Add a leaf question
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5 Year Member
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It will not increase your payload as the axles and brakes are only rated for so much. AAL and load rated E tires will definitely help you from swaying and sagging, with giving you a better piece of mind well hauling with your particular trucks max payload
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When I added my add a leaf, it added about 750lbs of extra spring capacity to compensate for all the tools and generators I always carry. They brought the back end back to stock position and did not really affect the ride. No it will not increase your payload capacity, but the truck just works better now. You can't tell there is a ton of weight in the bed by just looking at it. It will not increase the payload but will carry the maximum payload allowed much better than stock. I think the heavy duty payload package you can get on the F-150 does just about the same thing but then comes with the blessing of the higher payload sticker. I have a Roush truck (no supercharger) that I have add a leaf, airbags, swaybar, E-rated tires, and a snowplow, yes a snowplow, so my truck gets worked a bit harder than most. 50,000 miles on it now pulling a lot of heavy trailers of all kinds and no issues. I usually add a leaf within the first 500 miles of purchasing any F-150 I own. The aluminum trucks are way softer sprung than the generation before them were that had the steel bodies.
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The add a leaf definitely helps prevent sag when at the existing payload capacity of the truck. When I have 800 pounds in the back of my truck it’s nice now that it doesn’t drop considerably like it did before.
I would argue that if you don’t have the HD payload package then adding the extra leaf would indeed increase your payload capacity slightly, but likely not enough to make a huge impact in the “rating”.
You definitely won’t be turning it into a Super Duty if that is the goal.
I would argue that if you don’t have the HD payload package then adding the extra leaf would indeed increase your payload capacity slightly, but likely not enough to make a huge impact in the “rating”.
You definitely won’t be turning it into a Super Duty if that is the goal.
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Joined: Sep 2016
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From: Maine
I have a position about this that is particularly unpopular amongst the HDPP crowd, but is rooted deeply in fact:
Here's what the Ford Body Builder Advisory Service has to say about GAWR:
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) is determined by the rated capacity of the minimum component of the axle system (axle, computer-selected springs, wheels, tires) of a specific vehicle.
Note the absence of the word "frame." Additional frame thickness is great and all... but I know of no half-ton trucks which are payload-limited by the cross-section of the frame. And Ford doesn't factor the thicker frame into GAWR; in fact, the heavier HDPP frame actually decreases payload in comparison to the other frames available on the F150.
So if it's the rated capacity of only those four components that is used to figure out GAWR, then it stands to reason that an HDPP-equipped truck has a rear axle rated for 4,800 lbs and a rear GAWR of 4,800 lbs, if the ratings of the other three components (springs, wheels, tires) each--on their own--exceed 4,800 lbs. Last I checked, the HDPP 18x7.5" wheels were rated for 2,275 lbs each, so I don't see how that can be the case. Maybe these elusive 4,800-lb rear GAWR trucks have different wheels.
It should be noted that you can't really increase your rated payload, as anyone who shelled out for a HDPP-equipped truck will tell you. What you can do, however, is step up your effective capacity by replacing components that would otherwise be your truck's weakest link. Your payload is dependent on your truck’s entire load-bearing system including axles, suspension, frame, and so on. Your weakest component is the limit to your effective payload.
For example, if you have an HDPP-equipped truck on wheels rated for 1,000 lbs, your wheels are the weakest link. Replace your wheels with 2,500 lb load-rated wheels, something else becomes your weakest link. My truck’s weakest link is either the frame or the axles, but since I don’t plan to ever approach those ratings, it doesn’t much matter to me.
If your spring pack is the lowest-rated component of the four that are used to compute payload, then adding capacity to your spring pack will increase your effective payload... plain and simple. It will NOT change the payload limit printed on your door sticker. And you shouldn't exceed that for safety reasons, and so on.
This and more in this thread.
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) is determined by the rated capacity of the minimum component of the axle system (axle, computer-selected springs, wheels, tires) of a specific vehicle.
Note the absence of the word "frame." Additional frame thickness is great and all... but I know of no half-ton trucks which are payload-limited by the cross-section of the frame. And Ford doesn't factor the thicker frame into GAWR; in fact, the heavier HDPP frame actually decreases payload in comparison to the other frames available on the F150.
So if it's the rated capacity of only those four components that is used to figure out GAWR, then it stands to reason that an HDPP-equipped truck has a rear axle rated for 4,800 lbs and a rear GAWR of 4,800 lbs, if the ratings of the other three components (springs, wheels, tires) each--on their own--exceed 4,800 lbs. Last I checked, the HDPP 18x7.5" wheels were rated for 2,275 lbs each, so I don't see how that can be the case. Maybe these elusive 4,800-lb rear GAWR trucks have different wheels.
It should be noted that you can't really increase your rated payload, as anyone who shelled out for a HDPP-equipped truck will tell you. What you can do, however, is step up your effective capacity by replacing components that would otherwise be your truck's weakest link. Your payload is dependent on your truck’s entire load-bearing system including axles, suspension, frame, and so on. Your weakest component is the limit to your effective payload.
For example, if you have an HDPP-equipped truck on wheels rated for 1,000 lbs, your wheels are the weakest link. Replace your wheels with 2,500 lb load-rated wheels, something else becomes your weakest link. My truck’s weakest link is either the frame or the axles, but since I don’t plan to ever approach those ratings, it doesn’t much matter to me.
If your spring pack is the lowest-rated component of the four that are used to compute payload, then adding capacity to your spring pack will increase your effective payload... plain and simple. It will NOT change the payload limit printed on your door sticker. And you shouldn't exceed that for safety reasons, and so on.
This and more in this thread.
Last edited by DeltaNu1142; Apr 28, 2020 at 12:32 PM. Reason: changed "opinion" to "position," since what I'm saying isn't actually opinion.
Flaccid Member
Joined: Sep 2016
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From: Maine
Brakes aren't a factor in a truck's payload rating. If you mean they will help manage whatever payload you're hauling (in the range from zero pounds to your rated payload, and beyond), then you're right.