OME or Bilstein shocks?

Afford it? They are the same price as the normal ones, that's why am wondering what the catch is

 

Something like an AAL?

 

All pro standard leaf pack. You will hate the AAL..trust me.

Mine wore out my stock pack after 3k and then I replaced them with Dakars. Should have replaced the stock pack from the get go. AAL's are a band-aid to the stock leafs

 

Is that the same as Wheelers off-road 3 leaf progressive AAL? Someone recommend them

 

Single AAL..sorry I thought that's what was being referred to. However, both single AAL and progressive AAL pack will be worthless if your stock pack is flat or getting there

 

That may have been what was said i was asking a separate question. Trying to plan my purchase

 

Oh I just meant vs 5100's or OME etc

 

OP, I run OME 885 coils with 5100 shocks. Love the setup and have no complaints but my truck is a mall crawler so I can't speak for how it would all work together off road. That said, I had a 92 Toyota pickup that had a stock suspension with 31" BFG Mud Terrain TAs and had no complaints about that setup either.

 

The single AAL and the 3 leaf progressive are not equivalent. The 3 leaf progressive will ride much better unloaded. Icon/Wheelers/Toytec 3 leaf progressive AALs are all the same, so whichever you can get for the best deal, I have the Icon ones. For those with older spring packs, or the 2 leaf + overload factory leafs (vs the 3 leaf plus overload) the AAL is not the best option as your spring pack is likely sagging already and replacement is a better solution. For those with fresh 3 leaf plus overload packs I think it is a good viable option, and rides amazing. A full new pack will always be better though, but cost significantly more.

 

I have 5100s all around with 884 coils and Wheeler's Progressive 3-leaf AAL. The AAL was installed on my original (2009) 2+1 leaf pack with the overload leaf left in. After settling, I got almost exactly 2" front and rear. The ride is great.

I've got about 20k on the parts now and everything is holding up well. I hauled three 1000lb+ loads in the past few months for home improvement projects and the leafs are fine. Obviously, they frown when loaded with that much weight, but they spring back to shape when unloaded.

 

For on road use, the longer travel of a new UCA is largely pointless, yes? I do see a strong benefit however to not driving around all the time with a bunch of positive camber, whether or not it's considered "within spec."

Related to that, what's the minimum front lift you should have if using a replacement UCA? For example, I'm assuming that if you're lifted an inch or say 1.5" that it would be bad to run the new UCA (too much neg camber)?

 

So this is what I've changed my cart to. Now I just need to know what leaf pack to buy and where to buy it from. Headstrong only has the Dakar and the skyjacker

 

it looks like the skyjacker is only a 2.25 lift but it looks like the icon rear shocks can only handle 2.5 anyway so maybe the skyjacker is a good choice?

 

I'd go with Dakars or all pro leaf packs

 

If those are your only options, I'd go with the Dakars. Just keep in mind, they are very stiff and will give you ~2.75" of lift unless you remove one of the leafs (usually people remove the 3rd or overload leaf to bring the height down to ~2.25").

Also, just an observation: if you're spending money on high end coilovers and shocks, you might as well pay the extra few hundred bucks to get nice UCAs, like the Icon tubular uniballs or Total Chaos uniballs.

 

Tacoma SS, the All-Pro leafs have a different design philosophy than the Dakars. All-Pros are a pure multi-leaf like Deaver J59 with no separate overload, more height in this case (3"-ish) and likely more off-road flex but won't be a "heavy duty" (in terms of towing or payload) leaf pack. I think I read from the rep Tracy here they are 10% stiffer than stock leafs, but which stock leafs I don't recall. $450 straight from the source: Don't be afraid to mix and match parts from different brands or vendors once you have a handle on what you're doing.

Seems the rear shocks you've picked might be a limiting factor for travel compared to say, higher leafs like All-Pro but whether that 1/2" or whatever matters in the real world I can't say.

 

Don't forget new bumpstops..I would recommend wheeler's superbumps. Here is the link:

 

I think the point was made earlier than the ones in his shopping cart will take care of alignment issues and be heavy duty enough for most any usage, and at a cost savings from uniball designs or whatever. Or perhaps I misunderstood.

Edit: damn spellcheck. WTF is "unibazi" anyway?

 

I wonder if I were to get the long travel rear shocks if it would make up for the 3 inch all pro lift. If not maybe I would just have to hunt around for a different company who makes a leaf pack that's only 2.5 inches. I was planning on only having my front raised up to 2.5 anyway, so that would work out

 

Exactly. They are the only two worth looking at on the market. Dakars if you are going to an expo heavy type rig. All pro if you want a plusher unweighted rig. I personally have the Dakars but it is because I constantly have a lot of weight. Shell, FR rack, HC rear bumper, RTT, awning, etc.