Camper shell and OME

[Jc1986.carter]

Ok so I’m trying to figure out the rear leaf pack situation. I am purchasing a ARE shell (~200lbs) and trying to figure out if that’s enough weight to justify the Dakar hd. OME and others recommend at least 500lbs with the HDs. Can anyone chime in with how/ what setup you went with?

 

[llamalander]

Not really necessary, I have the HD pack on a long-bed frontier with a Leer shell. I have not installed the final leaf. Even packed full of food, gear, water and gas, the truck rides much better than the stock suspension. Unloaded, but with the shell, it is comfortable and the rear tires are always on the ground, not bouncing. I wanted to have the option to upgrade if I needed, but the extra leaves are now sitting in the garage. It does not cost much more to add a last leaf if you require it later as opposed to having it on hand. Redoing the front and rear suspension with OME components is one of the best improvements I've made to the truck, I think you will be very pleased with the results-

 

[rockymtnbushwacker]

I have a fiberglass topper on my CC truck with a full medium OME suspension and it great. Hardly any squatting when loaded up.

 

[simpletrip]

I went with a snug top in 2001 for my ext. cab Frontier. Loaded with gear, including an inflatable boat, I did not need any rear help for about 15 years. went to 1/2 leaf helpers at 160,000 just for kicks. Still no sag at 205,000.
Have a snug top on my 2017 Frontier and it looks like the same situation.
My experience with Frontiers, is that unless you haul something really heavy like gravel/water tank or a heavy trailer or you probably will not need them.

 

[(none)]

After reading around wondering the same thing, I went with the mediums in the back as well. My shell should be here any day. If you do feel the mediums aren't holding up, you can always just add extra leaf (I think they are ~$40 ea) later and convert the med spring pack to an HD spring pack.

 

[Jc1986.carter]

This clears things up for me, thank you.

 

[bob280zx]

Just for further info - my 2007 Frontier KC 4x4 has an ARE top. A Yakima rack usually holds 3 5 gal gas cans and a case full of recovery gear. Also tow a travel trailer with an approx 400 lb tongue weight.

I use the Dakar medium pack with Nitrocharger shocks. It’s is still more than sufficient after 3 years

 

[colodak]

I've had a similar discussion with Nisstec (luckily I'm local to them) about this same subject recently. The HD springs they said would be for constant carry of 500 lbs, for light/medium 300 to 400 lbs, their suggestion was that unloaded the HD's would give a rough ride. I have a long bed as well, with my shell, tool box and some misc. stuff back there, I've got maybe 300 lbs. At present I have a 2" spacer lift and AAL in the rear. In the future I will be doing more.

 

[Obrianmcc]

I'm running the OME Medium Leaf with air bags. The issue I have is the still present sway in the rear end whether it be from wind or irregular hwy surface. Feels like the tail wagging the dog ... I'm contemplating a sway bar for the rear.

 

[colodak]

I'm running the OME Medium Leaf with air bags. The issue I have is the still present sway in the rear end whether it be from wind or irregular hwy surface. Feels like the tail wagging the dog ... I'm contemplating a sway bar for the rear.

how much weight are you carrying?

 

[Jc1986.carter]

I’m also interested in the finding out how the Dakar meds feel in comparison to the stock Pro4x leaf pack. Can anyone who went with the mediums and have a topper chime in about the before and after? Thanks

Also, has anyone ordered a camper top lately? Is the turn around time normally about a month?

 

[(none)]

I ordered an ARE and it took around 6ish weeks to arrive. Had a minor issue and a major issue. Minor is they didn't order the correct clamps for it (ARE wants them to use the ones which go in the track system). Major issue is the base of the cap seems to be made about .5" too short. It doesn't contact the bulkhead up front. Rest of the top looks ok. I wanted the top for the dog/camping so i got them to leave it installed as they order a replacement and just stuffed tape in the hole up front for now...lol.

Here are some pictures of my truck with the camper shell and mediums: i think it only dropped about 1/4" with the shell added. Rode just fine (i didn't really notice much change, i thought it rode great empty as well). Second picture shows the truck with the back loaded with camping gear and about 350ish lbs hanging off the back. I ended up with around 1/4-1/2" negative rake (squatted about 1.5"). Not bad really. Truck still rode great, drove around 15 hours that way. Thinking of adding airbags instead of upgrading the springs as most of the time im empty, but i do plan to haul frequently.

 

[Jc1986.carter]

I ordered an ARE and it took around 6ish weeks to arrive. Had a minor issue and a major issue. Minor is they didn't order the correct clamps for it (ARE wants them to use the ones which go in the track system). Major issue is the base of the cap seems to be made about .5" too short. It doesn't contact the bulkhead up front. Rest of the top looks ok. I wanted the top for the dog/camping so i got them to leave it installed as they order a replacement and just stuffed tape in the hole up front for now...lol.

Here are some pictures of my truck with the camper shell and mediums: i think it only dropped about 1/4" with the shell added. Rode just fine (i didn't really notice much change, i thought it rode great empty as well). Second picture shows the truck with the back loaded with camping gear and about 350ish lbs hanging off the back. I ended up with around 1/4-1/2" negative rake (squatted about 1.5"). Not bad really. Truck still rode great, drove around 15 hours that way. Thinking of adding airbags instead of upgrading the springs as most of the time im empty, but i do plan to haul frequently.

That is exactly the top I ordered it looks like, it’s the v-series right? Was your dealer/installed pretty cool about fixing the issue for you or did you have to “negotiate” with them to fix that issue with the clamps? Also I ordered the Yakima crossbars, have you found them to be useful? I haven’t ever used the crossbars before but I’m thinking i want mount an awning in the future so I got them too.

You have set your truck up the same way I want to. Did you go OME hd upfront for the bumper?

 

[(none)]

That is exactly the top I ordered it looks like, it’s the v-series right? Was your dealer/installed pretty cool about fixing the issue for you or did you have to “negotiate” with them to fix that issue with the clamps? Also I ordered the Yakima crossbars, have you found them to be useful? I haven’t ever used the crossbars before but I’m thinking i want mount an awning in the future so I got them too.

You have set your truck up the same way I want to. Did you go OME hd upfront for the bumper?

I do have the HD up front. I ended up with about a 1.5" lift up front. ARB bumper with Smittybilt 10k winch (which i weighed at ~65lbs, steel cable). Very happy with the springs.

It's the CX. They had a special at the time for free interior carpet on the CX models. I think it's pretty similar to the V, rear door might be different. I tried to get the "outdoorsman" side windoors with vents, but our beds are too short. So i did a windoor on the driver's side and a sliding regular window on the passanger side for the dog. Seems like a good compromise thus far.

The dealer has been good. They are ordering a whole new top and will have the correct clamps when it comes in. Only issue is the dealer is about an hour + drive for me as i live out in the sticks. The yakima bars are nice. I was assuming i'd be getting the regular round bars and the aero bars showed up. I have a RTT on the way and i have an awing too (which was strapped to the bars for the trip home). I think i'll just drill the bars and bolt the awing brackets in place. They are very sturdy and their price was cheaper than i could buy the whole kit for.

 

[Jc1986.carter]

I do have the HD up front. I ended up with about a 1.5" lift up front. ARB bumper with Smittybilt 10k winch (which i weighed at ~65lbs, steel cable). Very happy with the springs.

It's the CX. They had a special at the time for free interior carpet on the CX models. I think it's pretty similar to the V, rear door might be different. I tried to get the "outdoorsman" side windoors with vents, but our beds are too short. So i did a windoor on the driver's side and a sliding regular window on the passanger side for the dog. Seems like a good compromise thus far.

The dealer has been good. They are ordering a whole new top and will have the correct clamps when it comes in. Only issue is the dealer is about an hour + drive for me as i live out in the sticks. The yakima bars are nice. I was assuming i'd be getting the regular round bars and the aero bars showed up. I have a RTT on the way and i have an awing too (which was strapped to the bars for the trip home). I think i'll just drill the bars and bolt the awing brackets in place. They are very sturdy and their price was cheaper than i could buy the whole kit for.

Yeah I tried to order the outdoorsman window too. I can’t beliece I didn’t think about doing one type of window on each side, that was super smart on your part.