2016 F-250 Rear Springs- Deaver or Alcan?

[hurc85]

I’m going to upgrade the suspension on my F-250 to handle the camper weight better and improve the ride. Current plan is Carli 2 in coils in the front and custom fox 2.5 in resi shocks from Accutune on all 4 corners. I’m going to order a full spring pack for the rear and im trying to decide to go with deaver or alcan? Deaver is always talked about and they obviously know thier stuff but does anyone here have recent experience with Alcan? Which would you/ have you gone with and why?

pics of the rig, cuz threads without pics are boring. It’s currently all stock except for the flatbed and I added some timbrens to help with camper load.

 

[tacollie]

I installed Alcans on my F250 in August. I have the 2.5 Fox's from Accutune and Carli coils. The leafs have been the biggest ride improvement. I had them built to get rid of the factory block and gain 1" of lift loaded. I've ran Alcans in the past and a lot of friends use them. All of us have been happy with our experiences with Alcan. Here a pic next the the stock leafs.

 

[hurc85]

I installed Alcans on my F250 in August. I have the 2.5 Fox's from Accutune and Carli coils. The leafs have been the biggest ride improvement. I had them built to get rid of the factory block and gain 1" of lift loaded. I've ran Alcans in the past and a lot of friends use them. All of us have been happy with our experiences with Alcan. Here a pic next the the stock leafs.View attachment 801553

Awesome, that’s cool you’re running the exact setup I’m looking at. Did you get the u bolt plate from alcan as well? I guess it relocates the bump stop tang when you do away with the factory lift block ( which I plan to do as well). Good to hear about good experiences with alcan, they make getting a quote super easy. Im curious about getting the shocks tuned correctly for the new spring rates, was that a smooth process with Accutune?

 

[tacollie]

Awesome, that’s cool you’re running the exact setup I’m looking at. Did you get the u bolt plate from alcan as well? I guess it relocates the bump stop tang when you do away with the factory lift block ( which I plan to do as well). Good to hear about good experiences with alcan, they make getting a quote super easy. Im curious about getting the shocks tuned correctly for the new spring rates, was that a smooth process with Accutune?

I did get the u-bolt/plate kit for them. It's solid. It comes as raw steel so you want to coat it with something. I have the adjustable shocks. I think I slowed the high speed compression. I don't think I touched the low speed.

 

[Westy]

I have a recent experience with Alcan and I would buy from them again, all good. I had them build some front and rear springs for my FJ60. Great service and quality. I just had them ship the springs to me, no experience with their installation or shop. I've got a handful of trips they have seen including one Baja adventure that really tested them and the springs exceeded my expectations.

 

[andy_b]

I’m going to upgrade the suspension on my F-250 to handle the camper weight better and improve the ride. Current plan is Carli 2 in coils in the front and custom fox 2.5 in resi shocks from Accutune on all 4 corners. I’m going to order a full spring pack for the rear and im trying to decide to go with deaver or alcan? Deaver is always talked about and they obviously know thier stuff but does anyone here have recent experience with Alcan? Which would you/ have you gone with and why?

pics of the rig, cuz threads without pics are boring. It’s currently all stock except for the flatbed and I added some timbrens to help with camper load.

I just got a set of front and rear Alcan leafs and they are amazing. I have approx 1200 miles on them. I regret not getting them sooner. Currently, the truck has Fox 2.0s; ADS 2.5s are on the floor of the shop waiting for install, but, to be honest, I can't imaging them making as big of an improvement as the Alcans. I also got the u-bolt plate - nice, simple piece of kit. I also deleted the rear factory lift block. The ride height is supposed to be "leveled" when compared to factory.

I live near Alcan so I was able to have them install it and we were able to tweak the leaf pack for weight balance in real time. Based on your plates, that doesn't likely seem to be an option, lol. If at all possible, try and get the truck corner weighed. I couldn't find anyone that had scales with enough capacity; maybe an airport or commercial trucking operation could help. Regardless, the springs did exactly what Lew, the owner at Alcan, said they would.

The only thing that wasn't exactly perfect was that the second leaf in the pack was too long and passed through the shackle, causing the whole pack to squeak and bind. I was passing through town so they fixed this free. That second leaf is now no longer "diamond" cut which the marketing suggests is worse - I can't tell a difference. This experience would be more frustrating if bought mail order. On the flip side, while there, we discussed how the truck still wasn't quite level - eventually, Lew put in a small spacer in lieu of another leaf because of concerns regarding ride quality.

Anyhow, can't say enough good things about Alcan. IDK if they are better than Deaver, but they are worth what I paid plus shipping to AK (or wherever you are). The guys there are friendly and competent and it is neat to know that the springs were made, soup-to-nuts, in their building. Kind of a cool process TBH. Nothing about this experience made me think I would try someone different the next set I get. The only thing I'd do is get them sooner.

Edit: one post-purchase detail added.

 

[hurc85]

Good to hear all the good experiences with Alcan. They were super responsive when I sent in for a quote. Yep, I’m in AK so I’ll have to have them shipped which is always expensive but im getting used to it. I’m a Colorado native (grew up in Aurora, went to school in ft Collins) so I really like the idea of supporting a CO company. Thanks for the replies so far and I’d love to hear any more thoughts anyone has.

 

[rruff]

I installed Alcans on my F250 in August.

No overloads, just a stack of thin leafs? The stock F250 springs look like all-overload...

 

[tacollie]

No overloads, just a stack of thin leafs? The stock F250 springs look like all-overload...

I like extremes 🤣🤣

2500lbs wasn't enough to sit on the top overload. It created a hard bottom out and a lot of head toss on uneven terrain. This pack is much smoother and predictable.

 

[hurc85]

No overloads, just a stack of thin leafs? The stock F250 springs look like all-overload...

Yeah… ford likes to make their stock springs thicccc

 

[IdaSHO]

Toss this into the mix...

I recently re-sprung our 2011 Superduty .
We run heavy, and while we do spend a good deal off pavement, I prioritized road manners/sway, so we simply needed more capacity.
Didn't feel the need for the options being discussed in the thread so far, instead went with the budget option.

Originally equipped with VVFF code springs, 4800lb front, 5560lbs rear,
I went with 6600lb fronts (3300lbs each) and 8800lb rears (4400lbs each) all from general Spring.

All in, its an upgrade I should have done years ago. Road manners loaded are similar to road manners (stock) empty.
Does it ride as well as others in this thread? Highly doubt it. But the savings is substantial.
Coils and Leafs, including U-bolts and shipping, grand total was $1,060 Coupled with some stiff Monomax shocks, money very well spent

 

[andy_b]

...I recently re-sprung our 2011 Superduty ...

I totally agree that this is a viable option and should be part of the decision making process.

Also, I was fresh out of that many 4x4s and spare wheels for the install. 🤷‍♂️

 

[IdaSHO]

I totally agree that this is a viable option and should be part of the decision making process.

Also, I was fresh out of that many 4x4s and spare wheels for the install. 🤷‍♂️

Yeah, unreal how high the rear had to be to get the unloaded leafs out and back in.

 

[hurc85]

Toss this into the mix...

I recently re-sprung our 2011 Superduty .
We run heavy, and while we do spend a good deal off pavement, I prioritized road manners/sway, so we simply needed more capacity.
Didn't feel the need for the options being discussed in the thread so far, instead went with the budget option.

Originally equipped with VVFF code springs, 4800lb front, 5560lbs rear,
I went with 6600lb fronts (3300lbs each) and 8800lb rears (4400lbs each) all from general Spring.

Definitely appreciate you chiming in IdaSHO, it’s good to see options and hopefully this info will help other folks deciding on suspension upgrades. My truck is equipped with the same factory spring options (VVFF) and I did consider going with a budget option from General or SD truck springs especially because I don’t really want a lift. I ended up shying away from that option because my camper is only on the truck about 50% of the time and when it’s off, I use the truck for a lot of back road travel. Shoot even on road travel feels like off roading during break up season here. From the research I’ve done it’s seems the best way to gain better ride quality in front is a small lift to increase wheel travel over the ,paltry few inches Ford provides in the stock suspension. So I accepted a small amount of lift and figured I’d match it with new rear springs. The cost of the budget option is definitely appealing, to go the way I’m planning will be mucho dinero;

Carli 2.5 in gas springs- $385
Carli caster shims- $75
Carli extended brake lines- $270
Carli track bar- $420 (don’t know if I NEED this yet)
Alcan Custom rear springs w/unbolt plates- $1620
Accutune 2 in fox resi adjustable- $1720
Accutune 2.5 in fox resi adjustable-$2900

so all in $5670 on the high end (2.5 in), $4490 on the low end ( 2 in)

I guess I need to start collecting dunnage for the rear spring install!

 

[TexasSixSeven]

Definitely appreciate you chiming in IdaSHO, it’s good to see options and hopefully this info will help other folks deciding on suspension upgrades. My truck is equipped with the same factory spring options (VVFF) and I did consider going with a budget option from General or SD truck springs especially because I don’t really want a lift. I ended up shying away from that option because my camper is only on the truck about 50% of the time and when it’s off, I use the truck for a lot of back road travel. Shoot even on road travel feels like off roading during break up season here. From the research I’ve done it’s seems the best way to gain better ride quality in front is a small lift to increase wheel travel over the ,paltry few inches Ford provides in the stock suspension. So I accepted a small amount of lift and figured I’d match it with new rear springs. The cost of the budget option is definitely appealing, to go the way I’m planning will be mucho dinero;

Carli 2.5 in gas springs- $385
Carli caster shims- $75
Carli track bar- $420 (don’t know if I NEED this yet)
Alcan Custom rear springs w/unbolt plates- $1620
Accutune 2 in resi adjustable- $1720
Accutune 2.5 in resi adjustable-$2900

so all in $5400 on the high end, $4220 on the low end

I guess I need to start collecting dunnage for the rear spring install!

Do not forget the extended brake lines. I’ve gone the exact route you’re talking about, and waited a few weeks to add the brakes lines as I ran out of time during my install. Daily driving it wasn’t an issue, but I could quickly and easily put the stock brake lines in a bind with the new suspension without much effort at all.