I just put a camper on the back of my '89 pickup, and I want to reinforce or even replace the rear suspension. I will have the camper on here year round. I do not know exactly how much the camper weighs - but I am estimating between 700-1000 lb. (The max payload rating for this truck is 1100lb.) Anyways I get the feeling that the rear leafsprings are really stressed right now because they are nearly flat, and this might be just the mistake of a n00b but it looks as though one of the leafs is actually broken as well (see photo). I have not lifted this truck at all - it is currently stock. I have just bought a nice new set of Bilstein heavy duty shocks but have not installed them yet because I'd like to do it at the same time as the new leafs, and hopefully, they will still fit. The truck is not sagging too bad but I just want to make sure the rear is reinforced well enough to handle this load over a long period of time. I do go four wheeling in this truck but nothing too insane. I think that having a really stable, safe, and strong setup is better than looking pretty or a smooth ride (I heard that stiff leafs in the rear can cause a bumpy ride and thats fine). Any advice would be appreciated. Should I get new leaf springs? If so, what brand is good, and where can I find them for an '89 toy? Someone advised me to just get helper springs but it looks to me like there is already a helper spring on here and its not possible to add any more- does that sound right? Do I need to look for something crazy like 10-leaf setup? Will putting some heavy duty springs on there create a big lift so that the shocks I just bought are useless, or would that cause me to have to upgrade to other components as well? Thanks for helping out the confused n00b I love this truck and want to treat it well - PLUS I'll be living out of it for the next year so I can get out of debt, so the rear suspension end up breaking down in the near future is not an option, I want to do it right!



Picture of the truck... as you can see the sag is not too bad. I know the camper is relatively huge for the truck but its pretty hard to find a nice used popup for a 6ft bed.



This is the part of the leaf that looks like its broken...



Heres the center stack



Another angle



Another angle, is the one on the bottom that flares out the opposite direction a helper spring?



Are springs normally this thin at the ends?




Thanks,

-Curious George

 

Woah! You got broken leafs! Remove the camper and fix it. If you can do any welding your best bet would be 63" chevy springs. They will give you about 2-4" of lift but if the campers on there it should make it appear more level.

If you can't do that, buy a set of OME HD springs. Might need airbags too...

 

Air bags and overloads....

And that camper is NOT helping them broken spring

I would replace springs and add airbags and it would prob be cherry

Les Schwab can install the airbags.

 

you definitely need to get that camper off the truck until you get the spring situation remedied, whether it's just a set of used springs from a yard and some helper coils or new springs with airbags.
I would avoid any sort of add-a-leaf though or you'll be breaking springs again. don't get me wrong, they're good to assist an occasional heavy load or not, but not really a good solution for a semi-permanent load like your camper.

 

You might want to check with a local spring shop. Alot of times they can bend a custom pack for the heavier weight.

 

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I took my truck to a few shops in denver to have a look and it seems that the broken leafs were well worn and broken long before I got the camper on the truck - a testament to how badass the stock leafs on an old yota are to begin with. I left it at a shop that is going to put new leaf springs plus overload spring on it for under 800, and then some airbags for 400 - seems like a good deal considering I can't put the time in to install new ones myself right now. This new setup should be more that sufficient to handle the weight and then some. Sweet. I should be rockin' with a new setup by wednesday.

 

Once you get the bags on and do some wheeling, let me know how it goes. I am considering them for my Tundra.

 

The airbags will be adjustable right?

800 seems a little high IMO, but if it works... it works!