the equalizer specs.

I think another 1/2" will not take that much weight off your steering axle.

In other words-the money you spend to remove the leveling kit isn't worth it.