New England B.S. Thread

I know. It's not the stiffness I'm trying to reduce. Just trying to make sure the tires will wear evenly, and not just in the center. When I had them at 42psi, I was wandering on the highway a lot. Also, your truck is heavier than mine.

 

I think this will be the case. Some more shiny stuff and maybe exhaust.

Not sure it would worth it for them to cone out with something crazy like a raptor

 

Well they say feb 6th in Chicago they will unveil the TRD pro tundra, taco, and runner

 

Oh thank god - my glaucoma has been acting up lately

http://www.wcvb.com/health/massachu...m=facebook&utm_campaign=wcvb+channel+5+boston

 

Especially since Toyota stands behind their products and they'd have to find a way for the frames to not kink when fools take large jumps at 60MPH.

 

They wouldn't have to worry about that, the leaf springs would give way long before the frame tweaks

 

Or the front frame snaps by the cats?

 

Seriously, though; the Raptors are bending their frames because of spring overload. The axle is slamming into the bumpstop so hard that the bumpstop mounting bracket is being driven up into the frame and bending it.
Guess Toyota's not the only one with spring problems?

Of course, a bent frame is easily avoided by not being that dumb with a $45k truck...

 

I know what you mean and have seen the Raptor fails. I was just poking fun at Toyota's inability to make a decent set of leaf springs to see if I could stir the pot a bit

 

Says the Ford owner hahaha

 

You know there IS a TW member making good money rebuilding Toyota springs using Ford and Chevy leafs... Just sayin

 

She had to be put down, im not sure what was wrong with her but she wasnt doing well. Sad, but at least she wasn't left out in the cold, i could tell she was in some pain but at least she was relaxed.

My buddy got his card for bulging disks in his back. I had surgery awhile back for two herniated disks, hmmmm

 

Lol...
Using full-sized truck springs on a mid-sized truck makes the springs last longer?
Inconceivable!

 

Hell yeah! Much stronger, more better

I put a new Toyota leaf spring but threw an AAL in there before it was broken in and it lasted very well. The first 2 stock sets didn't fair very well on their own. Even for a mid-sized truck, the stock springs were pretty useless in my opinion.

 

I was behind a raptor on 495 this morning and I was amazed how smooth it rode. Almost no body movement, just suspension going to town. But then I noticed how easily the leaf springs in the rear were flexing for little bumps. I was thinking about how little payload they must be able to carry, didn't even think about over travel when the axle rebounds.

I feel that if you're gonna be actually using that truck for LT, you would swap the factory springs for some real LT leaf packs.

I'd still drive one. But I'd gusset the frame and slightly upgrade the fox suspension

I do have a lot of back pain.....

Sorry to hear about the cat poor thing! But I'm very happy that she spent the last night in warmth.

 

Mine's 4 years old now. I've only owned it since August, but I've had several very heavy loads of manure in it (resting on the bumpstops type heavy) and not had any problems. Also a load of crushed stone and several of topsoil that weighed nearly as much. The springs have bounced back (pardon the pun) to what looks like the same arch every time. I don't notice it bottoming out on my road (extremely crappy and bouncy). Maybe it's because it's an Access Cab instead of a double, or maybe because the previous owner just used it as a car, not sure.
I've just got the factory three-leaf pack, too. Not the 4-leaf upgrade.

How old and how many miles on yours before you had to replace the springs the first time?

 

I would seriously wonder what the price difference would be if you took a lower trim model F-150 and fully built it as an LT truck vs. buying the Raptor. I would imagine the built model would perform better but I wonder if it would actually cost less or be a wash. The Raptor interior is really nice looking though and similar trims aren't available until you get to the Lariat package.

 

The first time I was still within the 36k mile warranty. The truck, from the factory, would bottom out with my CBR600 in the bed with just the 3 leaf pack. I got those replaced with the TSB leafs and I think I was another 30k on the new springs before they were flat and being 100% supported by the overload leaf with just the weight of the shell and some tools in the bed (about the same weight as the CBR). Sure, they'll always bounce back but the truck shouldn't sit on the bump stops with that sort of load in the bed in the first place (especially since it's rated to tow a trailer with a 650# tongue weight). Fresh leafs and a new AAL did the trick for me. I put well over 1,000 lbs in the bed after that and I still wasn't on the bumps or the overload

 

What did you use for an AAL?
I'm currently debating between leaving it stock until the springs do give out and then putting in the AAL with a new spring pack, putting in an AAL now with my current springs, or going all out and just lifting the damn thing with a full suspension kit.

I'll probably end up going AAL with my current springs, since I can always swap the pack if they end up sagging later, and I really don't need a 3 inch suspension lift.

 

I went with the Icon 3-leaf AAL. It's pricey for an AAL, it's like $180 but it comes with new u-bolts and centering pins. Wheelers now offers their own version of this also and even has an HD version. If your current leafs are worn, I wouldn't go with that AAL, it'll be a band aid and a waste of money, go with the much cheaper single AAL. If the leafs are worn, the AAL will wear out much, much quicker than normal so you might as well wear out a cheap part vs. an expensive one.

If you don't want a full 3" lift, but do a lot of hauling, check out the Iron Man lift that Billy just put in. He got around 2" of lift and the kit has new leaf springs. I didn't want a 3" lift either, I kept mine around 1.5" but pieced my lift together.