Despite what some folks might think, many truck owners still use their trucks as, well, trucks. While today’s trucks are more capable and luxurious than ever before, there’s always room for improvement – especially when it comes to hauling and handling. That’s where RoadActive Suspension comes in, with a simple and ingenious leaf spring kit that can effortlessly optimize the usefulness of your rig.

Many truck owners take their leaf spring suspensions for granted. It’s back there. It always works. Why worry? What they fail to realize is that their suspensions could work better, stronger, and smoother. Established in 1998, Charlotte, North Carolina’s RoadActive Suspension produces the only rear leaf spring suspension upgrade that converts a basic passive leaf spring suspension into a mechanical active suspension. In essence, the company took a time-tested component, the leaf spring axle, and brought it straight into the 21st century.

The RoadActive Suspension kit utilizes coil tension springs to convert traditional passive leaf spring suspensions into mechanical active suspensions.

A Lot Of Kit For Not A Lot Of Money

Made right here in America, RoadActive’s suspension kit includes two coil tension springs that, by keeping your truck’s leaf springs arched to specification, improve suspension strength by up to 50-percent. By mitigating the forces that deform your truck’s leaf springs, RoadActive’s coil tension system upgrades handling and safety. In addition to reduced sagging under heavy loads, the kit reduces sway and body roll while providing better traction due to less axle wrapping. And all this in a product that not only improves ride quality but also takes just an hour to install.

We decided to put RoadActive’s system to the test on a third-generation Toyota Tacoma. The truck’s owner needed a dual-purpose platform for both work and play, so he outfitted this Taco as part professional photography mule and part compact hunting rig. That said, the truck’s mechanical mods are fairly mild, with wheels and a level kit being the only big-ticket items. This was important because we wanted to experience the product the way most buyers would experience it, and we knew RoadActive’s kit would be a more approachable install on a stock suspension.

Install With Ease

Installation requires just a few basic tools: wheel chocks, a jack and jack stands, a lug wrench, a 14mm wrench, a 14mm socket, and a 24mm wrench. Safety should always be the number one priority, so we began by making sure the truck was on a solid, level surface. After we placed wheel chocks in front of the truck’s steer tires, we loosened the lugs that hold the rear wheels. Remember, at this point, the idea is to simply loosen the lugs, not take them completely off. We’ll get to that later.

Now that it was time to raise the truck, we placed our hydraulic jack under its rear differential and lifted the rear end high enough to place jack stands under its frame rails. One important thing to note is that the rear of the truck must be high enough, at least initially, to easily remove the wheels. With the lug nuts off and the wheels removed, we were ready to lower the jack back down.

Get Low, Get Loose

The idea behind lowering the differential, via the hydraulic jack, is to loosen the truck’s rear suspension and get maximum arch out of its leaf springs. Max arch is essential for RoadActive’s kit to be installed correctly and to fully realize the system’s benefits. Also, since we had the wheels off and the truck in the air, we decided this was a good time to inspect its brake lines and bushings for any concerning wear.

With the suspension low and loose, we positioned one of RoadActive’s coil tension springs on top of the truck’s leaf spring. With the leaf eye bracket hook facing the rear of the truck, we placed the bracket hook over the top of the leaf spring eye. For successful installation, this hook must be centered over the eye. With the hook centered, we made our way to the opposite end of the component, commonly referred to as the axle connecting bracket. This is where things got a bit tricky as, on our Tacoma, the truck’s staggered shocks made for tight clearance on the passenger’s side. Admittedly, we purposely began our install with the passenger’s side, since we knew it would be the most difficult of the two. If you’re running larger aftermarket shocks, we urge you to check with RoadActive before ordering a kit to see if your rig will have enough clearance, because it’s close. That said, bolting everything up on our stock Tacoma was still very easy despite the tight clearance.

Because of the staggered shocks on our Tacoma, clearance was tight. That said, the system was still easy to install.

Built In Adjustability

At the axle connecting bracket, we removed the 14mm bolt, nut, and spacer and chose the mounting location hole that best fit our Tacoma. According to RoadActive, the second or third hole generally provides the most strength when approaching your truck’s max towing capability. Our next step was to locate the bolt and spacer directly under the truck’s leaf spring, and then tighten the bolt with the 14mm socket while holding the nut with the 14mm wrench. With the component essentially bolted up, we ensured the bracket hook was still centered over the leaf spring eye, then we ensured the connecting bracket bolt and nut were fully tightened.

The most important step, as far as usability, is tensioning the coil spring. We began by positioning the two jam nuts in the center of the threaded rod behind the spring and tightening them down. Next, we held the rod in place by putting the 24mm wrench on the rear lock nut, just above the bracket hook, while turning the cap screw, located at the bracket in front of the spring, with the 14mm socket.

RoadActive includes two spacers to measure the gaps between the spring’s coils. The thinner measurement tool in the kit is 1mm, which increases suspension strength up to 25%. The thicker measurement tool is 2mm, which increases suspension strength up to 50%.

As the spring stretched, we started measuring the gaps between the coils with two measurement pieces included in RoadActive’s kit. The thinner measurement tool in the kit is 1mm, which increases suspension strength up to 25%. The thicker measurement tool is 2mm, which increases suspension strength up to 50%. Once our 1mm gap was set, we loosened the jam nuts on the rod and tightened them down onto the coil spring one at a time, per RoadActive’s instructions.

Once we had both sides installed, we made sure our bracket hooks were still centered and checked to make sure all of our hardware was tight. Next, we jacked the truck back up, put the wheels and lugs back on, and removed our jack stands. And finally, we lowered the truck back onto its tires, where we could tighten all the lugs.

Work Smarter And Smoother

As you can tell, RoadActive’s kit didn’t add any unwanted rake to our already leveled Tacoma. In fact, the only real post-installation difference is how the truck drives and feels, which is exactly how RoadActive intended the system to work. Even on the 1mm setting, we could feel an immediate improvement in how the truck performs both on and off the road. In addition to riding smoother, likely because of reduced axle hop, the Toyota felt more stable and planted. Or, as we like to say, more capable!

In addition to improving our Taco’s ride, the RoadActive kit increased suspension strength without affecting ride height.

With quick installation, a 5-year warranty, and proven results, RoadActive Suspension’s rear leaf spring upgrade transformed our Tacoma into a more confident and sturdy machine, whether we’re hauling gear for work or hitting the backroads on the weekend. More than just a bolt-on mod, this kit is a smarter, safer way to get the most out of your truck’s factory leaf spring suspension. What’s better? The kit is made right here in the USA and is usually delivered within one to three days of shipment. RoadActive Suspension is the kind of upgrade that earns its keep over every mile.