Advice - new rear leaf kit for extra 650 pounds capacity

Unloaded, our 2014 DCLB is carrying almost 650 pounds of extra weight over stock (cap, bed slider, rock sliders, full skid plates, 8 feet (90 pounds) of PRINSU roof rack, and everyday tools) and almost always pull a small single-axle offroad trailer or small 4x6 enclosed trailer.

I'd like to maintain about 2 to 2.5 inches of lift, and currently I have an Icon Stage 3 kit with Icon add-a-leafs in the rear. The Icon add-a-leafs are a mismatch for the way I use my truck, but the rest of the Stage 3 kit will work fine with most any upgrade.

I've been considering an OME CS047R Dakar 2.5" stock kit, or maybe a Boss or other alternatives. But an expedition-minded friend strongly suggested custom springs, and urges me to calculate for an extra gas tank and refrigerator first.

Anyone gone through a similar decision-making process?

 

The dakars are known to be INCREDIBLY soft, and some people say worse than stock. Dakar won even address this issue with people so me personally, i would never go with them. That said, I'm rocking the allpro expo leafs and couldnt be more pleased. I am a bit heavier than you though, tipping the scales at the moment at a whopping 5100 lbs.

 

I'm leaning to a Deaver custom 10-leaf expedition pack.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/tacoma/deaver.html

Scroll down to see the comparison specs in the table.

 

Thanks, I just read about the 3" expedition at I think with the AllPro and Deaver expedition options I'll comfortably rule out the OME/Dakar springs.

 

What about air bags? I carry about 600 lbs in my 2 tool boxes. Stock springs, Wheelers 3 leaf hd aal, Firestone air bags, Dystar cups for the bags to not limit travel.

 

I have about that much weight on mine, or a little more. We tried a couple set-ups, and it was wasted money. Finally put a set of AllPro Expo's on and could not be happier. I put at least a hundred miles a day on inner city potholed roads, and the truck rides great. Also there has been no loss of ride height at all since installing a couple years ago. I would guess we are 3" over stock fully loaded , maybe a little less, I have never measured.

 

I've also seen older comparisons between Deaver and Alcan, but not more recent than 2009. Alcan's web site does not provide the same levels of specifications as Deaver.

 

That's what I was going to suggest. It's a good option if the loads you carry fluctuates a lot.

 

lawls what??? have you ever used the dakars? Buddy had dakars on his taco and it was stiffer than my 1 ton chevy.

I would recommend alpro expo's or the dakars

 

I think a great starting point for you would be the All Pro expo leafs. I've loaded down my truck with at LEAST 600 lbs of rock before and the leafs held up pretty well....I did have to up the compression on my shocks though, as the bed was pretty soft at that point. But a couple clicks on my Fox Compression adjusters and i didn't hit bump stops the rest of the way.

 

I love my Dakars and have a similar load to you. Without the HD add a leaf they don't carry the weight well but with it they are perfect in my opinion. They don't settle much from having the bed empty to full loaded with a RTT on but arent too stiff.

That being said I wouldn't hesitate to try to allpro expos based off feedback from members like Defconbrix and Tacodoc.

Alcan and Deaver both seem to make good stuff if you can get the combo right.

BTW, your other PRINSU parts are shipping tomorrow.

 

Okay - thanks to public and private feedback, and related reading on the expedition forums, I'm now leaning this way before I start making calls this week:
1. Alcan
2. Atlas
3. Deaver
4. AllPro

I'm also going to hunt for a scale to weigh my truck, and then one axle at a time.

 

X2. Empty bed they are pretty damn stiff. With a load it rides like Cadillac. Im happy with mine

 

Got the Dakars, and though they ride nice, I was expecting them to handle the weight a bit better. However, I am not loaded all the time, so I can get away with the soft ride they have. Essentially they work for my purpose.

Loaded with some Ash.


pretty much on the bumps, but the wheelers bumps are claimed to compress much more, so hard to say



unloaded



This was also a week after installed, so no reason for them to be worn. This is right out of the box use. I also have sliders and an ifs skid in this picture, but other than that, stock.

 

I'm sorry I meant to say deavers NOT dakars. I have seen first hand a brand new set of deavers, the ones they recommend for stock replacement bottom out going over small potholes in the road with an empty bed. And even worse their customer support won't do anything about it.

 

I think the main difference people see with the Dakars is the extra leaf. When you order a standard Dakar leaf pack they give you lift but are pretty soft still. The lift comes from the actual increase in the number of leafs rather than the stiffness, so yes the standard pack will sag under a load slightly. I have heard many second gens with this and Boxrocket with his 1st gen said the same thing.

However, OME offers a HD leaf that you add into the Dakars that makes a world of difference. With no weight it is stiff. With weight it works awesome. It isn't an overload spring but goes right in the middle of the pack.

I think that people may have varying opinions without knowing because some dealers will actually offer a HD package with that extra leaf already installed. Others will offer it as a separate piece that you have to take apart the packs and install it yourself. The key is that if you want the extra load capacity make sure you read the description and get both the main pack (CS047R) and the add a leaf (

$81 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL)

 

Get the Dakars with the AAL in it. The Allpro expos go flat so fast, Eddy from SOS has them and I was told that within a year they are now flat. I had over 1600lbs of sod in the bed of mine and the second overload leaf wasn't even touching ( I don't even have the AAL). Dakars are cheaper than the Allpro's and they hold up better.

 

i know sgtcap runs expos and loves them but eddys are borderline flat. he has a bed rack with RTT plus supplies a heavy duty HC rear bumper with full size wing out tire carrier and a 35in spare on it. he had to run longer shackles to keep the height up.

 

Only time I've heard of expos going flat is when they are repetitively negative arched which will happen to any spring in that case. Mine have been fine for well over a year with my rack, tent, high clearance bumper etc. Hell my truck weighed over 5000 lbs last time I weighed it, and that was everyday street weight, no camping gear etc in it.

 

Not sure if serious