OME lift: HD leaf or deaver?

About to pull the trigger on an OME lift kit for my access cab trd off-road, but struggling to find a consensus on which setup would be right for my needs. I’ve scored every forum page I can find related to this and there’s been some really helpful information, but I can’t seem to find a consistent consensus, especially for someone with a similar varying weight situation to me. Currently leaning towards 888 springs and the stiffer struts in the front, with HD leaf pack in the back, but wondering if I should look into a deaver leaf pack instead?

Context for the truck and it’s use: it’s primarily a work truck, constant load 200 lbs leer cap in the bed. Planned future upgrades that would add weight are a SSO slimline front bumper, rock sliders and maybe a prinsu rack, but those would be spread out over a few years cause of cost. I currently drive it loaded up with 5 - 600 ish lbs of tools as much as I do driving it empty, and when it’s loaded up it really sags. I’ll also tow 3-5000k a few times a month. Weekend use, my wife and I take it way up North camping and are starting to get into overlanding so don’t want the end result ride to be crazy a uncomfortable ride or unable to perform well off road.

HD leaf springs seem like the way to go, but a lot of people here seem to be saying the HD rides crazy stiff without weight in the back, and can be plagued with squeaking. Also not sure if I should do the 888 springs or the 886, everyone does say they sag over time but can’t find a consistent consensus on those either. Anyone have a similar setup that can share their experience? Would it be wiser to get a custom deaver leaf pack? Any feedback is much appreciated, sorry for such a long post.

 

886’s, you shouldn’t even consider the 888’s.

Most posts you will find will complain of 888 sag. I haven’t found a post yet complaining of the 886’s with or without weight. I don’t have weight and went with 886’s, zero regrets.

I have OME mediums in the back, I like them, yes they squeak/chirp. I have also yet to see a post complaining about the Deaver’s so they may be a better option for you.

 

with the weight you currently have with tools/ towing you should consider deavers. My Dakars squeak like shit and i regularly grease the pads, which is why im replacing them

 

@SalebCansalone I strongly recommend you dont follow this guys advice, 886s are going to be too stiff up front if you dont have a full bumper.

 

You will not regret the Deavers, I'll be heading that way myself eventually. The HD Dakars are great with weight but can be a little harsh unloaded. Although if you go with BP-51s it helps alot. This 2000# in my bed for reverence with the HD Dakars. Never touched the bump stops the whole way home.

 

Just throwing out another option, but I've been really pleased with my Icon RXT pack. I'm currently on Option 2 and will bump up to Option 3 when I get a bumper. Option 2 handles all the weight shown below without issue and is very comfortable. I like that you get three options right from the get-go, and you can assemble them based on your needs.




And just to complicate things more, I had 888's on 5100's prior to moving to the 8112's, and I really liked them. I didn't have any major issues with sagging for the 20k miles or so that I had them and ended up selling them to a friend. They're still going strong on his truck. I think 888's are just fine with little to no weight up front.

 

What are you basing this on?

I have 886’s and they are not at all too stiff, and this is coming from stock OR suspension on a 2017 with 75k miles on it.

It looks like you have a 2015, 2nd gen? That seems to be where the common misconception comes from, the suggestion for 886’s to be used only with added weight on the front is for 2nd gen Tacoma’s that weight less than the 3rd gens. 3rd gen’s being heavier in the front, seems it handles the stiffer spring better than the 2nd gens. The spring rate for 887 and 888 (590lb) is less than the factory OR springs (speculation is 700’ish lb). The 886’s are 660lb.

 

I realize the 2nd gen is a little lighter than the 3rd, but my non-stock 2nd gen is lighter than his currently stock 3rd gen and I've run 884s, 885s, 886s, and now BP-51s. But I guess maybe if you disagree, take it up with ARB? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

That’s kind of my point though. You are telling OP that he should not listen to my advice that is based on real world application, but he should listen to your advice that is based on what you read on their website. It would be different if you pointed that out in your original comment, but instead you stated that OP should not listen to me and instead should listen to you and your assumption that they would be to stiff for his application.

It’s fair to point out that ARB recommends these springs for certain applications. It is also fair to state that people running them in other applications are also happy with their results.

 

I'm running a 3rd gen TRD OR, with the OME HD's and 886, and the ride is stiff but not harsh. I love the on road handling being a little stiff provides. The stock was a little soft for my tastes. The most weight I have in the back is a camper shell and a tub of recovery equipment/tools. Upfront just a prinsu rack, if you consider it extra weight. The rear does feel softer than the front, but to be expected. I'm about 12k and maybe 8 months in, and no squeaks.