Leaf spring recommendations

("You will find that they will be noisy and very stiff when unloaded") Since you're telling us how they perform, is that personal experience?.

I can only speak from experience having run the general springs for over a year now, I'm still waiting for them to start squeaking. Ironically their anti squeak pads look pretty much identical to the OEM pads which kept the truck quiet for 150K mi. Can't speak to the performance of Deavers springs since I've never owned them. The general spring aren't overly harsh or stiff feeling of a ride with a typical 150~200# topper installed. Any suspension upgrade with more carrying capability includes an increase in spring stiffness, there's no way around it. I wouldn't expect the General Spring to have the ride quality as a 7 leaf Deaver springs which is to be expected since they're twice the cost. Is the General Spring bad, uncomfortable or noisy? Not in my experience.

I have a better ride then it was stock, the truck easily carries the topper full of camping gear and a 270# motorcycle hanging off the hitch rack without the headlights blinding other drivers and it does it quietly. The folks using these springs don't share the same complaints you're describing, most are just looking for a decent ride, some more carrying capability and relief from the crappy stock leafs. The General Spring does all that for about 1/2 what the Deavers cost, are they as good, no but I doubt the Deavers are 2x as good. Most of us quite satisfied and few of us are crying.

May not matter to you but few on here will get the $ back that was spent on spring upgrades when it comes time to sell the truck.

 

For budget I bought 3rd gen takeoff leaf packs for $100. I removed my overload from the factor leafs and cut down the 3rd gen pack leafs making a 6 leaf pack. This gave me a 3"+ lift with a canopy and bed drawers, also allowed me to tow a trailer while sitting level.
$100 leafs
$80 U bolts
$5 Grade 8 bolts

With 5100s in the rear the truck rides really nice. Still a tad soft I can still hit my bumps with the canopy and drawers.

 

I was looking for 3rd gen takeoffs as well but couldn’t find any that cheap that didn’t have 50k miles on them already, and I knew I would have the same problems eventually. Sounds like you got a creative solution that works good for the money though! I’m happy with the general HD springs but they were 3x the price of your setup.

 

I can speak for Deavers — they squeak. They don’t squeak like Dakars, and they ride better. I only bought Deavers because I got a great deal on a nearly new set that someone bought by mistake. I’m happy enough with them.

General Spring seems like a great option for the price. I haven’t heard anyone complain about squeaking from them.

 

I did 3rd gen take off leafs, I wish I went with the General Spring back then, but unfortunately I didn’t, so I will be doing the job all over again when I buy a set of GS.

 

Not to sound like a know-it-all, but when you have been designing products for over 30 years (aerospace, defense, medical, consumer electronics, off-road gear, etc, etc...) you tend to know what a good design is. GreaseForPeace said it very well. Hence why I think Deavers are the best design. More leafs means it can handle varying loads better. If you look at from the other extreme, imagine a leaf pack with one leaf. That leaf would have to be very thick and stiff to handle the rated load of the truck. So when it's empty, you get a really harsh ride. More leafs allows you to vary the thickness (stiffness) and length of each leaf. Designed correctly, you could dial it in to your exact conditions.

That being said, I should reiterate what I said. The Deavers and Dobinsons have the potential to be far better than most other brands. Not to say the others are shit, but they can't match the potential. If the less costly brands work for you, great. We all have differing opinions on what we find acceptable.

 

No I'm with you. And I know a fair amount of how leaf springs work and are designed. I also work in engineering as a designer, so I too appreciate a good design. The Deavers I get, they are quite obviously better than most (and priced like it). But why Dobinsons? Not saying they aren't good leafs (in fact, arguably the best in their price range), but they are objectively inferior to Deavers. They have less leafs, not a full military wrap, less alignment clamps, etc. They are also nearly half the price, so I'm not expecting apples to apples. So I was just curious what other aspects you were looking at? Or did you just mean better than others in their price range?

 

Not within your stated budget, but I went with Alcan. They customize your leafs to your build, and they are quality. I've had stock, the leafs that come with the RC Vertex kit, Torch AAL's, and had I known more, I'd have gone this route earlier.

 

Ahhh, ok. Now I know where you are coming from. Sorry for misinterpreting your question. The Dobinsons have more leafs than typical, but not as many as the Deavers. For me, they were good enough. My truck is a truck first and foremost. The off-roading is secondary. The Deavers are a bit more off-road centric, but I think they would still do a fantastic job for my purpose. But would be overkill for me.

 

I've had the RXT leafs on for 4 years now and haven't heard a squeak yet (spray them with Boeshield T-9 twice a year.)



RXT option 2...

 

Nice. I think I may go this route.

 

Wow, yours look newer than mine and I recently installed them. I've got a little rust already starting.
Ordering the spray now. Thx

 

The spray is more clear and not as tacky as Fluid Film.. more of a wax coating that doesn't collect dust/dirt as much. I use it on the suspension parts / FF on the frame. After 18 years the truck has zero rust but i live in a desert envirerment... no salt used.

 

Man, alot more rust than I thought. And I installed them after this past winter.

 

I just installed General Springs HD leafs in tandem with a full set of Bilstein 5100's on my 2006 tacoma (quite a job bc of rust and other surprise worn components).

First pic is a comparison of my old flattened stock leafs (top) and just the rear General Springs leafs/rear 5100's put on with stock front suspension (bottom):



Second pic is a comparison of my old flattened stock leafs (top) and the front 5100's on the 0.85" setting with the General Springs leafs/rear 5100's (bottom), I'm pretty happy with the way it's sitting right now, no squeaks to report yet.

 

Happy with my light duty Dobinson's. Bilstein 6612's in the front set on 1.2" still allow for appropriate rake front the rear as well, accounting for the added rear lift. More details in my build thread.