Need some suspension help here.....

Alright, I'm new to working on suspensions and I need some advice and info. I have an '08 access cab 4x4 that I have flattened the springs on. I was thinking about either buying a set from from manwithoutaplan with an aal or going with a set of old man emu that will lift me about 2".

Question 1 is, should I spend the extra money on a leaf pack or take a good deal on a factory set with an aal? Theres quite a bit of differance in price, obviously and I am not doing a bunch of serious off roading since it is my daily driver. I do haul a good bit of wood, so the payload is an issue. Would an aal or new leaf pack be better in that regard?

Question 2 is, if I go with a new leaf pack that sets me 2 inches higher, would I HAVE to have longer shocks, or would the stock set be sufficient. If it is not, what other mods would I have to do to accomodate the new leaf pack.

If I do the lift in the back, it will be quite a while before I can do the front to match, due to me being a tightwad(and my wife even more so). The differance in height may bug me some, but I dont mind it being high in the rear too much. Do yall see anything else I may need to consider? Please give me some specifics and let me know about the prices to do everything you might suggest so I can figure out if it is feasible for me.

 

I leave the leaf pack and aal question to someone else that knows that stuff better, but as for the front you could do 5100's and set them at 1.75 or 2.5 and match the rear. They are relatively cheap too....

Also FWIW i have the tsb 4 leaf pack with the ICON 3 leaf AAL and when i filled up my bed it only sat down about 1.5 inches or so

(doesnt look like alot but all the mulch was soaking wet with water)

 

ttt

 

I would work on your ultimate goal instead of throwing money out there. Your not going to beat a new leaf pack in the back. AAL is a bandaid.

I've never seen a truck in person with the billie's on it but a bunch of people seem to like them. You could go with them in the front and a dakar leaf pack in the rear. The Dakar's will carry the load, no problem. You would be looking at the area of about $800 ($300 for billie's all around and Dakar pack). You could save some money by just buying the front billie's and keeping the stockers in the back. (Since your not off roading I believe the stockers will be ok in the back...someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

 

My main question is, if I get a new leaf pack that will raise my truck, will I need to replace my shocks, or will my stock set be able to handle it?

 

I know that one of the many reputable retailers can answer this question, but I have also been asking myself the same thing.....

 

My truck came with 4 leafs and I added a 5th AAL and I'm using stock shocks with no problems.

 

im thinking you would need longer shocks in the rear. The daker leaf back is going to lift you 2 inchs, so really your stock shocks would be impedding your down travel (i know you dont offroad but im assuming this could damage the shocks if you go over a bump or something). unlesss your caring a load every day, that could get rid of the 2 inch of lift then im assuming you would be good

Im not 100% sure about this, but this is the way im thinking about it.