[free02think04]

I recently bought a 2011 Pro4X with 118k miles on it and noticed both of my leaf springs are broken (I should have noticed when I bought it but this is my first truck of any kind and didn't. Oh well). I will be towing a trailer for work most days in the summer (~1000 lb or less) and my boat most weekends (~3000 lb dry with trailer). I do not have much interest in off-roading at the moment, mostly because I can't afford to replace anything I break. This is also my daily driver and during the winter I put on roughly 50 miles per day driving to school. I'm not looking for a lift unless it can't be avoided and don't really want an excessively stiff ride when I'm not towing.
I've spent a fair amount of time searching through older posts and doing outside research but want to confirm what I've found/hear any other ideas.

General Springs HD
1" bumper in the front
Possibly upgraded bumper in the rear.

My main concern is the HD springs will be too stiff when I'm not towing and maybe I could put the General Springs OEMs on and be just fine.

Semi-related: I'm thinking of bypassing and adding a transmission cooler at some point to avoid overheating issues, is this necessary?

I'm fairly handy and plan to do all the work myself but I'm very new to trucks and towing so any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Brunnie]

Semi-related: I'm thinking of bypassing and adding a transmission cooler at some point to avoid overheating issues, is this necessary?

You have an '11.... you shouldn't have to worry about SMOD or overheating, so I wouldn't bypass anything.

 

[IntellectualRedneck]

The OEM leafs are too soft, they bottom out too easy. so at minimum I'd go for the GS HD leaf pack. Or air bags for OEM replacements

 

[free02think04]

The OEM leafs are too soft, they bottom out too easy. so at minimum I'd go for the GS HD leaf pack. Or air bags for OEM replacements

Sounds good. I'll go with the HD for the time being. Since these springs are bad I haven't really been about to gauge whether the ride is to stiff or too soft, thanks for your input.
I keep reading the HD springs add about a 1" lift, so do I need to level that in the front?

 

[IntellectualRedneck]

It would increase your rake a bit. If you dont want that look you could level it with a small spacer.
If you dont want that increase lift you could get the non-HD pack and get some airbags to handle when its towing or loaded down.

 

[rpt50]

Since your truck use is similar to mine, I would suggest you just replace your leaf springs with the stock spring rate, and go with a Timbren system for towing. I tow a 3500 lb boat and haul motorcycles on a hitch hauler. The unladen ride seems to be largely unaffected, yet towing and hauling is dramatically improved. Here is a summary of what I did:

Towing / Hauling with Xterra

Thanks to some help from folks here, I now have a good towing/hauling set up for my Xterra. I thought I would write a quick summary if someone is looking for towing and hauling help. My Xterra is now used to tow our boat (3500ishlbs/highway speeds/very hilly terrain) and haul motorcycles on a...

www.thenewx.org

 

[free02think04]

Since your truck use is similar to mine, I would suggest you just replace your leaf springs with the stock spring rate, and go with a Timbren system for towing. I tow a 3500 lb boat and haul motorcycles on a hitch hauler. The unladen ride seems to be largely unaffected, yet towing and hauling is dramatically improved. Here is a summary of what I did:

Towing / Hauling with Xterra

Thanks to some help from folks here, I now have a good towing/hauling set up for my Xterra. I thought I would write a quick summary if someone is looking for towing and hauling help. My Xterra is now used to tow our boat (3500ishlbs/highway speeds/very hilly terrain) and haul motorcycles on a...

www.thenewx.org

You're right, it sounds like we have very similar towing needs. That's exactly what I was looking for, thank you. I have the 4x4 model and have been looking at the Bilstein front struts as well, I'm glad to hear they're working out. That write-up was solid, thanks for the link.