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Had rear shocks replaced on my 1998 Prado last wof with heavy duty ones to cope with a Caravan. Since then it seems to bottom out whenever we hit a pothole or bump on road. Last weekend 4 people and luggage had the car bottoming on any uneven service. My garage tells me that the shocks ok but rear springs need replacing. Is this realistic? Seems odd that the problem only arrived with new shocks.

If you're sure it's bottoming out, this is unlikely to be a shock absorber problem, but a most likely spring problem. However, you need to be sure it is actually bottoming out and not just jarring due to the heavier shocks.
I agree, it seems unlikely this problem has suddenly appeared since you replaced the shocks.