2016 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport or Off Road Double Cab Shortbed

[Newfish]

Hi Everyone,

I'm finally getting close to pulling the trigger.

I'm thinking of getting a Swift shell with a furnace, stove, 2 batteries, roof solar. I really don't 4 wheel, but, I might every once in a while. I plan to keep the camper on the truck all the time. Probably 4 or 5 times a year, I will have to pull 2 jet skis.

I do want a smooth ride if possible.

Does the Off Road have stronger shocks and springs so I will not have to change them?

Which Tacoma is better for what I will be using it for?

Does it even matter?

Thanks,

 

[rando]

I am in a similar position - I just ordered a Fleet Flatbed to go on a 2016 Tacoma that I am currently looking to buy. I am searching for a double cab long bed with the TRD off road package. Here are a couple of things I realized:
- The truck is going to be over its GVWR as soon as the camper is installed, so it is going to need to some suspension upgrades to handle the weight - my plan is to install an OME heavy kit with the extra leaf spring in the rear and maybe timbrens or airbags. The upshot of this is that the suspension you get is not so important as you will be replacing/upgrading it anyway.
- The TRD sport is waste, it seems to be entirely about "looks". As far as I can tell is gets you a fake hood scoop and some 17" bling wheels. With the TRD off road at least comes with better tires, a rear locking differential, traction control gizmos and extra skid plates.

 

[Stalking Light]

I have an Eagle on a TRD Sport, but the only reason I ended up with the Sport package is that they didn't offer the TRD Off Road in double cab long bed. That said, I've since replaced the suspension and the wheels/tires so all I really got was the hood scoop. When I wanted in the Off Road was the rear locker so I had to add and ARB one.

Even if you get the Off Road, as mentioned above, you will probably end up replacing the suspension and almost certainly the tires with E rated ones. A rear locker saved me a few times in the sand on my FJ is why I added it to my Tacoma.

 

[moveinon]

Tacomas, whether Sport or Off Road have weak rear springs. So you will have to upgrade the suspension or your head lights will always scan the tree tops. What you decide on as an upgrade, from my thinking, would depend on how you use the truck/camper and your own preferences. I take the camper off for 4 months a year and use the truck as a truck so I just put air bags on and adjust as needed and that has worked great for me. If I left the camper on all year I would have gotten custom springs for it and air bags. Other people just add overload springs or springs and beefier shocks if they off road more. No matter what you do with the suspension you also have to upgrade the tires to the correct load rating for the truck/camper weight as stock ones are not. For where I go off road either the Sport or Off Road models will get me there. The higher quality tires on the Off Road did not matter since I had to replace the truck tires because of the camper right away anyway. Some of the special down hill crawl capability, skid plates (which are great for those Oregon tree limbs) and rear lockers are really nice to have on the Off Road. But in reality unless you drive in the sand or rock crawl (which I just don’t do with a $50,000+ truck and camper)you might not use them much. I had a VW Syncro with front and rear lockers which I took off road 1,000’s of miles over 6 years and only needed to use the lockers 3 times. I have used my winch a lot more than that. Just as an FYI, with the Sport you get a little more clearance with the 17 inch tires and slightly lower RPM on the freeway. Since I always buy a low mileage used truck it was much more important that I got the best truck for the money than whether I got a useless scoop or a rarely used rear locker.

 

[rando]

Good point on replacing the tires anyway - I will be putting load range E tires before mounting the camper. Regarding the 16" vs 17" wheels - that is the wheel size, not the the tire size. The stock tires on both the Sport and Off Road are the same diameter 265/70R16 on the off road and 265/65/R17 on the sport - both 31.6" diameter, so clearance and gearing are the same. Off course, there is no reason you can't change sizes when you upgrade the tires if you want a taller tire.

Tacomas, whether Sport or Off Road have weak rear springs. So you will have to upgrade the suspension or your head lights will always scan the tree tops. What you decide on as an upgrade, from my thinking, would depend on how you use the truck/camper and your own preferences. I take the camper off for 4 months a year and use the truck as a truck so I just put air bags on and adjust as needed and that has worked great for me. If I left the camper on all year I would have gotten custom springs for it and air bags. Other people just add overload springs or springs and beefier shocks if they off road more. No matter what you do with the suspension you also have to upgrade the tires to the correct load rating for the truck/camper weight as stock ones are not. For where I go off road either the Sport or Off Road models will get me there. The higher quality tires on the Off Road did not matter since I had to replace the truck tires because of the camper right away anyway. Some of the special down hill crawl capability, skid plates (which are great for those Oregon tree limbs) and rear lockers are really nice to have on the Off Road. But in reality unless you drive in the sand or rock crawl (which I just don’t do with a $50,000+ truck and camper)you might not use them much. I had a VW Syncro with front and rear lockers which I took off road 1,000’s of miles over 6 years and only needed to use the lockers 3 times. I have used my winch a lot more than that. Just as an FYI, with the Sport you get a little more clearance with the 17 inch tires and slightly lower RPM on the freeway. Since I always buy a low mileage used truck it was much more important that I got the best truck for the money than whether I got a useless scoop or a rarely used rear locker.

 

[moveinon]

You are right on Rando, sorry, guess I was not too clear. My wife says that is a habit of mine. I assumed that the tires on either would be replaced -I meant that if you find a tire profile and rating that you really like for the truck as a replacement for the factory tires what the difference would be using that same tire on the 16 vs 17 inch wheels. I know there are lots of other considerations like 16 inch tires are often much cheaper, lots more choices for 17 inch tires sometimes, and if you are like a friend of mine that rock crawls the 16 can be easier to change air pressure on as well as issues with unsprung weight, gas mileage and change in ride quality, toughness, and durability and sometimes looks with size. Big investment, I think I spent almost $1,200 on five tires and one rim(to match my on truck rims so I could just rotate it through with the other four).

 

[Kodachrome]

I have a super built up 2005 4x4 TRD Tacoma access cab that when stock weighed about 4,250lbs. Now with the camper ( 2009 ATC Bobcat ) fully loaded the whole rig tips the scales at 6,200lbs....that is a full ton over stock and 700lbs over GVWR. I do hundreds of miles of medium to heavy duty off roading per year as part of my job so everything is built up to handle it ( yes, I rock crawl a $70K truck and camper ).

Tires are load range E BFG AT/KO-2 on 16" wheels, I run them at 45-50 psi for long highway, 35 psi in the Summer due to how much off road I see. The front suspension is a pair of Icon 2.5" coil overs with springs loaded for 800 pounds over stock Tacoma / TRD, Icon billet upper control arms, slotted rotors and heavier performance pads. The rear is Alcan heavy leaf springs, Ride Rite airbags with cradles for max droop , longer rear brake lines and Icon 2" reservoir shocks valved for 1,000lbs overweight. I am going to bump the entire brake system up a fair bit in fiscal 2017 with the emphasis on the rears. since my truck & camper is used for work, it stays on all the time and is significantly out of the realm of what an "average" Tacoma / pop-up camper setup looks like on the spec sheet, especially the motor.


The bottom line is that even with modest amenities, your complete setup will be heavier than you think it is and that means heavier than what is on paper so you have to make sure the tires, suspension and brakes are up to the task. Better to be overrated than underrated especially considering road safety...

 

[rando]

Kodachrome, thanks for the detailed description of your suspension set up, I was just about to start yet another thread asking about this issue. It seems that most of the suspension discussion is for people who may remove their camper and have to account for that. Ours will be on full time. Two further questions - when you ordered your custom springs from Alcan, what did you spec your load at, and which Icons are you using front and rear?

 

[krs1]

I have a pretty similar set up as kadochrome although I have fox suspension all around and all pro expidition 11 leaf pack that gives 3-4" of lift and for every inch is additional 500lbs. I have timbren bumps in the rear which I love but no airbags. I just recently purchased an 1999 b600 palomino which I haven't hauled yet do to being at work. Once I get it mounted this weekend hopefully I will report back with the ride results. I really wish someone would tell me how to post pics on here so I can give you guys pics of the sag when empty vs loaded