Road Active Leaf Spring Upgrade

[puda]

The fact that the only changes between Tremor to non Tremor are the leafs, shocks and struts. Remove all that on both a Tremor and non Tremor and install the Old Man EMU lift (assuming both trucks have the same size tires) both will be the same height. It's that simple

Ok, so there is no information supporting it because that's just simply not a fact. I'm basing this off in-person discussion I had with BDS Suspension and FOX regarding the limitation of the Tremor model for their lift kits. The limitation is due to differences in the front end. Honestly, I don't know what those differences are or whether they would affect ride height. But, you are making statements about things you have no actual experience or knowledge of. We all get it, you bought an Old Man Emu suspension 4 years ago and you really liked it!

Do I even dare ask how you came to the conclusion that the Old Man Emu leafs are superior to the Icons the OP has installed? I've had Old Man Emu 600 pound, Deaver HD, and Tremor leafs installed and used for about 10,000 miles each. I can't speak to Icon because I have never driven them, but I would put Old Man Emu at the bottom of the list. That's simply based on my experience with different springs that I have used on my truck, it doesn't even take into consideration the awful tech support you can expect from ARB when you have issues.

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[Raygunn]

Your truck looks like it's been leveled. Am I wrong? If I'm correct I would recommend bringing the front down a little bit so you don't have as much squat in the rear. When loaded with that trailer you're better to have the rear end higher than the front

It is stock and has not been leveled. With the camper hitched and WDH installed, it sits 36" in front and 37" in the rear. Unladen, it sits 36-1/2" and 38-1/2"

 

[subquark]

So I bought a new toy, and with that came towing in my ranger for the first time. Needless to say, the Icon leaf springs are not up to the task even at level 3 im riding the bump stops, though they have been awesome offroading. Anyone here had experience with the roadactive leaf helpers? Are they good/worth it? I'd rather not replace the whole leaf packs.

I have no idea about aftermarket springs but I'm curious, from members in this forum, why GreyWhale's truck would ride so low? (bonus though, now that engineering design flaw of the bed rake is fixed) =D

I'm fully stock on my 2WD and think I had quite a bit of weight in the pic below (about 6,600 pounds) and far too much tongue weight (beats me, but close to 1,000 pounds?!?) with my drop hitch set too low. So much tongue weight that the Ranger's front wheels lost traction and slid a bit backing down a steep driveway with a little gravel sprinkled over the asphalt.

Are aftermarket springs not as "tolerant" to weight? Those single leaf Ranger springs don't inspire much confidence in me but I'm also old school and think a Deuce and a Half is sprung just enough!

I believe many aftermarket springs are meant for a smoother ride but I never realized they would have diminished payload? Or am I thinking about this wrong?

My old fart self sez: "here's what I think Soupie needs for dump runs":

 

[yuck6]

I installed the RAS and would recommend it easy install. Raised the bed of my tuck about an inch and gives the springs more travel. This was recommended to me after looking into new springs. If your budget constraints they are great. If I had the money I would have purchased Deaver leafs but I can’t complain now

 

[Jason B]

I have no idea about aftermarket springs but I'm curious, from members in this forum, why GreyWhale's truck would ride so low? (bonus though, now that engineering design flaw of the bed rake is fixed) =D

I'm fully stock on my 2WD and think I had quite a bit of weight in the pic below (about 6,600 pounds) and far too much tongue weight (beats me, but close to 1,000 pounds?!?) with my drop hitch set too low. So much tongue weight that the Ranger's front wheels lost traction and slid a bit backing down a steep driveway with a little gravel sprinkled over the asphalt.

Are aftermarket springs not as "tolerant" to weight? Those single leaf Ranger springs don't inspire much confidence in me but I'm also old school and think a Deuce and a Half is sprung just enough!

I believe many aftermarket springs are meant for a smoother ride but I never realized they would have diminished payload? Or am I thinking about this wrong?



My old fart self sez: "here's what I think Soupie needs for dump runs":

he doesn't mention what is IN the bed of the truck.

 

[Greywhale]

Not to hijack this thread, but do you not get crazy vibration lifted that high? I can say the Old Man Emu suspension (full BP-51 with 600 lb springs) on my '21 Tremor was not good and I would recommend staying away from it. I'll be putting the tent and gear back on my truck shortly and I'll likely be adding some Timbren SES or Sumo Springs. If you have moved to remote reservoir rear shocks you can probably add air bags without modification. Similar to your situation, I don't have all the weight on my truck all the time. Even way back when I first started talking to Old Man Emu they told me to get the lower weight springs (probably similar to what you have) and add air bags. The air bags look to require modification with the piggy back shocks from what I have seen. I'm interested to hear what you ultimately go with, these are really just ideas and info I have learned along a similar journey.

Currently I have Fox 2.5 remote res shocks, upgraded front coil springs to 600lbs to accommodate the 300lb bumper/winch and I have amazing ride quality both loaded and unloaded. No vibrations, but I assume that's due to the fox set up. The Icons are super soft, great for on and off road, loaded and unloaded for camping. I used to have the stock tremor leafs with an add a leaf, it held a ton of weight but was rough unloaded. If only changing leafs per application was easy lol

 

[Greywhale]

I have no idea about aftermarket springs but I'm curious, from members in this forum, why GreyWhale's truck would ride so low? (bonus though, now that engineering design flaw of the bed rake is fixed) =D

I'm fully stock on my 2WD and think I had quite a bit of weight in the pic below (about 6,600 pounds) and far too much tongue weight (beats me, but close to 1,000 pounds?!?) with my drop hitch set too low. So much tongue weight that the Ranger's front wheels lost traction and slid a bit backing down a steep driveway with a little gravel sprinkled over the asphalt.

Are aftermarket springs not as "tolerant" to weight? Those single leaf Ranger springs don't inspire much confidence in me but I'm also old school and think a Deuce and a Half is sprung just enough!

I believe many aftermarket springs are meant for a smoother ride but I never realized they would have diminished payload? Or am I thinking about this wrong?

My old fart self sez: "here's what I think Soupie needs for dump runs":

I think I'm riding so low just due to the fact the the ICON leaf kits are so soft. Even tho they boast 600lb constant load I think the stock tremor leafs were better for towing. Stock tremor springs are upgraded compared to standard package Rangers as well. Also, when camping etc I have a roof top tent (300lb ish) wood, cooler, gear totaling about that 600lb mark, however over time I have noticed the icon have broken in more, and even without towing, I sag too much with a loaded bed

 

[Greywhale]

I installed the RAS on the advice of Grumpaw. I tow a TT at about 550lbs. tongue weight, 4500 total. After the install, it reduced the amount of 'squat' significantly. Very easy install too.

This is what I wanted to see, I like how easy it is in theory, also the fact that I could just remove it when not towing if it had a rougher ride. However the icon leaf pack it's quite a bit taller that the stock, do you think it would still fit?

 

[yamahaSHO]

So I bought a new toy, and with that came towing in my ranger for the first time. Needless to say, the Icon leaf springs are not up to the task even at level 3 im riding the bump stops, though they have been awesome offroading. Anyone here had experience with the roadactive leaf helpers? Are they good/worth it? I'd rather not replace the whole leaf packs.

I am going to do air bags and tow a bit of the same (RZR's and race car). I mainly am doing bags on this as any squat gets me flashed at night due to blinding people.


If you want to tune that RZR and need a DynoJet device, let me know. I am a vendor over on the RZR forums.

 

[2021Ranger]

Add a weight distribution hitch. It will ride so much better and it removes all the sea saw between the truck and trailer..

 

[Frenchy]

Currently I have Fox 2.5 remote res shocks, upgraded front coil springs to 600lbs to accommodate the 300lb bumper/winch and I have amazing ride quality both loaded and unloaded. No vibrations, but I assume that's due to the fox set up. The Icons are super soft, great for on and off road, loaded and unloaded for camping. I used to have the stock tremor leafs with an add a leaf, it held a ton of weight but was rough unloaded. If only changing leafs per application was easy lol

That is why one tries to get the correct parts. Don't get me wrong, the shocks you have are probably great for the application. The leaf springs not so much.

To give you a quick run around on the Old Man EMU Leafs here are the basics.

#1 all the leaf packs are designed to hold a certain amount of load at lift height Wich is 1.6 inches above factory(for a Tremor that would be closer to 1.4-1.5 inches).

#2 those load limits at lift height are as follows, Basic Leaf 0 LBS, Medium Leaf 660 LBS, Heavy Duty Leaf 1320 LBS.

#3 thanks to experience I can tell you that with the Old Man EMU lift (front raised by 2.4 inches) the Basic Leafs will hold between 780-800 LBS and level the truck. I learned this by having a bunch of 6 volt deep cycle batteries in the bed.

#4 if you carry a fair amount of weight in the bed most of the time(a couple hundred will easily do the trick) even if staying on the street for a bit you should be fine, but the shocks you currently have may change that.

#5 as much as spring rate is important, the shock dampening matters a bunch too. Basically saying that the shocks you have may help keep the ride comfortable while using the Old Man EMU Leafs(the correct ones of course).

#6 for best leafy selection take the time to figure out how much you plan to carry in your bed normally (and the occasional full load) a long with the young weight of the trailer. That will help you determine what is best for you.

Hopefully this is helpful as I question if running the ROAD active springs will do what you want.

 

[Raygunn]

This is what I wanted to see, I like how easy it is in theory, also the fact that I could just remove it when not towing if it had a rougher ride. However the icon leaf pack it's quite a bit taller that the stock, do you think it would still fit?

You wouldn't even have to remove it, upon installation there's an initial adjustment to be made so that it only has tension when payload or hitch weight is applied. The tech folks there were very helpful when I called with Q's.... https://activesuspension.com/

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