Those with Alcan springs - looking for some info

Hi. Looking for some info from those who have went to Alcan springs. My 20 platinum has a passenger side lean and I suspect its rear springs. It has 114xxx on the odometer about 2xxx that I have put on it.
It leans about 2" plus to passenger side from rear.
Looking around on the board, have pretty much settled on Alcan 1" lift extra 500lbs capacity springs. Truck will be leveled this summer with Bilstein 6112/5160 kit.
Was going to install CB 1" shackles but may not need them if go this route.
Any here have similar set up and can share any experiences?
We will be pulling a camper in future but dont have one at this point. Do not want truck to ride rough unladen etc.
I do currently have TRD stabilizer bar installed
Thanks in advance.
X

 

I'm sorry to hear about your lean. Two inches is a lot. I can't speak about the Alcan springs, but I can address the lean.

My 2020 had about 1-inch of lean on the passenger side when I purchased it certified used last year. The previous owner was an elderly man who never towed or hauled heavy, so my issue isn't due to abuse. The original 4-leaf springs were pretty flat so I decided to replace them with Husky 5-leaf springs from Rock Auto. Unfortunately that did not totally correct the lean but it did help. There is now about 5/8" passenger lean measured at the top of the rear wheel well. It is noticeable to me but I'm looking for it. Having a topper installed on the truck makes it less obvious. The ride hasn't really suffered with the new springs.

The new Husky springs did raise the rear of the truck a little more than I'd like, but when hauling trailers the tongue weight brings it down to level so there is no squat when towing. Unless you have a broken leaf in the passenger spring I doubt that new springs will totally correct a two-inch lean issue.

If you do replace the leaf springs be prepared to replace the shackles as well. The factory shackle bolts were fused into my OEM spring bushings and there was no reusing them. Also, with the Huskys I had to drill out their bushings slightly to get the new shackle bolts through. I'm not sure why the new shackle bolts didn't fit into the new springs, but they were way too tight to install without drilling.

Although I have no proof, I suspect that my lean is due to a frame issue which probably happened during production.

 

So, I don’t run Alcans, but I spoke with them extensively about a set of leaves for my truck with very similar specs to what you are looking at. I got a lot of conflicting information, but was almost more confused after speaking with Alcon, Deaver, and the like.

Let’s talk about the 500 lb capacity upgrade. That’s intended for a constant load in the bed. If you remove that load or drive the truck around empty, the springs will behave just like any other leaf spring: they will ride rougher and you will get more lift than the 1” of lift you are looking for. If you load 500 lbs in to the bed, the truck will settle back down to the 1” of lift and feel like a stock spring. Do you plan on running 500+ lbs of gear in the bed at all times? If not, you will most likely be disappointed with the ride.

So let’s talk about your trailering needs. How heavy is your trailer? How much tongue weight? Were you were hoping to combat sag more with the new leaf pack - either via the extra capacity or simply by virtue of a new leaf pack?

I tow on the heavier end of the scale from time to time. Alcan suggested I install air bags to handle the heavier loads and trailers. When I asked about the leaf spring design and number of leaves, they told me it would be a 4 leaf plus overload. Deaver told me the exact same thing - same leaf count in the pack, same recommendation for air bags.

I’ve been running air bags for years and upgraded to a 4+1 leaf pack a couple of years ago. So it would appear I would accomplish nothing but spending a bunch of money to get exactly what I already had.

I don’t say that to discourage you, but to ask you what you are really trying to accomplish with the new leaf pack.

 

did the spring pack make a big difference? im running bags on stock springs and i am not at all happy with how this thing bucks.
1400 lbs lives on my truck full time

 

My Alcans are 8 leaf......

 

Tundra234, can you speak to your experience with these? Do you have the extra 500 capacity etc?

 

I have mine at 200 lbs over and 1/2 lift built in along with Toytec shackles at 1.5. I have a 4/2 lift and no issues what so ever. As mentioned, the ride is better when weight is added versus being empty.

 

I have about the same living full time in the bed. I did not go with a new pack for the reasons mentioned above, but my leaf pack has been through a few permutations.

I ran stock springs and air bags for 140k miles or so - most of which was on some CB +1 shackles.

In an effort to improve the ride and gain a tiny bit of height in the back, I found a set of take off leaves with 2k miles on them and installed an Icon 3 leaf AAL kit. The ride improved a bit but still wouldn’t handle the bed load + trailers, so airbags remained.

While swapping the leaf pack, my CB shackles froze up and could not be reused, so I went back to a stock shackle, making the Icon AAL leaf pack only slightly taller than the stock pack plus CB+1.

I then decided to take one of the factory leaves removed with the Icon kit and cut it down to fit in the spring progression. I added it to the bottom of the pack just above the overload. Bags had to come off for service and the pack was stout enough for my smaller and midsize trailers (up to 6k or so) while providing an excellent ride with the full bed and trailer in tow. But it was still didn’t handle heavy trailers like I wanted, so bags went back on. Ride height was a little tall but mimicked the stock rake with about 1.5” of front lift.

After a while, I decided to take a gamble and remove the overload entirely and rely on the airbags for heavy loading. Ride improved even more but require closer monitoring of airbag pressures.

So I’ve got a 5 leaf pack without overloads, plus airbags, and it rides great and handles trailers great.

That is what everybody told me about aftermarket packs - more leaves for more capacity with a better ride. But Alcan told me otherwise. Deaver said the exact same thing even though they touted their 9,10, and 11 leaf packs, but they would build a 5 leaf pack for me.

 

Im wondering if Alcan did a redesign....now I'm curious.

 

IIRC more leafs that are thinner provide a better ride than less that are thicker. Of course there's a million variables but it's a good rule of thumb I believe.

 

That’s the theory anyway.

And to be clear, I’m not saying that Alcan or Deaver or Atlas are bad companies that are misleading people or that the springs aren’t well built. I’m just saying that prospective buyers need to determine exactly what they are getting and if it meets their needs.

I was under the impression that I would be getting a big stack of leaves for an improved ride and handling. But in each instance, it appeared that I would be getting what amounted to a factory leaf pack with an add a leaf that still required air bags to meet my needs (per the spring manufacturers). Money in hand ready to buy, I decided to forgo ordering a custom leaf pack.

 

So I've got Alcans on my '03 Tacoma and it's an 8 leaf pack similar to what @Tundra234 has above. They told me that pack was rated for 2" of lift and 700 lb more capacity. Also interested to hear if they changed their approach.

 

Dobinsons is another option for you. I think you'd be perfectly happy with alcan as well, especially considering the Dobinsons lift the truck about 2 inches over stock.

I have their regular pack, L59-120-R, which is 4 main leafs plus 2 overload and I've been very happy with them for over 4 years now. They do ride a bit stiffer unloaded, but I also have E rated tires, so they are stiffer as well. They say they are for stock load + 330lbs over. I will say, they handle weight significantly better over stock. I tow often and they don't deflect nearly as much with heavy tongue weight as the stock ones did.