Trail Master's kit is simple...
Trail Master's kit is simple and self-explanatory. There are two shackles, two coil spacers for the struts, and a few exhaust hangers.
There are a lot of leveling kits out there for sale. Heck, there are more leveling-kit companies than lift-kit companies it seems, nowadays. But sometimes you want an actual couple inches of lift, front and rear, and not just to level out your truck. There are a variety of ways to do this, and you are certainly welcome to look around to mix and match to get both your front end and rear end up in the air. But if you have a Tacoma and want to make just one call, then check out Trail Master's new 2-inch coil spring and shackle lift for first generation Toyota Tacomas. SLO Works in San Luis Obispo, California, had our test truck back together in about three hours, including compressing the coil springs to get the spacers on. And though front coil spacers will make no ride benefit changes, the new rear shackles allowed the rear leaves to move more easily and slightly improved this Taco's off-road performance.
 SLO Works pulled the factory...  SLO Works pulled the factory strut out and found it was wasted, so we took the time to buy a new replacement strut from the local parts store. You'll need to use a coil compressor to squash down the coil enough to stick the spacer on the end of the strut. |  The spacer is 1.5 inches tall,...  The spacer is 1.5 inches tall, but the factory cushion is half an inch thick so there is really only an inch added with the new spacer. Since the strut sits about halfway down on the A-arm, this inch at the strut equates out to 2 inches of lift. |  Once the spacers were on the...  Once the spacers were on the struts, SLO Works reinstalled them into the Tacoma's front end. We found it easiest to support the truck's frame, lower A-arm, and remove the knuckle from the lower A-arm at the ball joint. |
 The new shackle was extremely...  The new shackle was extremely easy to replace. We took the weight off of the rear end of the truck, used a hydraulic jack to control the axle height, and removed the stock shackle. |  The new Trail Master shackle...  The new Trail Master shackle is an extremely heavy duty unit, and is about 3 inches longer than the factory one, allowing the leaves to swing more easily and achieve more travel. At the same time, we gained about 1.5 inches of lift in the rear. | |
How Did We Like It?
We took the Tacoma out for a little spin in the dirt before the owner got back and figured out what we had done. It actually rode a little better than it did stock, thanks to both the rear shackle and of course the new shocks we installed at the same time. But the added ground clearance was much appreciated, and the lift was not enough to make our standard-sized tires look too small. We were definitely happy with this simple and cost-effective kit.