Should my leaf springs look like this?

I just purchased a 2006 off-road and noticed my rear sags a little big. When I put 1200lbs of rocks in the back today I was looking like I was ridiculous. When I looked at my leaf springs, the brackets on both sides look like the pics. Is this normal?

 

With stock springs yes.

 

Looks normal. 1200lbs is a lot for a tacoma.

 

Does it look like the previous owner added a leaf?

 

Looks normal.
It also looks like someone added a spring?

The spring between the long ones and the short one on the bottom.

 

That is a stock 3+1 leaf pack with probably a single 1.5in AAL, all in all unloaded that pack looks pretty good.

1200lbs of rocks is ~200 lbs over the rating for payload on your typical tacoma WITHOUT YOU IN IT.

You bought the wrong truck if you think you can just slap over half a ton of stuff in the bed.

 

You’ll get used to the phrase “You aren’t on the bump stops yet” if you plan to haul a lot in the bed of a Tacoma. I bought a trailer.
OP
Oops like he kissed the frame with his bumps?
Suspiciously clean spot on the frame above the stop.

 

This^^^. That one clean, shorter spring is probably a Torch add-a-leaf or something like that. I installed a set on my truck last fall to lift the rear a little. For what it is, it looks normal.

 

There is, or was, a sticker on the driver's door frame that has "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXXX lbs" printed on it. That is the payload when it left the factory. It varies, but a 4X4 Double Cab with a 5' bed will be around 1000-1200 lbs and that also includes the tongue weight of a trailer. Depending on what you also had in the truck including any other passengers you were most likely overloaded by 200 lbs. And maybe (probably) a lot more.

Someone has already modified your truck to try to get it to sit more level when loaded heavy. The 1st thing I did after moving from a full size truck to my Tacoma was buy a 10'X6' utility trailer. You just ain't gonna put much in a Tacoma's bed. Even the longer ones. I can haul more weight and volume in my trailer than I could put in a 3/4 ton truck with an 8' bed. And the Tacoma tows it easily.

 

I had an old g1 I added a helper spring. That's what you have. Some brand. It looks good. All looks normal. But I agree with the comments above 1200 is wayyyy to much to haul in any generation tacoma. Think of your braking. As stated above. 1200 pounds of rock should be in a trailer. Not your bed. Believe it or not it's better on the transmission and brakes towing vs hauling. Think of it this way.

Would you rather
1. weigh 400 pounds and walk 30 miles.
2. Weigh 175 pounds and pull a 225 pound person in a wagon or 2 wheeled cart 30 miles.

Both might suck, but I'll take option 2. While that's a slight over simplification, it's overall point is valid.

This is why truly obese people use wheelchairs. Your doing the same thing to your taco.

Just because a thing can be done, doesn't mean it should.

 

I discovered the middle leaf was broken on my 2013 Access Cab soon after buying. Obviously didn’t look close enough. The break was dead center behind the left wheel. It was a 3+1 setup and looked like yours. I ordered 3+1 replacement springs and TRD rear shocks from Rock Auto. The back of the truck was raised about 4” and the ride was harsh. I just bought a 2012 ACCESS Cab TRD Off Road and it has the 2+1 and new shocks. It rides much better.

 

Thank you guys that’s a ton of help. I do not plan on regularly hauling anything except for my tent when I go camping. Just had a yard project that I needed to transport a bunch of rocks from Home Depot for.

What’s strange is the back sags lower than the front even empty. Anything I can do to fix that?

 

'What’s strange is the back sags lower than the front even empty. Anything I can do to fix that?'

Yes, check it out. As there is an added leaf in the pack seems like previous owner had the same issue and tried to correct it.
Find a good local mom 'n' pop garage and ask them to check it out.

 

Probably too late but the '06 had a recall on the rear springs. Mine sagged badly after hauling over 1k# and an add-a-leaf helped. Might be better off just replacing the springs.

 

Really? I suspect that the front is lifted then. How about some pics of the front suspension op.

 

I know you guys are correct about the specified payload but without taking my 1-piece Tonneau cover off 30 bags of mulch was the most I could load in my 5' Tacoma bed. Given that each bag weighs 40 lbs that is 1200 pounds. I did so not to prove anything but because right or wrong my metric has always been to carefully watch the bump stops.

Without the Tonneau cover I could have added more before bottoming out. Granted, once loaded I drove carefully and slower than normal. I typically made 3 trips and when I get back to my home I drive around my 1 acre lot with a hill in that back yard that is about 30 degrees. I would drive around the lot to distribute the bags around the trees and gardens. I've done this to my daily driver 2007 and 2014 Tacoma's every spring since I bought my first 2007 Tacoma.

I have stock springs with ICON AALs on a 2014 TRD Sport DCSB 4X4. Again, not trying to disagree and perhaps it is a strain on the rear axle. My point is only how I am constantly impressed with how rugged and durable my little Tacoma's have always been. I am also a bit fanatic about ride quality and comfort and used to put 30K miles a year on my trucks.

 

while the payload rating sucks its also widely understood the tacoma's capability is substantially in excess of said rating

with that said, the stock leafs are still horrible

 

This is what I went with. You don’t have to have them install as they will ship them to you.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/alcan-springs.761019/#post-27132659

 

Yeah if it's lower in the rear without any weight it probably has a front lift.

It's probably a spacer lift to which isn't ideal. Get some pics of the front suspension

 

yes, someone has added a short "overload" spring into the pack, and it's in the wrong spot. The packs are stacked with the longest to shortest leafs with the shortest being on the bottom.