AAL's and Capacity

I towed a lot with a single AAL, 3 leaf with the overload, Dakar mediums and Dakar heavies. Single leaf is really stiff and not a lot of fun and doesn’t have much sag when towing or with the bed loaded. Three leaf progressive was a lot more comfortable with more suspension flex but drooped more when loaded and towing. Both versions of Dakars were huge improvements in all areas. All of those setups handled weight and towing sag better than stock.

 

Thanks all for the responses. When we are talking about sagging more with OL out... 10% more? 20? 5? If its gonna turn my truck into a saggy susan by putting a feather in the back I may save and go Dakars or leave the OL in. If its not that bad, I'll stick with the planned setup. Also, I'm doing 6112s set at 4/5th notch for a 1.5" front lift. If I leave the OL in or Dakars I'll be arse-high.

 

With the overload left in and a three leaf progressive pack you will probably sit a little higher in the rear when empty, like a truck is designed to be. When loaded or towing it should drop to around level.

 

I can't say I would recommend this. Going back to the type of material etc, the stock leafs are not that thick and are flimsy. I would not advise removing the OL after installing an AAL.

If you installed Dakars and removed the OL, that's fine. There's 6 other leafs to make up removing the OL. With he stock leaf packs, there's maybe 3 more leafs(?).

 

Gotcha. Do people still use the overload with dakars? I thought it was one big replacement.

 

It is one big replacement. Nothing from the stock pack moves over to the new pack. You also need new u-bolts

 

Dakars come with 2 OL leafs

 

this one has ubolts and the omu carrier bearing drop kit:
https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s..._with_Bushings/ubolts/cb_drop_-_DakarPKG.html

 

I recommend calling Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and tell her what you want to do and your goals and she will match your needs and to your budget.

Marie is great to deal with.

 

Sag is your friend to a certain point (at least on your truck, maybe not as you get older and start to). You see pictures here of guys with big loads saying look no sag. Conversely guys are saying my truck is no good because it sags under load. Sag indicates your suspension is working. If your truck could not sag under load it would be hell to drive as the suspension would have no give. Just try sticking a wooden block between your leaf pack and the frame (no kidding I saw someone do this). Also, just because you add leafs does not mean you don't ever get sag. Progressive leaves are just that; the more you load the more additional leaves come into play (that is why the leaves in a progressive pack are different lengths). For what it is worth I have had 4 Toyota pickups over the past 30 years (age give away here). Never used anything but an AAL. But again for my purposes, and what I wanted out of it, it worked great. My trucks just generally had a larger static load (camper shell etcc) and a single was good for that. I have never worried about the stock leaf material. Heck that material is not made by Toyota, it is made by their supplier who who likely also supplies Ford, Chevy and who know what else. Toyotas springs do what they were designed to do very well, though a lot of folks here might disagree, but 90% of folks don't lift. don't haul heavy loads, so a comfortable ride to the grocery store is more important.

Again, you can add all the leaf packs you want, but you are not going to change the legal load capacity of your truck as several have mentioned. You can't make a mid-sized truck an F550. Sure you can make it appear to hold more load, by making the suspension so heavy you fill the back with boulders that weigh 10 tons and it does not SAG, but that just destroys everything else on the vehicle. Frame can't take, it bed not designed for it, brakes definitely not, transmission not, axles can't take it either, and it will ride like hell until all the other components grenade

 

Thanks. You see, you're now saying an AAL actually beefed your rig up making for less sag.

 

OP, let me ask you this: why do you want to lift the truck?

It does not sound like you are not looking for more capability. If it's just for looks, I can understand, but I would advise you to not mess with it. Truck modifications are a black hole - you make one change, then you want to make another, then you deal with a problem that your mods introduced and make more mods, it never ends, and few people really need to go down that route. My truck has gone through a LOT of changes, and all things considered, I will be leaving my next one 100% stock for as long as I can. Sure, lifts look cool, but even the best components and best labour can still come with a lot of headaches.

 

Just looking for looks and a suspension upgrade. Mild lift with about 1.5" all around. If that causes a lot of problems... well then everyone here lies! haha.

However if I do ever get heavy loads in the rear...I wouldn't want it sagging much more than stock. Thats it, really.

 

Correct, less sag under static load. Was not looking to increase capacity just counteract the increased static load so truck looked normal under conditions of added weight of a camper shell and toolbox. When I load it up it still Sags and does not carry any more than it was designed to.

 

Yeah. Just funny some say it sags more with AAL, some say it doesn't.

 

So let’s say you put 300 lbs in the back of a stock truck. Then you put the same 300 lbs in the same truck with the 3 leaf AAL installed without overload. Which will sag more?

 

You have a 3leaf AAL?

 

Nope. Stock. No issues as it was designed for it.

 

here is a good write up from @HeadStrong Off-Road. should answer you question https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/qa-aals-and-blocks.html

 

With leaving the stock overload in you’ll raise it at least 1.5” so that’s your starting point. I’d get a $100 single AAL set for the rear and some 5100s for the front and set to 1”. If not, you’ll have like 2” rake in the back