Advise on Leaf Spring Set Up

OK guys I'm hoping that someone could offer me some advice, or at the very least learn from my mistakes.

So I have a 99 tacoma and a 97 Suzuki DR650 dual sport. I got a job in Colorado, and the plan is to put the dual sport on a hitch mounted bike carrier. I got the hitch and the trailer, and such.

I knew that my Leaf springs were on there last bit of life because they were flat and slightly down turned, and when I put the bike on there it sat pretty low. I was thinking about getting an add a leaf or a helper spring but I thought that my current leaf springs were past the point of no return, so I opted to fix it the correct way and buy new leaf springs and have them installed at a shop.

$700 later the new springs are still flat! I haven't loaded the bike up yet to see how it looks with the new springs. I did some research and found that that is just how the OEM springs are set up. Now I am wondering if mine were ever even shot in the first place and thinking I could have gotten away with just an add a leaf.

In retrospect I should have got an aftermarket set of springs with a REAL arch in them, or asked the shop to order springs that were beefier than OEM springs as I would be hauling a load.

Which brings me to my last question. Did I just waste $700, or do you think that the new springs should hold the load of the bike just fine? It's only 325 lbs and it looks like the max tongue wight is 350, so it might be pushing it?

Thanks in advance for the advice, I am just getting frustrated with how things have been going with the set up.

 

what leaf springs did you buy?

 

x2 and where did you buy them from?

 

The shop bought them locally. They are called Stanley Springs

 

Curious, never heard of them.

Not to impose, might I ask why you decided on those and not Dakars or All Pro springs? Are you lifted? Or were you looking to replace the old ones? $700 for a new leaf pack, that sounds to me like they're just OEM replacements and not Aftermarket is a lot of coin to drop.

 

I was just in a rush to get them replaced to drive to Colorado and didn't look into it as much as I should have. I didn't need a lift, just wanted to beef them up to support the weight of the bike. I feel as though I got hustled in the process, and it's not like I can save my receipt and return them. Live and learn I guess

 

forgot to mention that it is a 2.7 4 banger, which has a 350 lb tongue wight. The bike is about 325lbs and the trailer is maybe 30lbs. This is cutting it close on weight! also the trailer sits back a bit, so I would assume this affects the torque a bit.

 

^ Link to the trailer

 

what do you guys think? is there some wiggle room in the tongue weight, or is a drive from PA to CO to far for a setup like this?

 

Any update on how it managed?

I have a dr650 and want to get a tacoma with a rear trailer hitch for the bike. Would be nice to see what's worked for other people. Or if it makes more since to use a front mount motorcycle hitch with beefier suspension.