Replacing Toyota OEM Springs With Deaver Stage 1 = Ride Changes?

I am going from a 2018 LB OR 6' Bed with a Cap to a 2023 LB OR 6' Bed with a Cap soon. The plan is to swap the 2023 leaf springs with a Deaver Stage 1 Spring pack at purchase (keeping stock shocks). I am wondering if anybody has done so, and what if any, effect did it have on the on/off road ride on your rig?

I like the OEM stock suspension as it is comfortable on the Interstate @ 80mph as well as the ride on trails at lower speeds but I also sleep/camp out of the rig and the cap combined with the sleeping platform & camp shit has been compressing the stock springs to make it squat - dont want the new rig to do that as much.

Besides the ride question does anybody know how much the Deaver Spring Pack will sag over time naturally and if so, how much? Most of the time i will have around 350lbs in bed (cap and my crap). I am trying to understand what the rake/hike will be over time as gravity does its thing. I have looked at the related threads and didnt find the answer to my specific questions. I will also ask Deaver directly when the new rig arrives and its time to order the springs. Pics are of current rig - new rig will be the same except...newer. TIA

 

350 lbs doesn’t sound like a lot of weight for a stock Tacoma to handle. You say it is squatting, but you didn’t provide any numbers. I suggest measuring your ride height instead of just eyeing it. One simple way is to get out a tape measure and measure the distance from the center of the hub to the edge of the fender flare.

I have never found any evidence that leaf springs “sag” over time. Until I find evidence, I’m assuming that it is an urban legend. It doesn’t make much theoretical sense based on the science and engineering I am familiar with.

One minor point… If there is any truth to the spring sag theory, it is not likely due to gravity. Gravity only affects the static behavior of the spring, ie the ride height at rest. Being statically under load below the yield point is not likely to cause permanent changes to the spring. What is more likely to change the spring is repeated cycling of the suspension.

This is my arm chair scientist viewpoint.

 

In my experience with stock leaf springs for 2+ years, they are by far the weakest link of the truck. My guess is the "neutral" way they are set up, i.e. almost completely flat, does it no favors in handling even mild loads.

To the OP, as you mentioned, Deaver would be the best to discuss this with, get their recommendations based on your use case. I do agree with @gudujarlson that they shouldn't noticeably sag over time, unless they are extremely overloaded. My guess is you will need replacement shocks for the rear, as the Deavers I've looked at provide ~2"+ of lift, stock shocks aren't designed for that. The good news is that shocks are cheap, and perhaps Deaver or another vendor like Accutune could recommend a shock pairing for whatever Deavers you end up with.

 

I don’t understand where the widespread belief that leaf springs require a large arc came from. I have trust in the Toyota engineers that the stock setup is optimal for the most common use case.

In any case, springs are tunable item. A stiffer spring is not necessarily better. The optimal leaf spring depends on how your truck is set up and your goals.

 

They did not sag noticeablly until i went on a couple of 2 week camping trips thru Nevada, Utah and Idaho. When its loaded up with my gear, cooler, 5 gallons of water, cooking and miscellaneous gear it doubles the 350 + easy and thats when I noticed the sag after unloading. Granted i am going by my eye and not definitely not scientifically but the springs did squat so i am going to change them out and was curious on the effect of the ride. Thanks for the input as all data has value.

 

Any time you go with a stiffer or additional springs, you increase spring rate and that automatically means a stiffer ride. I bought a used truck one time that rode great with 500 lb in back and rode like a wagon empty.

 

Interesting - i had not considered that the shocks might have to be replaced due to the additional height. Will query Deaver on that as well. Thanks for the input.

 

I had the same issue. Long bed with cap and some misc tool/gear in the back had me hitting bump stops and riding lower in the back. I’m on Deaver stage 2s and in my experience even if they get overloaded they will not permanently sag like the factory springs tend to do (get the w shape goin). They will ride a little more firm, but my stage 2s are still great unloaded. The rake will look extreme initially but my setup settled in about a week and has not changed. Deaver was accurate with the amount of lift provided. You will be happy with the Deavers, mine don’t squeak, handle heavy loads with ease when hauling materials and ride great with less of the off-road model body roll in turns.

 

Shocks don’t need replaced. Shocks are limited to the factory mounting locations so you are pretty limited in what you can throw in there. At the end of the day, they are offer the same amount of shock stroke. However I would consider replacements depending on driving style and daily use.

I’m running way more weight on stage IIIs and they did not sag but my Stage IIs did before upgrading. I run about 700lbs constant in the rear.

Stage 1s are designed for up to 300lbs so you if you are over that most of the time and way over when loaded then I recommend the Stage IIs.

 

Agreed, it's absolutely set up properly for 90%+ of users I would say, with the neutral flat springs being sufficient for a good ride and light to mild loads with a bone stock truck. However, I think the payload is optimistic, and have had a disappointing time with every moderate to heavy load that I've had in the bed. In my experience, I have hit bump stops far too often which is never fun, and should be something that only happens in the extreme 0.01% of situations. Granted, I'm running full steel skid plates and sliders, so I'm also in the camp of running ~300lbs heavier than a stock truck at all times. I think this is around the threshold where most people will start looking to something better than the OEM leaf springs in the back.

My most recent update in my build thread has the entire saga, but essentially I'm on my 2nd set of OEM leaf springs and 3rd set of rear shocks with just under 30k miles on the truck, from two wheeling trips to Moab and being loaded heavy once (approaching max payload). My ideal leaf pack would be slightly stiffer than stock to accommodate my extra static load, but with ~1-2" more height in the back to get the hell away from those bump stops, which is why I'll be looking at Deaver stage 1's in the future. Saving up now for that and a matching lift in the front to keep factory rake.

 

Thank you - this is exactly what i was looking for and why i like TW (plus the snark which is great fun). Did you change out your OEM shocks at same time? Can you estimate/guess how much they settled? (I want some rake but not enuff that I would have to lift the front to compensate. Thx for the response!

 

When you install the Deavers how much do you think you will have to raise the front end to keep the factory rake?

 

Icon rxt springs can be set to 3 different load/ lift settings depending on what your looking for. Highly recommend them, they handle weight very well and ride smooth unloaded too