Rear spring info - Slee heavy vs. OME863

[fireball]

FWIW, I originally had Slee install their 2.5" heavy lift kit. This includes Slee's own rear springs. With the addition of a rear bumper, spare tire, hi lift, 63qt fridge and slide and a cargo drawer system the Slee heavies weren't enough. After talking to them and debating between the 863 and 864 I decided to go with the 863. They are allegedly 1" taller and a very similar spring rate than the Slee coils.

After installing them today, I netted about 3/4" increased height in the rear over the Slee springs. I am now sitting with about an inch of rake in a "normal driving" situation. Tomorrow we load the truck up for a long weekend of camping and wheeling, so will report back with a loaded height.

I believe the 863 is the better choice for DD and regular driving. The 864 is better for fully loaded conditions. While my truck is not a DD, it does see it's fair share of use and I decided the harsher ride of the 864s weren't worth it. I don't expect the 863s to sag any less than the Slee's, just hoping that by starting out 3/4" higher I'll be pretty close to level fully loaded.

Just thought I'd post my experience since this seems to be a common problem deciding what rear spring to use.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[DJWUZJ]

I'm still in the same quandary... 863 or 864. Keep us posted on loaded height. You can count on any spring to "settle" by about 1/4-1/2" after about 3000-5000 miles, in my experience with two sets on the Hundy.

 

[sdnative]

I have used both the 863 and SOF2RH in my 80 and the 863s were about an inch taller like you said. The slees seemed to ride better but who knows...

 

[RobRed]

I run 863's. Similar setup to yours. I'm happy. 22 1/2 HCtFL.

 

[petrotk40]

I can't imagine the necessity of the 864's unless you are fully loaded and towing a heavy trailer. I have rear bumper and was towing a fully loaded 6x12 uhaul this past weekend and they held up great under the weight

 

[spressomon]

Just a few data points for those thinking about either the 863 or 864 springs: I've run many different springs on the rear of my 100 including the 863 and 864. Also note if you are buying used OME changed their winding changed, at least on the 864, sometime around 2008-ish...not positive about the timeframe/transition.

The 863 springs worked very well when I had: Rear Slee bumper with spare tire carrier and the AO drawers (stuffed with all kinds of recovery gear, tools, espresso making gear , etc.) and gear [fridge, dog(s), fridge, passenger, etc.). I needed Airlift bags, for lift assistance, in the coils when towing the then AT Horizon (~2,500lbs; 250lb tongue weight).

The 864 springs worked (and I recently returned to current production 864 springs) better when I added the 25-gallon aux fuel tank to the above set-up. I would guess my GVW was in the 7000-7500lb range (never did have it weighed in this configuration). I also ran the older 864 version when I had the KK trailer in tow...but needed a helping hand from 25psi in the Airlift bags (and later with increased nitrogen pressure in the added Radflo rear shocks).

The 868 springs worked better when I pulled my former Kimberley Kamper with its ~350lb tongue weight in addition to the above set-up (minus RTT). In fact even with these super heavy duty springs I needed to boost the nitrogen pressure in my rear Radflo shocks to ~400psi to get just a little more lift (and compression damping) when in full tour/packed mode with the KK in tow. This combo allowed me to remove the Airlift bags...

The 868 springs however were just too much without the KK in tow...especially since, earlier this spring, I decided to bring the resting suspension height down a little more to better preserve CV and steering angles. Now I'm running current production 864 springs with the Columbus RTT atop and they feel perfect when in loaded/touring mode.

FWIW.

 

[Hayes]

Does anybody run the OME "comp" coils? They offer another option in between the spring rates of the 863 and 864 coils.
I ran the 421's on the rear of my 80, and thought they were perfect.
I believe the 421's are 280 lbs/in (~10% stiffer than the 863s) and the same free height as the 863's.

Talk to Cruiser Outfitters.

 

[Jordan345]

I had tried the heavies, then went to the 863 for added height and load carrying capacity.. I was happy with the 863's until I added my 11 gallon water tank. seemed to move all over the place. I have had 864's in for a month and it is a night and day difference. I was bottoming out onto my timbrens with minor whooptees in the trail. this is now back in check. next step is to up the pressure in my remote resi's and get some of the sway in check.

I wouldn't go back, but I am loaded for bear as a constant state.

 

[dubitup]

Another vote for 863's

 

[wngrog]

I'm going to bring this one back from the dead instead of starting a new thread.

I have a 98 with OME tbars and OME866 progressive rate springs and 295/70/18's.. Slee bumpers, Racks, 3rd row seats and a trailer on the tow at times.

The truck sits at 20" from the bottom of the rear fender to the middle of the wheel.

Low and lean. No rubbing.

I had 860's and the front was about 2" taller. So whenever I loaded the truck, the 860's collapsed and it was ass low all the time.

So, I added OME 866 progressive springs and lowered the front 2" to match the lower springs.

All sits level and loaded or unloaded the truck sits level.

I recently added Ironman Pro shocks. This helped a lot with the ride but I am bottoming out the rear when I am loaded.

It's not bad, but there is still a jarring hit when I encounter certain situations loaded.

I have friends with OME heavies and they are sitting at 22.75 with similar loads. I am not interested in raising my truck back up 2.75" I like it low. The tires don't rub so I see no reason to raise my COG.

I am looking for about 21.5"....maybe 22"

Thoughts

?

 

[Steelman]

I have about 500 miles on a set of 864 springs on my truck. My truck is fairly heavy with a loaded drawer system, 50qt fridge, RTT, Slee rear bumper and a heavy 295 spare on a steel wheel. Even with all that weight the 864s are almost too tall. I'm anticipating them settling a 1/2" which should be perfect for my set up. That being said I would not want the 864s on an unloaded truck or a fairly light truck.

I'm happy with the ride quality as they aren't too stiff, but that could be because my Hundy is a pig

Even with all the weight in my truck the 864s still give a about an 1" of rake. Pic for reference.

 

[wngrog]

I don't think my 100 is near as heavy as yours

863 maybe?

 

[fireball]

Update to my own thread! I now have the 863s with a 25mm spacer. That seems to work well for my setup which is pretty heavy. Last big trip we took in the summer I dropped the front about 1/2" so that we would sit perfectly level when fully loaded.

Fully loaded = BIOR rear bumper with 2 swingouts, 5 gal water, 2 gal fuel, 10# propane tank, 295/75/16 spare tire on OEM rim, trasharoo, hi lift jack, drawer system, 63qt fridge and a 100# husky.

I'd be happier with 864s on our big trips. The 100 used to not get driven very much at all, but my wife has been driving it more around town recently since she feels a bit safer in it with the new baby. For driving around town without all the crap in the back and the 2nd swing arm, the 863+spacers work well.

 

[wngrog]

Good info. Will you measure under rear fender to center wheel cap for me? Around town weight.

 

[sleeoffroad]

You are sitting at stock height thus you have very little up travel and you are blowing through you shocks compression dampening and probably hitting the bump stop. Our SOF2RH is about the same rate as OME2863's but 1" lower so if you want to carry that load, but not be excessively high in the back they would be better then OME2863's. With a loaded truck we expect to be around 22" or so on the rear.

 

[wngrog]

Great info. Calling now.

 

[maxse01]

I'm not sure what to do. I've got the 2.5 lift kit from slee, SPC UCA's, ome shocks, and 860's in the rear.

When I originally lifted my rig, I just had the slee skid plate (48lbs) and metal tech sliders (170lbs). The rest of the truck was stock. It rode pretty bad, choppy and harsh. After about 1500 miles it did improve a bit, but still hard. After 10k now I think I'm used to it, I also added the ARB Combination Bar (165lbs). The front is now very planted and feels good. When I have about 700lbs in the truck it feels perfect, like stock. I will be receiving my BIOR rear bumper with 1 swing out for the spare next month and I'm wondering if I need to upgrade the springs. I do not have any drawers or heavy recovery gear, just the 3rd row seats. 95% of my driving with the truck is just me. The rear bumper is around 200lbs I believe, plus the spare which I would guess is around 85lbs (but that's back there already under the bumper, so I'm not sure if I even should be counting that as an addition). So all in all I've added approx 585lbs of iron to the truck, take away the stock bumpers, running boards and skid plate and I'm probably right around 500lbs.

I offroad occasionally, mostly on road use. The stock ride was a bit soft, but otherwise perfect. My concern is when I load it up with wife, kids, luggage, 100lb dog, that the rear is going to sag and it's going to be sloppy. What do you guys think?

 

[fireball]

Chuck,

What did you decide on?

We bought a trailer now and I am going to get the 864s. I have a set of Slee Heavies and 863s if you'd like to try either option!

@spressomon are you running a RTT and a trailer with the 864s or just the RTT? My tongue weight is ~400# so was planning to swap to 864s first and then add air bags if still needed.

 

[spressomon]

Chuck,

What did you decide on?

We bought a trailer now and I am going to get the 864s. I have a set of Slee Heavies and 863s if you'd like to try either option!

@spressomon are you running a RTT and a trailer with the 864s or just the RTT? My tongue weight is ~400# so was planning to swap to 864s first and then add air bags if still needed.

I'm running later gen OME 864 springs...bought them from Slee 2-years ago I think. After the Kimberley was sold I went back to 863 but wasn't quite enough (with Columbus RTT). I forget the difference between old and new model 864's but I like the new units I have.

FWIW with the KK and ~350-400lbs of tongue weight + 8,000lbs of 100 in full loaded touring mode I needed air lift bags to get proper lift set. But I'm not a fan of the airbags and only use them as last resort (they increase spring rate but then your shocks will lack enough compression damping...of course related to the psi you run).

 

[maxse01]

Hey Ben,

I haven't done anything yet. I measure my rake, and it was 1.25 front before the front and rear bumpers, now it's about .50. The ride is much improved, I'm very pleased...but I have yet to load it up with weight. I anticipate sag in the rear of course. I appreciate the offer, I may take you up on that. I think maybe airbags would be the best option so I can maintain my ride and just fix the sag when I do long trips. What do you guys think?