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HELP! Icon Leaf Spring Mini Pack VS. OME Dakar EL095R

AZ_CAVALRY

AZ_CAVALRY

8️⃣ Paragon
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I recently installed a bed rack/RTT setup, and am curious what I should do. I currently have a 1" spacer block in the rear on stock leafs, and my leaf springs were already sagging bad before the additional weight was added. Should I add the Icon 3-leaf mini pack on top of my spacer? Or should I just toss what I have and replace the whole pack? I'm going tomorrow to talk to my local shop about what options they have.

My goal is to be able to go on fairly nasty trails with the tent on, and not have to worry about bottoming out. Looks aren't as important to me as functionality.

I have about 52,000 miles on the truck if that makes a difference on stock leaf pack life remaining.
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Full pack, hands down. Dakars or RXTs are both good choices.

EL095R is good if the rack, RTT, and basic camping gear is the only extra weight you have, but if you ever think you will need more load support in the rear down the road (water, big spares, bumper, skids, etc), go with the CS047R "heavy" Dakars. You can always take the extra leaf out of the pack for now to turn them in to the "mediums" then reinstall it later for the "heavy" pack when needed. The 3rd leaf is the difference between EL095R and CS047R and I believe the price difference is only about $60... Worth it if you think you may need it down the road.

FYI, Headstrong Offroad has good prices and free shipping. I'm a repeat customer and could not be happier with their service.
 
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I personally would avoid Dakar springs as I have seen peolle have way too many problems with them. The two options have have first hand experience with are the Deaver u402's and the Icon RXT springs. Both are outstanding and will have no problem supporting the additional weight. What is nice about the Icon springs is that you can run them in three different configurations to suite your needs. This gives you the ability to not have to sacrifice ride quality while still giving you the support that you need to carry whatever you are hauling in gear. I have run both setups very hard and the Icon springs edge out Deaver for a few reasons. One, they are more progressive and 2, the ability to run them in 3 different configurations.
 
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0uTkAsT said:
Full pack, hands down. Dakars or RXTs are both good choices.

EL095R is good if the rack, RTT, and basic camping gear is the only extra weight you have, but if you ever think you will need more load support in the rear down the road (water, big spares, bumper, skids, etc), go with the CS047R "heavy" Dakars. You can always take the extra leaf out of the pack for now to turn them in to the "mediums" then reinstall it later for the "heavy" pack when needed. The 3rd leaf is the difference between EL095R and CS047R and I believe the price difference is only about $60... Worth it if you think you may need it down the road.

FYI, Headstrong Offroad has good prices and free shipping. I'm a repeat customer and could not be happier with their service.
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Good info thank you. I'm leaning towards the entire leaf pack, but after looking in to it, after everything (ubolts, cb drop, bushings, leafs, install) I'm in close to $1k from local places here. I just can't do that unfortunately. I got a little in over my head with this one I think. Still looking at options.
 
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JerryTaco2.0 said:
I personally would avoid Dakar springs as I have seen peolle have way too many problems with them. The two options have have first hand experience with are the Deaver u402's and the Icon RXT springs. Both are outstanding and will have no problem supporting the additional weight. What is nice about the Icon springs is that you can run them in three different configurations to suite your needs. This gives you the ability to not have to sacrifice ride quality while still giving you the support that you need to carry whatever you are hauling in gear. I have run both setups very hard and the Icon springs edge out Deaver for a few reasons. One, they are more progressive and 2, the ability to run them in 3 different configurations.
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What kind of problems have people had with them?
 
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taco_del_infierno said:
Good info thank you. I'm leaning towards the entire leaf pack, but after looking in to it, after everything (ubolts, cb drop, bushings, leafs, install) I'm in close to $1k from local places here. I just can't do that unfortunately. I got a little in over my head with this one I think. Still looking at options.
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Half that cost is install. Do it yourself. I'm serious. The rear spring install is very easy. You don't even need to remove the rear shocks. Even if you do replace the shocks, that's easy to.

Just jack up the rear end and support the truck, support the axle under the bell housing, remove the U-Bolts and disconnect the leaf springs, then replace. Hardest part is maneuvering the springs in and out from under the truck. Have a buddy available to help and it shouldn't take you more than an afternoon.
 
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sonofcar said:
question for dakar or rxt, do you need to extend brake lines or anything else? I see some say yes some say no.
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I have Dakar heavy duty. Got about 4” lift from it. My stock lines have enough slack at full droop that I let myself be lazy and not install my braided brake lines I have sitting in the garage. Done a ton of wheeling this way and it has been fine.

However, I’m about to install the longer lines when I upgrade my shocks a second time. There’s no real reason not to.
 
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sonofcar said:
question for dakar or rxt, do you need to extend brake lines or anything else? I see some say yes some say no.
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It depends more on the extended lengths of your shocks because they will more than likely be the limiting factor on droop, not the springs. So, you should be asking if you'll need to extend them based on the shocks. If you're using shocks that are more than 26.5" extended length, yes, you will probably have to run extended lines or at the very least shim and bend some brackets to give your OEM lines some extra slack. I'm running 27"+ length shocks and definitely had to extend the lines. On my last truck I also had to extend and relocate the brackets for my ABS sensor wiring. I did not have that issue for the ABS or locker wiring on the new truck.
 
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0uTkAsT said:
It depends more on the extended lengths of your shocks because they will more than likely be the limiting factor on droop, not the springs. So, you should be asking if you'll need to extend them based on the shocks. If you're using shocks that are more than 26.5" extended length, yes, you will probably have to run extended lines or at the very least shim and bend some brackets to give your OEM lines some extra slack. I'm running 27"+ length shocks and definitely had to extend the lines. On my last truck I also had to extend and relocate the brackets for my ABS sensor wiring. I did not have that issue for the ABS or locker wiring on the new truck.
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That is great info dude! You wouldnt happen to know what the stock 2018 stocks extended are?
 
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sonofcar said:
That is great info dude! You wouldnt happen to know what the stock 2018 stocks extended are?
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I literally just sold my stock shocks yesterday so I can't measure... but I would guess they probably fall maybe somewhere in the 22-23" range extended? The "standard" rear 5100s that are good for 0-1" of lift are only ~23" extended. The B110s I had on my last truck paired with Dakars were 27-1/4" and I did have to mess with brake lines and wiring. My current rear shocks are just a hair over 27" and I did add extended brake lines but I did not have to mess with any wiring, although I have a totally different rear end in this truck so that may have something to do with it also because the wiring locations and brackets are different.
 
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ok thanks. one more question as it seems you know your shit lol I really don’t want to do any extended lines at this time, so what shocks under 26.5” would you recommend? Just ordered icon rxt leafs and they will be here tomorrow! thanks in advance!
 
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