Stock Suspension Question

On my 2004 4x4 SWB the rear leaf spring pack is made up of: 3 full length leaf springs of equal thickness and one shorter and thicker 'helper' spring.

The helper spring is noticably and probably intentionally curved down and away from the full length springs - more at the rear than at the front - the rear end of the helper spring is about 1 1/2" from the long leaf pack and the front end is about 1/2" away from the leaf pack. It seems that the design would be that the helper spring only gets used if there is enough load in the bed.

Question:

Has anyone flipped the helper spring over so that it would be in contact with the leaf pack sooner - or always - for constant support instead of support just when there was enough weight in the bed to warrant it's use?

Isn't this how the add-a-leaf concept works?

 

You answered your own question....

That spring is actually called an "Overload spring" and it's there to support the bed when it's under bigger loads.

Do a search on other forums & google - you'll find more info on it.

The overload spring and an Add-a-leaf do not work in the same way. An overload spring is much thicker and curved in the opposite direction. It was not designed to support weight 100% of the time and was not designed to flex like standard leafs or an AAL.