OME Dakar medium or heavy for RTT, Bed Bars and Gear?

Hey everyone. I’m trying to decide on the OME Dakar medium or heavies. They’ll be paired with King shocks. Between the C4 lo pro bed bars and RTT I’ll be carrying about 200lb all the time. That will probably bump up to around 300-350lb when we’re on the road. Anyone with experience please share your thoughts with me. I’m not at all bothered with a stiffer ride if it means less sag and Maintainance in the future. Currently have 650lb springs up front in preparation for a CBI aluminum bumper, winch and sliders going on as soon as I get it all.

 

Partly depends on whether you need them for lift also. Mediums might be good for a comfier ride but be partially flattened out all the time, so less lift. Heavies will probably guarantee full lift height but give you a very stiff ride. The good news is you can get the heavies and remove 1 leaf if it's too much, making them mediums, or vice-versa.
My opinion, King shocks deserve better leafs than Dakar...

 

I have mediums with a shell/spare in bed/misc recovery gear and 2 50 lb salt bags for wintertime.

Any more weight and it starts squatting. You’re right on the threshold, so depending on your front setup hopefully that gives you an idea.

 

Btw, I 2nd what the other fella said, Many better choices out there, I’m happy with mine but would choose differently in hindsight

You’ll need to trim the 2nd leaf for shackle interference and grease the hell out of them before install or you will be unhappy, just be advised.

 

Now that the mediums are on I realize I’m still nose up a little bit because of the lift of front and that’s only going to get worse with weight in the bed and settling. It drives great and feels really planted so far but I ordered the additional leaf to get another .5 - 1 inch in the rear. Why do some people not like these springs yet half the people on this forum have them? Lol

Definitely would be squatting a good bit until the other leaf gets here so we’re not putting the bars and tent on it yet. What is it you don’t really like about them?

I actually still have the Fox shocks in the rear with the new leaf springs until the kings for the rear get here too so the setup is a little wonky right now. These things way smoother already than the stock pro suspension ever did. The suspension for the pro is pretty underwhelming honestly but all the other pro stuff was worth it for sure

 

Things trend here, and Dakar leafs are less expensive than other brands. Also, some people fan-boy stuff they buy because they don't want to admit they bought the wrong thing.
Why does everybody buy the chinese HVAC knobs? They aren't really anything special, but these trends catch fire and everybody orders the new thing.
A lot of people still love their Dakars, but for me they were way too stiff of a ride and constantly squeaked after the grease wore off. If I had a heavier truck, I might have kept them.

 

I have hammer hangers and a cross brace back there too, but my leaf pack is very much the weak link in my setup.

Another 5 or 6 bills and you have a Deaver pack that isn’t a source of complaint. Just my opinion. I have the extra leaf for my Dakar’s already, so that will go in when they really sag.

 

That makes a lot of sense. I’m definitely guilty of that too, justifying buying a pro instead of an off road. Hopefully everything works out with these things and the new anti squeak lining actually works with this new part number. I’m not too worried about the squeak but we’ll see how I feel after dealing with it forever.

was there anything you were able to do to keep them from squeaking? What kind of grease did you use and where did you apply it?

 

Did you get all that from Archive? I’ve been curious about doing those upgrades but don’t want to over spend on things I don’t actually need. Maybe minimalism isn’t the right approach for building the taco but we’ll see

Are your front and rear pretty even height wise with the mediums and no AAL?

 

I have a little more rake than a sport has at oem ride height. Close to a full inch higher in back.

The setup from Archive Garage is worth it for sure - it isn’t easy to install but the benefits in ride quality are pretty significant.

 

I used a spray white lithium grease by WD-40 at the pads, bushings, and between the leaves, but there are lots of good options.

$15 WD-40 Specialist Protective White Lithium Grease Spray with SMART STRAW SPRAYS 2 WAYS, 10 OZ , [1-Pack] (30002)

https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specia...149&sprefix=spray+lithium+grea,aps,223&sr=8-5

My biggest problem was living near the beach. Grains of sand would collect between the leaves and grind and squeak. I just drooped out and hosed off the leafs frequently. If it wasn't too windy I could go quite a while without squeaking. Keep them clean and greased and it will be better. Also, you can occasionally remove the rub disks to clean them. They have grooves in them for grease, but they eventually get packed with greasy dirt.

 

I had no luck with spray cans, tried several.

I disassembled, cut center pin and spread leaf pack apart, cleaned, and spread chassis grease the entire length of each leaf, top and bottom with a putty knife.

Clamped her back up, wiped excess, and periodically shoot grease from my gun into the holes in the center of the squeak discs (not all of which are accessible this way) and they have stayed nice and quiet.

But they are flat, and I had to take a cutoff wheel to them brand new to keep my shackles from getting effed up. Dakar’s are cheap and you get what you pay for.

 

I used to think about ways I could shrink wrap them to keep dirt/sand out...

 

I have a 2015 TRDOR so it's a going to be different, I have Medium OME Dakar CS047R Leaf Packs (3”) on my truck with a 200.LB snugtop at all times. I haul 200.lbs of dogs and or camping gear. Although my front OME springs are 590-600 .lbs in front.
That being said I l have never had any issues with mine sagging. They have been great with weight on and off road.
Do you have pictures with the NEW leaf packs????

 

Installed my MD Dakar’s. Getting my W on. Only have a 80lb shell on the bed.

 

i really like the look of a little rake when the truck is unloaded so that sounds perfect. Hopefully the extra leaf is enough to give it that otherwise the front will have to come down a bit. Idk if you you cad add another leaf on top of the extra but I’d imagine it would get REALLY squeaky then.

Dirt and sand is definitely going to be the issue here from all the snow and slush every winter. I bet everyone says this but I’m just going to let them squeak for a while and see if it drives me crazy haha.

This will definitely the last resort scenario but if I have to do that once a year that’s just what it’ll be. What was the risk of messing up your shackles? There didn’t seem to be any issues or incompatibility on my install that I noticed at least

 

That’s a really good looking setup you’ve got there. I’m glad you don’t have any issues since it seems like a lot of other people say theirs are laying flat which is pretty discouraging. At this point I realize Heavy would have been the right move to begin with on a third gen.

this is how it’s sitting now which I’m pretty happy with besides the missing inch in back haha. The ride is extremely comfortable compared to stock though. And this is with stock Fox shocks in the rear still

 

Is there a reason why that would be happening with only 80lb on them? Are you going to add a leaf now?

 

PS those steps are coming off before any trips. Just waiting on my sliders to knock it all out in a day

 

Im not sure... Seems like I might have to once I put the tent on top and load it with gear.