All Pro Expos vs Standards (Or Dakars)

I have Dakars and love the ride with my OME suspension. Much better than stock. I use the bed of my truck to haul stuff so nice to have HD packs. When I get another Toyota truck its going to have OME suspension installed in it, great product

 

I have dakars with OME suspension and it rides much better than stock and rides great with 200-300 pounds of gear or trailer... I would say with no load they give you a sport ride but not harsh... I also run the dunes with no bottoming. So they are much better than stock, a mandatory upgrade..

Removing a leaf does make them softer but carry less weight and lower ride height and if you have a cap you can add an additional leaf to maintain ride height or run the stock pack for a softer ride.... And some people remove an overload spring if they don't tow but want more flex..

They are a great do it all leaf spring, good ride, great for towing and good for running off road...

Get the leafs that give you lift you need, good flex and carry the weight you need and type of use(overall use, rock crawler, desert truck). Dakars work perfect for me right now for overall use, but if I didn't tow I would look at a spring with better flex and no overload spring...

 

I have Dakars and they were stiff at first (but hey...you're driving a TRUCK ). They softened up after a few good wheeling trips. If you flex them out enough they really do break in quite well!

Plus I ALWAYS have at least 80lbs in the bed (just the weight of the cage) and I'm adding an RTT soon so.....

 

Estimated Dakar lift
1. full pack 3"
2. 1 leaf removed 2"
3. add a leaf 4"

sag with a 300 pound load is around 1 1/4"

 

FTFY

 

Another option is checking out alcan springs. They are a little pricey but very good

 

I have th AP expos. I have a cap, and usually 20 gallons of extra gas in fhe bed. I have liked the ride very much and they have maintained their lift so far. No complaints. Not a stiff ride. Can't speak to no weight in the bed because I have always had some.

 

I use my truck on trail, and for extended off road trips where the truck is loaded with up to 2 weeks worth of gear, water and gas. I actually switched from Dakar's to Expos. The Dakars were stiff on the road, and are truly kidney busters if you take them on the trail. Not to mention, unless you add a leaf, you'll really get to know your bump stops if you load the truck. They don't handle a loaded truck well.
I don't know from Alcans and Tacos, but I do know that they are great on a friends FJ60. Alcan will build whatever spring you want.
I ended up with the AP expos and love them. They ride better on and off road, carry more weight, and give you better rear articulation.

 

There's a thread

 

Not sure if serious

 

Thanks to Oz for starting this thread.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/173193-2nd-gen-ome-dakar-hub-fender-measurements.html

I too have been struggling with this choice. I have a snugtop cap with reinforced roof and rack. The dealer estimates that weighs 160#! I would have guessed more. I will also add an aftermarket plate bumper front and back and a winch plus occasional recovery and camping gear. Also plan to go with Icon or King CO at about 2" of lift.

I think you might do well to at least call Alcan. According to Oz thread you probably won't get a full 3" of lift unless you do the AAL. According to the website the all pro expo will probably give about 4" of lift. I am sorta leaning towards the all pro standards myself

 

You also have to look at other factors too.. If you live anywhere near salt, kiss the allpros goodbye.. My standards (when i had them before i went to dakar FTW) rusted like crazy. after a year, they have more rust then my frame. I went dakars and havent looked back. In my defense, i do always have some kind of weight in the back, either my cap or RTT, or even both.. but i have the

$77 d29xl leaf spring

d29xl aal... if i didn't have the extra weight, i would still go dakars just without the aal

 

Good to know...

 

Just from personally experience but i have heard others say the same thing.. I live near the ocean and get a decent amount of salt on the roads for the winter so i do see more salt then some, but its definitely something to keep in mind when making your choice.

 

My Dakars are covered in surface rust , just sayin

 

Steel rusts , it's not really a shocker

 

Its not bare steel? I thought it might have to do something with the coating or something.. Just my experience

 

No it's not bare steel but neither is the truck's frame , the flexing nature of the leaf springs and their proximity to gravel and grime from the road will limit how long the original paint will keep surface rust from forming

 

I picked up expos as of 3 months ago, I have a longbed with a shell & daily I carry roughly 300 lbs in the bed and the springs do not sag at all, it still stink bugs with a 3" lift. I'm guessing in total thats about 500lbs.
On our last Desert trip we had the bed full (250lbs) rooftop rack (120lbs) and still no sag, then I connected a trailer 6x10' utility with 4 dirt bikes, 20 gallons of water, 10 gallons of fuel and firewood most on the tounge side and the truck sat level. Over all the truck drive is great not to stiff the stink bug look drives me crazy though, I thought they would have sagged a bit with the daily carry. Sorry for the book I just wanted to give the run down for anyone interested.

 

Any photos of the stink bug?