Rear spacer blocks with a rack and tent?

I currently have 2" spacer blocks on my leaf springs, but I plan on replacing them with an add a leaf at some point. I just bought a bed rack and rooftop tent which in total weights about 170lbs together, that I haven't mounted yet (rack is still being delivered). I've already noticed that with an empty bed, the blocks do already put noticeable strain on the leaf springs. I'm wondering if they'll be able to hold the extra weight of the tent/rack, and two people inside.

Like I said, the blocks are temporary and I do plan on adding an add a leaf. But I'm curious if the current set up could hold with that weight untill then.
Has anyone else used spacer blocks with that kind of weight in the back?

 

I don't know how much you weigh, but get two people to stand in your bed and take a look at your springs. Temporarily it will be fine I think...I had 1" blocks for a bit and it was fine, but I really didn't/don't off-road...just forest roads and desert roads. My RTT is 130+ pounds and have lots of gear too. The stock leafs are a joke and almost flat with nothing in the bed. I swapped the 1" blocks for a Icon 3 leaf progressive AAL and it was a huge help. Actually gave the leaf some bend in the correct direction. Everyone will suggest a full leaf pack replacement, but that is a lot of cash. In my experience as a non-offroader/weekend warrior dirt road camper, you'll be just fine with an AAL.

Pic is my truck fully loaded (with AAL) on a 2 week trip.

 

Why do you think the blocks are putting strain on your leaf springs? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Also, the weights you are talking about (e.g. 170lbs) don’t sound like much. Your payload is somewhere north of 1000 pounds.

 

Gudu is right, spacers aren't going to hurt your leaf springs unless you were already maxing out the payload capacity of the bed. The tent/gear/people aren't going to be anywhere near that, and your bump stops would prevent any severe over-extension. AAL will be much better overall, but don't worry about it unless you're picking up a pallet of stone or tile lol

 

I suppose it just looked like it to me, but I guess it's just cause like mentioned above that the stock leaf springs lay flat already. Wasn't sure, just wanted to play things safe and not wear them out. Thanks!

 

The blocks shouldn’t cause any deflection of your leaf springs. All they do is increase the distance between your axle and your leaf spring.

One downside to blocks is that they increase the lateral moment on the leaf spring and this can increase the chance of axle hop when accelerating hard and/or spinning the rear wheels and that can lead to extra strain on your driveline and suspension components. I personally experience a lot of axle hop driving through deep snow where wheel spin cannot be avoided and I don’t even have blocks.

 

This for sure. Axle hop is killer on these trucks.

The OME HD leaf pack I have is known for “w”ing and that’s completely normal. Your shocks would likely take the bigger beating from too much weight.

 

what size tires did you go with?

 

These are 265/75/16 Falken Wildpeaks They are great on dirt, lots of grip. They are a little funky sometimes on the road but no terrible. Mostly when they are cold...get a slight wobble in the steering wheel till they warm up. run 35psi.

 

Sounds like it's gonna be less than ~600 lbs of static load. I wouldn't sweat it.*

* free internet advice is worth what you pay

 

I blew out my stock suspension in about 9000 miles with a very similar load to yours.

it may work short term, but the stock suspension sucks for carrying lots of static load. Skip the block, waste of money. Go right to AAL

 

Thoughts/experience on single AAL vs. a triple progressive AAL?

 

I really liked my icon AAL set. pretty sure it was a triple progressive AAL. Worked great for the load of a RTT + tonneau + camping gear + sliders etc. Fit that load like a glove.

I recently upgraded to a full leaf pack replacement and it's a bit overkill for my current load. Once the armor I have on order arrives, it should be perfect.

If you're not running heavy armor, an AAL pack like the icon AAL will work really really well for an overland setup.

 

Thanks. I was looking another Taco that had a load in the bed for a long time (RTT, boxes, etc...) and the leaf pack has an S-bend. Imaging a single AAL would result in the same over time. Good luck with the armor!

 

Care to elaborate?

 

Sure. I've gone through 3 suspension setups so far.

Fully stock: I was running it fully loaded with camping gear to the point where my leaf springs were bending back past neutral. The first few months of camping were fine and dandy. 3rd month, pounded it on a fire road and the struts gave out - no more resistance at all. It held together fine but the struts were definitely blown and the ride was incredibly bumpy due to the lack of dampening. Pro tip: if your suspension isn't super awesome, don't go for 45 minutes straight of high speed fire road driving. Let that shit cool down after 15-20 minutes, max.

2" spacer in front + 5100s/AAL in back: worked great, handled the camping load perfectly, but I had an accutune setup on order, this was only temporary to get us back out there. The spacer definitely reduced ride quality and made the truck squat, would skip that part of the interim lift if I did it again.

2.5" RR all around + deaver stage 2 leaf pack: endgame upgrade that can handle all the weight

 

Glad to see the detail as well! which RRs did you go with? Currently looking to upgrade. Thanks

 

You just took me back to winter every year trying to get up my driveway.... the truck going up the driveway while the ass end jumps around like a thot on tik tok.

 

Fox 2.5" DSCs, installed by @Speed Freek

 

Nice, you went all in. Looks like you now have the dream set up!