Deaver Expedition Leaf Pack Owners

Anyone use degree shims with the deaver leafs? I just installed my stage III with just a camper on and noticed I had some vibrations. If so what shims did you guys end up using

 

I have stage III, and only did the carrier bearing drop. I had a strong vibration initially when not loaded down. Still had very very slight vibration after installing the bearing drop, but it has subsided over time. I think after having some trips carrying a lot of weight they smoothed out. I bought shims thinking I would need them, but never installed them.

If you load your bed with several hundred more pounds, the vibration may subside.

 

How thick of a carrier bearing drop did you end up going with?

 

I don't know what the actual size is. I ordered and installed the OME kit.

 

So I ran some numbers for my build and based on these - do you guys recommend Stage 2 or 3?

500lbs, Constant (I can't really think of more that would be on the truck 24/7)
Ovrlnd camper - 300lbs
Awning (Nomadic LT 270) - 50lbs
Rigd Ultraswing + Ultra-table + wheel that weight sameish as stock spare - 90lbs (cantilever effect)
Misc items inside the bed, such as table, cook gear, etc - 50lbs

700-750lbs give or take, Camp Mode/loaded - maybe 2 week trips, going 2,000 miles from/back usually.
500lbs constant +
Water - 50ishlbs of water
(2) 70lbs dogs, riding constantly in the back seats and will be in the camper when parked (will they count?)
(1) 3 galon rotopax, (1) 5lbs aluminum propane bottle - 50lbs
Fridge loaded - 50lbs
Misc camp gear - maybe 50-75lbs?
Powerstation (RiverPro + extra bank) - 25lbs
Solar Panel - 20lbs

Will things more towards the front count like Prinsu/lightbar and ARB twin compressor?

 

What bushings is everyone using with these?

 

I ordered my leafs from headstrong off road and they came with u bolts and bushings. Pretty sure they are polyurethane. I just installed what they sent me, hehe.

 

It might be worth reaching out to them to get deavers opinion. My only input is that I got stage 3, and in my case it was a bit too much. When I am fully loaded up at 700+ lbs they ride great. When unloaded, they are pretty stiff especially with E load tires.

For calculating weight, it's bed weight.

Based on my experience if you have 500lbs constant load, stage 3 may ride ok, but may still sit a little high. With 700+ in the bed they will rider even smoother and sit lower.

Also consider the stance of your truck. Stage 3 even with 500lbs you may have rake depending on your front lift. With 700+ you'll start to drop to 2 inches of lift. 500lbs on stage 2 you'll still be at about 2 inches of lift, but with 700 it will drop a bit below 2 maybe. Also consider future additions you may make that will add weight.

I can say I would probably have been completely fine with stage 2 on my setup. But I thought what the heck.

This is just my opinion and personal experience. If you're really concerned wait for more, or contact the experts.

 

Whats you input on the Stage II without any weight on the bed of the truck? Pros and Cons

 

Custom pack nowadays will run about 14-1500 w/ bushings and u bolts (they are extra) state regular or u bolt flip. lead time 3-4 months. Recently got a XXHD biggest pack they got and roughly that was the cost. My buddy picked them up for me so no shipping.

 

Get the truck weighed to make sure. Sometimes surprised how much weight you have added.

 

Based on Deaver, all of these stages are suppose to be a 2" lift, and the numbers correlate to maintaining that 2" with x amount of weight......so it all comes down to ride quality when not meeting that weight right?

I just don't want to be lifted higher than normal, if I go stage 3 vs 2 for example. Considering, I'm doing a cross country trip to pickup the Ovrlnd camper with either Stage 2 or 3 installed and only about 200 lbs in the back.....

I think I might be leaning towards Stage 2 at this point considering no plans for steel rear bumpers and maintaining 500lbs constant most of the time and only fully loaded up 20% of the year, I don't care if I lose .5" if I breach 750lbs on Stage 2's 20% of the year....

Stage 3 seems like overkill for my setup.

 

My main advice is remember that the lift advertised with the leaf packs is WITH the suggested weight. In other words if you run a stage 3 with no weight you will have potentially a 3 - 4 inch lift in the back, add 700 - 1000lbs, then you'll be down to 2 inches. Stage 2, I'm not sure, but since they are designed for a 2 inch lift with 400 - 600lbs it would be similar, but not as much as a stage 3.

Personally, I don't mind the look of the rake on my truck when it's unloaded. However, if you are one who is particular to your truck looking and sitting level all the time and things like that, you need to strongly consider which pack to go with based on the weight you constantly carry around. I decided to go with worst case scenario which is I load up quite a bit of stuff when we got out on an adventure, but I also completely unload to drive and pick things up for around the house. That's is why I made the previous comment that in hindsight, I probably would have been perfectly fine with a stage 2, but I'm not at the point where I would be ready to swap out my stage 3s and if anything, I may be adding more weight in the future (i.e. rear bumper w/swingout).

 

While I am no expert, I agree with your opinion. Even if you load over 700lbs, you may lose a little off the 2" lift, which means you'll still be higher than stock in the rear.

 

Just wanted to ask this one last time before I pull the trigger - weight in the backseats do not count towards these numbers correct? This is purely BED WEIGHT only.

Thinking about 150lbs of dogs lol.

 

Haha, I have about 120lbs worth of dogs too!

Regarding the weight... from Deavers website: "Designed for bed weight of 400-600 lbs."
https://deaverspring.com/product/tacoma-2wd-4wd-6-lug-2005-2020-expedition-series-spring/

Again, if you're really that concerned best to reach out to deavers and ask, or just go for it.

 

I have the stage 3 deaver leaf with just a camper
Eibach pro suspension with the fronts at the 2nd clip
I like the rake of the truck. Without the extra weight in the back the ride quality isn't too bad. Its actually way better than when I had my stock suspension

 

Bunch of great info here. Just a noob question. Im trying to decide between the stage 1 or stage 2. As it is my daily driver/weekend warrior setup. At the moment it only see's camping gear, and dirt bike and related gear. But I'm adding a bumper with no swing out, and a gas tank skid. As I'm starting to offroad the truck more often now. Minimal gear in the back when I off-road it. C02 tank a cooler and a pelican with recovery gear. How bad will it drive with stage 2's and now weight?

 

Not an expert here, but I had Stage 2s installed when I was running more weight in the back. While I was making some changes, I had most of the weight off for a couple of weeks, only about 200lbs constant weight in the back, and I didn't notice a change in ride quality at all. I've since added the weight again and it feels the same. The lift in the back was probably 1/4 to 1/2 an inch different with the weight off, barely noticeable.

The weight ratings that Deaver recommends seem to be spot on, but it is hard to guess what your future needs will be. It is pretty rare that anyone's truck gets lighter with time, only heavier, so if you're on the fence, I'd go with the Stage 2. Ride quality is very subjective so no one is really going to be able to tell you for sure, but I wanted to future-proof myself a little bit knowing I was going to be adding more weight over time.

 

Hope this provides you with a bit more info. I actually have stage 3's on my truck, and K02 E load tires. I drive the truck frequently with minimal load in the bed. Mine is not a daily driver, but I find the ride tolerable with no weight. That being said, I would imagine if you are running stage 2's with a lighter load tire and a little bit of weight, it would probably ride quite nice. Again, this is just complete guess work though based on my experience with my setup compared to what you're describing.