I need a bigger truck.

[Somesawguy]

I love my Toyota, but it doesn't haul much wood in a load. Is there a way to beef these up a little?

I need to call, but there are some blowdowns in CL that someone wants gone.

 

[banshee67]

I love my Toyota, but it doesn't haul much wood in a load. Is there a way to beef these up a little?

I need to call, but there are some blowdowns in CL that someone wants gone.

you sure? there was a thread with guys on here praising tacomas wood hauling capabilities!
one even said the 4 cylinders, as long as a manual gearbox, will pull anything!

really the best thing you could do for it, is get a trailer to pull behind it for wood. its not going to take much to put the bed of a taco down on the bump stops, and its better to abuse a cheap trailer, than your truck.
1/2cord will bottom out a full size 1/2 ton trucks suspension, couldnt imagine what itd do to a tacoma! i guess you could get some helper springs for the rear, or even some air bags.. but then you still have an extremely overloaded truck, only without a bottomed rear suspension, and then comes the question of power/tranny being able to handle the load

 

[Somesawguy]

you sure? there was a thread with guys on here praising tacomas wood hauling capabilities!
one even said the 4 cylinders, as long as a manual gearbox, will pull anything!

really the best thing you could do for it, is get a trailer to pull behind it for wood. its not going to take much to put the bed of a taco down on the bump stops, and its better to abuse a cheap trailer, than your truck.
1/2cord will bottom out a full size 1/2 ton trucks suspension, couldnt imagine what itd do to a tacoma! i guess you could get some helper springs for the rear, or even some air bags.. but then you still have an extremely overloaded truck, only without a bottomed rear suspension, and then comes the question of power/tranny being able to handle the load

Pull maybe, but it doesn't take much to really load the bed down.

I'll have to start looking into trailer options.

 

[peterc38]

you sure? there was a thread with guys on here praising tacomas wood hauling capabilities!
one even said the 4 cylinders, as long as a manual gearbox, will pull anything!

Thats good, after they start pulling "anything" I wonder if they can stop it when the time comes. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[4seasons]

First a small disclaimer. Just because I did this and it worked for me doesn't mean it is safe or won't cause you to break other parts. Driving a overloaded truck makes for some scary handling and should not be done on highways or anywhere where you might lose control and hurt someone.

I have an 85 Toyota short bed. After using it to haul some landscaping stone I quickly learned that the springs were much to soft for a real load. I had some 1/2 and 3/4 ton Chevy spring packs laying around from rebuilding 3 73-87 trucks. I took the main leaf and overload leaf off a 3/4 ton pack and used the main leaf from the Toyota spring on the back. Toyota leafs are 2 1/4 inch wide and Chevy's are 2 1/2 so the bolts wont go over them without some grinding or changing the spring perch for a wider spring. In the front I used the 2nd and 3rd leaf from a 1/2 ton Chevy pack in addition to the 1st and 2nd Toyota leaf. Now I can put 1 1/2 tons in the bed without touching the bump stops. It gained about 1 1/2 inch lift in the front and 2 1/2 inches in the back. I only load the truck that heavy for around the house work as the brakes are still stock and a good bump would bottom the suspension. Toyota axles and the housing aren't the strongest parts around so they wont hold up to this kind of abuse. Some companies sell ad-a-leaf kits for these trucks that do basically the same thing that I did with spare parts. I have also heard of people using custom brackets to put the rear spring in front and swapping in 63" Chevy springs from early 90's truck to the back. With enough custom metal fabricating almost anything can be made to work, just depends how much you want to spend and how much you want to cut up your truck.

You didn't mention what year or condition your truck was in. If you really want to haul a load and not just add a few pounds to what it takes to bottom the suspension, why not sell the Toyota and get a 3/4 or 1 ton full size? If your worried about fuel mileage you might want to check what your are getting now and compare that to a full size. My little 22re has never got over 20 mpg and most of the time 15 is all it will do because I have to stand in it to get up hills. My worst tank ever from my 75 Chevy was 11 mpg and most of the time I could get 15 from it. A newer fuel injected v8 will blow those numbers away.

 

[Somesawguy]

The best I get is around 22mpg with it. I like the truck because it's reliable, but the gas mileage isn't much better than the newer 3/4 tons.
I'll have to look into the helper springs a bit more. I don't want to overload it, but they sag pretty fast.


Perhaps the next truck will be something bigger.

 

[Johndirt82]

could always put tow air bags to aide the rear springs abit. Or get an old beater f250-350 . I got a 79f250 ranger 4x4 with a built 400m in it and I don't know why I didn't get something like it sooner , if you can fit it in the bed it will haul it.

 

[johncinco]

I have a tundra. I put added leafs underneath, and they really helped to keep it level with a load in the bed. I think they are Gerbing or something like that. I can look it up if you need. They cost about $100 I think off one of the parts sites.

 

[NeoTree]

I would say so far the best suggestion so far other than a new truck or tailer would be to get some scrap matched leaves and put them in with your own spring pack.
Go down to your local junkyard, they should be laying all over the place for cheap. The next problem you will run into is the strength of your rearend and axles, with all of the weight on your stock axles somday it could break. Then you have the loading of the tire, can it handle the load...etc.
Now I am not one to talk, I put the add-a-leaf kit on my 1990 chevy 1/2 ton and would still bottom out the suspension,...about 30 or so times this summer hauling wood, it was scary and stupid. That is why I bought a different truck..
Anyway, the add a leaf thing helped, but not that much, I would not recommend it for the $100+ price tag, plus if you need new u bolts add another $40 or so. I'm actually getting ready to add a couple leafs I got from the junkyard for $5 to my new truck, which has a full floating rear end where the weight of the load is actually carried by the rear end housing, not the axles.

Heres what my 1500 looked like with the add a leaf kit and a load of seasoned, not heavy wood....crappy

 

[Chris Crouse]

The best bet is to buy an american vehicle. I'd recommend a 1975 Chevy El Camino. It should easily quadruple your hauling capacity. Plus then you no longer have to be embarrased driving around in a foreign heap!

 

[Johndirt82]

79 f250 don't sag but an inch or two with more than half a cord or wet oak on it.

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=129116&d=1268589109

 

[Johndirt82]

You do realize that toyota trucks are more american made than any other truck right? No really.

 

[HOGBEAR]

My new to me F250 hauls a pretty good load, the tool body really helps too. Dont have any pictures with it loaded but I will get some of the next trip.

 

[dmorris]

u still can't beat an old chevy or ford!

 

[Circle B MN]

Regardless of the make or model, you just can't get a small truck to do the same job as efficiently and safely as a truck of proper size for the job. I'd look into a beater wood hauler before I spent a dime on the Toyota.

 

[sunfish]

My choice for a wood truck, would be a early to mid 90s' F250 FWD.

That said, I wound up with a 94 Toyota 4x4, with 270,000 miles on and I love it.
5 spd, 22R, 22 MPG. The only things replaced on it have been the starter, timing chain, front brakes and exhaust.

I load half a cord on it and it sits down on the bump stops. No problem there, lol. Also the brakes on this truck are huge (4x4 model) and stopping isn't a problem at all. The size of this truck works extremely well in the woods also.

 

[trailmaker]

I've got an 04 regular cab Tacoma and I went with Super Springs. You might also want to check out Timbrens which replaces the stock bump stops.

I've been researching small used dump trucks recently and they're surprisingly cheap. The depreciation on those things must be enormous. The used market seems to be huge, checkout Craigslist and all the usual places.

 

[Somesawguy]

My choice for a wood truck, would be a early to mid 90s' F250 FWD.

That said, I wound up with a 94 Toyota 4x4, with 270,000 miles on and I love it.
5 spd, 22R, 22 MPG. The only things replaced on it have been the starter, timing chain, front brakes and exhaust.

I load half a cord on it and it sits down on the bump stops. No problem there, lol. Also the brakes on this truck are huge (4x4 model) and stopping isn't a problem at all. The size of this truck works extremely well in the woods also.

Maybe it will take more abuse than I thought. It's good to hear that you haven't had any trouble with breaking things. I was worried about breaking axles or something with is sagging so much.

That sounds about like the usual stuff that goes on these.

 

[bullittman281]

hello,
Here is my venture with wood haulers. I used to have an 84 toyota with short bed. It worked ok for several years. Actually it worked great for what it was. I could pile the bed high until it wouldn't hold any more and the truck did just fine. It was slow but it did just fine. It just wouldn't hold all that much, even stacked above the cab.

I upgraded to a 7.3 superduty a couple of years ago and love it. I can haul twice as much as the toyota and it still has enough power to tow the world. With a small trailer I can haul a cord of green pine with out trouble. Dry pine I could probably haul twice that. I paid 8K for it but it needed a lot of work. It now has 200K miles on it and it runs and drives perfect. These trucks are bullet proof.

If it were me I'd try to find a ford with a 7.3 diesel. They came to be in 94 and lived all the way to early 2003. The engine is bullet proof and fairly simple to work on. Don't let the electronics scare you, they are very reliable. The early trucks (pre-99) were not intercooled and didn't make as much power as the later intercooled ones. If you look at an old body style look for the F350 because the F250 got the hokey IFS. The superdutys are all solid front axle. The superduty auto tranny is a fuzz better than the older trucks auto but neither are particularly great. I'd look for a truck with a manual tranny. The superduty got a 6 speed where-as the older trucks got a 5 speed. The 6 speed is by far the better set up. The superduty also got 4 wheel disk brakes where-as the older trucks are rear drum. Overall the superduty is a far better truck, from the more durable interior on down.

Fuel economy is good with any of the diesel trucks. I get 17-18 MPG out of mine most of the time, Even hulling wood. You wont be sorry with diesel power. I don't know what your budget is but if you can swing a coal burner go for it.

Bullittman

 

[Jredsjeep]

a big truck can sure take a big load but a small truck can take a good load with a trailer. i figure i have about a cord on the ranger and trailer, the trailer is a 4 x 7.5 foot i built 15 years ago as a teen.

my big truck has a load of oak and hickery in that pic.