Newbie Seeking OME EL111R Leaf Spring Guidance

Hello,

New to forum, new to making truck mods. Need some advice on how to think of and proceed with "lite" build out of my Tacoma for multi-night backcountry explorations. By lite, I mean the emphasis is more on equipping myself to go multiple days off-road, but not going over seriously challenging terrain.

The problem I'm solving for is carrying the camper shell, a 3/4" plywood sleeping platform, Yeti 45 qt cooler, 5 gallons water, maxtraxx, fly fishing gear, tent cabin, propane stove, chairs, clothes and food.

I've totaled the weight and am at an estimated 420 lbs, including ARE camper shell.

On advice from a friend, I've already purchased and received the Old Man Emu EL111R Leaf Spring which is rated (per ARB) at 330 lbs continuous weight.

I have two questions before I commit to installing the leaf springs

1. At 420 lbs, it appears that I'm already overloading the rated weight of 330 "continuous" pounds. Is this correct, or am I missing something about how to view this size load for short (4 to 5 day) periods?

2. When these particular leaf springs are installed, and the bed isn't full (just the camper shell) is an approximately 2" rake going to affect drivability and handling to the point I also need to do something to the front end to balance things out (especially when unloaded, which will be 85% of the time)?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Russell

 

I have the OME med pack with the extra leaf to make it heavy duty. I have a leer shell. My front is lifted about 2-2.5 inches and my truck sits level. You will not like the rake without lifting the front. And I'd also suggest turning the med into a heavy. Best of luck and welcome to TW.

 

Thank you for your reply! I just got an estimate for install, which includes Bilstien 5100 in the front end. If I complete the install, and it looks like I need more support, it sounds like I can add a leaf, based on what you’ve shared. I may end up going that direction. Thanks again!

 

No hands on experience with lifts here, but from what I gather you will need new front springs to go with your 5100s to get level-ish, as well. I’m looking forward to doing this, too. Have fun exploring!

 

I have the heavy duty OME leafpacks which they claim are good for 660lbs of continuous weight. My everyday loadout puts me at about 480lbs of extra weight and in the first few months of them being installed I loved the ride and the truck set just right with a small amount of rake. After roughly 6 months, however, the rear end was sagging and sat lower than the front. I've found similar sentiments from other folks running the OME packs.

I added Firestone airbags to compensate and its the best combination of suspension I've run in my vehicle history.

 

I'm running the "mediums" with a fiberglass shell and ~150 lbs in the bed (including a spare) full time, with another ~150-200 of gear and supplies for camping, and have had no issues. Bear in mind that I'm also running an ARB front bumper, winch w/synthetic line, steel skids and sliders, a high clearance rear tube bumper and 885 coils up front.

Total lift over stock height is about 1.5" all around when I'm loaded for camping, with a little more in the rear when I'm dailying.

When you get your leafs in, if you don't like the rake, talk to Headstrong off road and pick up a set of coils to bring your nose up. The OME coils come in different lengths and strengths, and will go on your 5100s.

You could also just move the perches on the 5100s up to even out the front, but you will get a much better ride on the bottom perch with new coils.

 

UPDATE: My local shop that specializes in these things has recommended Bilstein 5100 Adjustable Struts in the front end to offset the rake increase by adding the OME EL111r leaf springs (medium) to the rear (with Bilstein 5100s for new shocks on the rear). Based on seeing Bilstein 5100s positive reviews, including in this forum, I’m going with the understanding that it’s a good solution.

One thing that is unclear to me is does any of this suspension upgrade increase the trucks overall payload capacity (I think the Access cab is something like 1140 lbs), or does it just make carrying that capacity better (comfort, handling etc), beyond providing a few more inches of ground clearance?

thanks, again, for your input and feedback.