Dobinsons leaf springs

Looking to upgrade my leaf springs from the OME Dakar to the dobinsons leaf pack I have the medium duty and want to keep the same load pack curious as to who all is running them and how do you like them?

 

Kinda a lateral move tbh... Both are pretty similar.

Why are you upgrading? I can perhaps suggest a better option for you.

 

Well TBH the dakar springs have flattened out really badly almost like the stock ones were. Although I have been looking into deaver stage 2 and as well as the archive garage springs as well as I want to do their shackle kit and the hammer hangers with cross tube option.

 

Haha yeah that's pretty standard for the dakars. Mine did the exact same thing. I hated those leafs so much lol.

I can't recommend Hammer Hangers enough. IMO, they are the single best upgrade you can do to the ride quality.

You are definitely reading the right stuff if you are looking at Deaver and Archive. They are the 2 best options out there IMO. I have the Deaver stage 1's on my DCLB. Very happy with them. I was also looking at the Archive leafs and was talking to Eric about shipping them to Canada but it was just going to cost too much.

 

I cannot stress enough on how much I hate the dakars. I know a couple of guys running the hangers and shackle kit and offroad it blew my mind watching how well planted the rear of the truck is on the trails. How do you like the deavers? I have also read some pretty amazing things as well on those. Eric is absolutely amazing I got the flip shackle kit from him when I got the dakars and have had them for about 3 years now.

 

Oh man. The Deavers ride soooo much better than the dakars. Way smoother with an empty box, no more bucking over bumps. But also still can handle weight much better without sagging. The rear feels very similar to front now. Especially after getting the shocks re-valved.

The dakars (medium duty) rode so rough that I had to keep about 300lbs in the box just to keep the wheels on the ground. But that caused them to lose all lift and go "W" shaped, so I had to add a block to just keep the rear level with the front. I also had to cut the tips off the 2nd leaf cause they were grinding on my shackles. And even with quarterly greasing they still sounded like a covered wagon lol.

 

not to thread jack, but tell us more about hammer hangers!? ive thought about them but also dont want to loose that spare under the bed yet

 

Well you don't need to use the crossbar if you don't want to lose the spare.

Basically the OEM shackle hangers are flimsy af and act like a second spring kinda. But without a shock to dampen it. You know those little fast jittery rebound bumps you get after hitting any other bump? That's the shackle hangers flexing. It makes it so that no matter what you put on for leafs or shocks, the rear never is really planted and stable. HH's completely fix that. Makes the rear end feel more like a 4runner and allows the shocks absorb more of the energy before it goes into the frame.

The crossbar really helps when you haul or tow, as the other problem is the frame is kinda weak and the OEM shackle hangers actually twist the frame. So it stiffens up the lateral movement and gets rid of the side-to-side sway.

Major pain in the ass to install them, mainly the removing of the OEM hangers part. But 100% worth it. Wish I would have done them sooner.