Leaf Spring questions

[Recce01]

Hi All,
We have an 1997 AO M1083 with a camper box on the back. The rear of the truck has lost between 2" and 3" of ride height with the addition of the habitat. Total truck weight at the moment is just under 25K lbs. Our truck has a 3 leaf pack in the front and the rear. I have a few questions....

Does anyone know what the factory spring rates are, front and rear?

Has anyone ever removed a leaf from the front springs? (Would like to lower the ride height and soften the spring rate)

Thanks all!
Scott

 

[Ronmar]

Idk spring rate, i know of no-one who has removed any leafs. i do know someone who added bags to the rear to balance things a little better with the habitat weight they added…

 

[Recce01]

Idk spring rate, i know of no-one who has removed any leafs. i do know someone who added bags to the rear to balance things a little better with the habitat weight they added…

I thought about that, but I like the way the rear works as is, I also like the lower overall height option. I guess I am just curious if it would be safe to remove the front leaf. I am down to experiment

 

[RRaulston]

Hi All,
We have an 1997 AO M1083 with a camper box on the back. The rear of the truck has lost between 2" and 3" of ride height with the addition of the habitat. Total truck weight at the moment is just under 25K lbs. Our truck has a 3 leaf pack in the front and the rear. I have a few questions....

Does anyone know what the factory spring rates are, front and rear?

Has anyone ever removed a leaf from the front springs? (Would like to lower the ride height and soften the spring rate)

Thanks all!
Scott

View attachment 891832

Beautiful truck! But, as I look at your side profile picture, it appears as if your box may be bowing. Of course, it could be an illusion, but have you checked it for straightness? also, since I have an MTV as well, did you extend the frame rails?? I want to put a 20' travel trailer on the back of mine, but with spare tire in place, there will be quite a bit of trailer overhang.... Looks like you are in AZ or NV!! Awesome pic!!

 

[olly hondro]

I just cut the bottom leaf with an angle grinder while still on the truck. Ride height stays the same. You can see the cut leaf in this video:

I would guess, because there are 3 leafs of the same width, thickness, and nearly same length, and the weight of the truck is unchanged in your case, that the spring rate is modified by 1/3.

 

[Recce01]

Beautiful truck! But, as I look at your side profile picture, it appears as if your box may be bowing. Of course, it could be an illusion, but have you checked it for straightness? also, since I have an MTV as well, did you extend the frame rails?? I want to put a 20' travel trailer on the back of mine, but with spare tire in place, there will be quite a bit of trailer overhang.... Looks like you are in AZ or NV!! Awesome pic!!

There may be a slight bow, like 1/8" over 21'. When we built the subframe we straightened it with heat, probably should have pre-loaded it slightly. You can see the detail of our build on Instagram at This link. We relocated our spare to the rear. This photo was taken last week in Death Valley. A travel trailer is a cool idea, I would say absorbing the vibration so it doesn't get transfered to the trailer would be important. If your travel trailer is like ours, it falls apart when I look at it too hard