Bilstein 6112/5160 vs Eibach Pro-Truck Stage 2R vs Fox 2.0

All 3 are quality setups. Here's been my experience with them all having sold them all and been in vehicles with them all on many, many different occasions.

Bilstein 6112/5160 - I currently hold this setup as the best setup for the money in most cases. You get a solid amount of oil capacity as @wi_taco alluded to, a shock that doesn't ask for a rebuild after 40k, and a very solid all-around ride quality.

Eibach 2R - Also an excellent setup. The ride profile is very similar to Bilstein, but the Eibachs ride a little softer in my experience. The downsides to them are that they are a smaller body up front so they are going to be more susceptible to shock fade when pushed. They also have shock bodies that I have found to be more susceptible to the elements. Our salt belt folks have been finding that the body finishes are tired after a couple of winter cycles. That said, we've never had one come back for breakage or seals failing so we're good there! Just a visual "note"

Fox 2.0 - We pretty much don't recommend these for daily drivers anymore... unfortunately. IMO you're largely paying for the name with the 2.0. For daily driven use they tend to ride quite firm (contrary to what their progressive valving nature would lead you to believe). Then, to top it off when you really push them they don't have the oil capacity to keep up. If you're going to run Fox my two cents is to push to something like the performance elite series where you'll get to truly feel the Fox benefits.

We've got everything that you've been eyeing here on the shelves at Hotshot Offroad. If you have more questions, or just want to chat through build ideas shoot me a pm or give us a buzz! 406-936-0206

 

Since you have some weight back there I'm almost always going to recommend adding in some steel to address it. A progressive AAL will certainly do the job and not punish you from a ride quality perspective. That said, if the budget allows for it you'll definitely get a little better ride quality/articulation out of a full replacement pack.

33s are a pretty common pairing with something like this on the Taco, but a lot of factors come into play like wheel offset, your aversion to cutting some metal/plastic, etc. If you want to stay on the safer side then I would say to look around a 32"-not quite 33" tire if you don't want to have to clearance much.

 

For the money we still really like Icon RXTs. You'll want to do a bit of squeak mitigation before install, but we have sold a ton of them, and they perform quite well. We actually even have them on sale starting today! If you pick them up with some shocks or other bits we'll ship them for free too.
https://hotshotoffroad.com/products/icon-2005-toyota-tacoma-multi-rate-rxt-leaf-pack-w-add-in-leaf