Progressive leaf pack vs. full leaf pack?

I’m looking into these 2 options on leaf springs, from what I’ve read on here a lot of people experience axle wrap really bad with cheap aal kits. Please share your thoughts and opinions. Btw I have 5100’s all around. Also I’ll will just say this for the record that I’m not spending over 1k on leaf springs. I would like to hear others that have the toytec aal just to see the comparisons to others. I will appreciate your responses.

 

I added icon 3 leaf progressive AAL.

Stock no camper it was entirely too easy to bottom out even in town or on the highway.

Added a wedge tent camper and it was fairly ridiculous.

Did the AAL and it's a much more comfortable ride and don't bottom out unless getting silly. There was a little bit of a lift at first but has settled down to about stock height. Would totally go this way again unless I was looking for some lift.

 

What is your goal? Offroading? Lift? Loaded, towing?

AAL's have their place, but usually on new trucks with oem packs. I did it on my pack, but it was brand new leaf pack and a lot cheaper than an HD pack.

The Icon progressive rides a lot better than the single add a leaf. It's the most ideal.

 

I added a Toytech AAL shortly after the recall leaf packs (3+1) were installed. It helped with the truck's normal load of a Leer cap and several totes loaded with gear and IMO the ride quality was not compromised. The AAL lifted the rear suspension a full 2", so I added pinion shims. I haven't experienced axle wrap.

 

When I bought my truck it had a single AAL. I was forced to change them.

Then I went with a set of progressive leaves. They were good for about a year but couldn't take the abuse of where I was going with the weight I was running and started to sag.

So I now I'm on a set of RXT springs. These are perfect for me and what I do.

So the real issue is you need to be honest with yourself. Are you frequently going camping and carrying a load? Are you going to be mall crawling? Just don't waste your money either way...like I did.

 

My goal is to get a small amount of lift. Plus some extra assistance with towing but overall I care more about the ride quality, there are so many options with leaf springs on these trucks it’s hard to pick one.

 

When you say towing I see new springs in your future. Watch for a good set of used ones here, or on CL. I paid WAY less than $1k for mine.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the progressive AAL rides better than the single leaf. The RXT springs ride night and day better than either of the AALs, loaded or unloaded.

 

this might sound stupid but what does CL stand for?

 

CL = Craigslist

 

Oh okay, wasn’t thinking thanks man I’ll check into it.

 

did you do the aal with the combination of the progressive 3 leaf pack? And what brand of aal did you go with?

 

thanks for the advice. I got to ask a few questions about the progressive leaf pack, when you mentioned the abuse and the weight, do you have a camper or a bed rack or anything else? I do haul odd things sometimes but 90% of the time the bed is always empty.

 

Since I don’t haul a camper or a bed rack would it be okay to go with the progressive leaf pack?

 

don’t think wheelers off-road is right but figured I would ask anyways. Would these work on my Tacoma? Or do you have any experience with this kit?

 

I ran the Headstrong Offroad progressive leaf setup for a few years. This is almost identical to the Icon progressive leaf setup. With the overload leaf, it gave me 2" of lift. I used it to help lift the back, but also help carry my weekend adventure loads, all off road. This was normally 150 lb cooler, 2 kayaks (100 lbs each), and my gear (maybe another 100 lbs). The ride was fine and it worked well for me. I ran this with OME Nitrocharger Sports. With this setup, I experienced some take off vibes around 15 mph.

Then I recently switched to the ICON RXT (option 2) which gave me 2.5" of lift in the rear. This helped more with the sag when loaded up and does give me a better ride (when loaded up). This was later paired with Fox 2.5 w. remote res. (+ Archive Garage Hammer Hangers). Still carrying the same kind of load. The vibes were more apparent, but I think this was due to the slightly higher lift.

Overall, I think the 3 leaf progressive leaf was fine and did it's job. Without any load in the bed, honestly it feels almost the same when compared to my current RXT pack, but I think that's more due to me being on option 2 vs option 1.

I never did video the axle to see if there was any wrap. I suspect there's some level of wrap with both the progressive and full leaf pack. I ended up replacing my driveshaft with a single piece which resolved any vibes I had.

 

Just got a full leaf pack. Save yourself the hassle of getting to that same point in the end.

 

I do camp with a pretty good load several times a month during the summer. When I camp it involves a lot of off road travel with the roads getting progressively worse, so I can be alone. I don't like Razors buzzing by me constantly. Generally I have 200 pounds in my truck all summer, with I'm guessing probably 800ish when I hit the road to camp. This my typical load, except the ice box and food is not in there yet.



Edit: I feel the abuse comes into play with a fully loaded bed and a rough rocky trail that extends and then fully compresses the leaves to the bump stops.

 

@Mason502 you could also try facebook marketplace for springs and other things

 

If I was going to replace the entire leaf pack, what would work with the Bilstein 5100s’ I have for the rear? They say on the instructions that the shocks will work for a 1 inch lift in the rear. Most of the leaf spring kits are 2 inches and more.

 

You can use the 5100s until you're ready to take advantage of the small amount of additional travel that the new leaves will generate. I'm using the 5125s. IIRC they provide 2" of additional travel.