How to get MORE Ground clearance at Skid Plate

I have searched around a bunch and need some real world advice specific to my needs.

Old truck, 2006 1st gen Tundra. 12.1" ground clearance stock. 265/75/16 Load E and 1" spacer up front. Upgraded shocks to just some more quality shocks like kyb or rancho 5000 comparable. This was almost the perfect dd/offroad and "semi" work truck for me, it just wore out. Rode kinda stiff but I liked it and that thing was a beast anywhere.

I just got a new ACLB OR which supposedly has almost the same payload and towing capacity as the truck described above. However, it feels much weaker and has only 9.2" ground clearance.

I need to gain clearance at the front skid plate. Can any clearance be gained there via spacer or coilover lift relatively easily?

Some rake is ok and I need to be able to carry weight.
This is my first full day with truck, had to do some work but did keep it very tame during break in period.

Put a 600lb atv in bed. This was not very confidence inspiring. The whole truck was shaking about and the rear leafs bent in the other direction with a fair bit of squat, Can't really see it in this particular pic. This is at less than half of payload. Also, with weight in the back I could sway and rock the truck quite easily.

I will at all times have a topper and tools in the truck aprox: 350lbs not including me.
Live in the mountains at 10,000ft and the truck spends around half of its life on dirt roads and rougher terrain. I guess most important to me is in this order:
1-offroad ability - ground clearance
2-towing payload performance
3-highspeed highway
all without going under 17mpg. I think that should be attainable.

-Potential fixes, without excessive component modding.

1. Since new truck use what I have for a while, add a 1" thick spacer to front shocks for 2" +- "lift" dunno if this will raise the ground clearance at skid plate or not.
1-3 sizes taller tire, not wider
Rear progressive aal for lift and extra payload.
Use this till something wears out and save up a bit of cash for option 2.

2. Bilstein 6112 coilovers in front. 1.75-2" lift dunno if this will raise ground clearance at skid plate or not. Will this give me more travel?
1-3 sizes taller tire, not wider
Bilstein 5160 in rear, will this give more travel?
Full new leaf pack in back rated for 600lbs or more.

I would really appreciate your thoughts, comments or suggestions about any of this.

Thanks!

 

If you want to lift the diffs or skid plates up.. taller tires are really the only option. Suspension just raises everything above the diffs (in the sense of height). Upgraded suspension can help you clear taller tires via clearance and alignment specs though.

EDIT: With the front being independent, a front lift can get you some additional ground clearance, but be careful how much you lift as these trucks are really sensitive to down-travel.

In the rear though with the straight axle, the only way to gain ground clearance is tires.

 

A 2” lift will raise the front skid plate 2”. Anything attached to the frame moves up. The only thing that will raise the lower control arms and the rear axle are bigger tires. I would do with something along the lines of your option 2. Only thing I would change is the need for 600lb leaf springs. You probably won’t like how they ride when you are empty.

 

Great. I thought that was the case but was not sure.
So I can easily get an extra 2" at skid and .5-1" overall with tires.

Sounds like coilovers in front, progressive aal in back maybe with Sumo Springs for towing.

I'm not yet sure if am comfortable doing the install myself. Hoping to find a local to help out.

(install) Cost wise for the front, would spacers or coilovers cost roughly the same amount since the labor to get in there is almost the same?

 

For the money you will spend on an aal and sumo springs just buy a set of deavers and don’t worry about the band aids.

 

Or you could look at Icon RXT leaf pack… adjustable and have an overload leaf too.
My 2 cent.

 

With 33” (LT255/85r16) tires and a 1-2” lift I have a ground to TRD slid plates oil drain door clearance of 13”. Rear diff clearance is 10.5” (8.75” diff).

Note that ground clearance is commonly defined as the distance from the ground to lowest point on the truck disregarding the tires. For a Tacoma, that is the distance from the ground to the rear diff AFAIK. The rear diff can only be raised via taller tires.

Another thing to consider is that the front skid/diff clearance is reduced when the suspension compresses, thus the true front ground clearance should probably be measured with the suspension fully compressed and only tires can raise that number.

 

I ordered
6112 + 650lb Bilstein coil
5160 in back + wheelers aal

The aal is rated at 1.5" lift. Is it ok to leave the factory overload spring on to gain .5" and some overload protection? Is this too much lift out back for the 5160's? Should I have gone with a longer travel shock? It's not too late.

The 650" coil spring will probably give me and extra .5 upfront.
I am aiming for 2.25" in front and 2" in rear.

Will also do the ECGS.
Is there anything else I will need to do this particular lift properly?
I think I'm good on stock uca, brake lines etc.

Thanks

 

I'd suggest Uca's with anything over 1.5" of lift so you dont have to worry about it, or have a truck that is aligned poorly

 

There is a 1/2” spacer from Headstrong Offroad that works better than the factory overload leaf. The factory overload hits some of the clamps and brackets which seems sketchy, but lots of people do run that set up without issues.

On my last taco I ran the 2 longer add-a-leaves out of the three, removing the stubby 3rd spring, with the factory overload and liked the ride and it handled weight just fine. I ended up with 1.75” in the back. The overload didn’t hit any brackets or rivets while giving some extra support.

 

You sound like the perfect example of needing air bags, if it were me I'd do that in addition to everything else