This picture is of my 94 with one yard of dirt. IN comparison I have a D50 in which I got a half yard earlier in the day and it didn't even go out of level. I have coil over shocks on the D50. That half yard may have been unusually dry because it usually does drop the back out of level with a half yard but not this bad. Sorry about the pic size not sure how to remove it so I can put a resized pic in.

 

Really hard to guess what it weights..... But I would look at the leafs and see if any are cracked. FWIW I would much rather take your existing leafs apart and add a leaf or two, vs coil overs.

 

If I were you I'd get the coil over and be done. Sounds like you don't haul haevy things a lot with it. So you want your ride to stay decent. And coil overs let you achieve that. Leafs are going to stiffen up your ride all the time unless you have something in the bed or towing.

 

I am asking because I cannot find any coil overs that say they are for the 2wd 1st gen 1dak. I looked on Rock Auto and they had only one shock left of heavy duty coil over and I could not find a matching one anywhere. Its gone now and I'm not sure about what's left there or what they mean by a better ride. You'd think they would talk about how it handled loads no?

 

1 yard of dry dirt is 2200 lbs. Add moisture and it's heavier yet. That's over a ton no wonder that truck is sagging. It's too much weight for what you have.
and shocks do NOT have anything to do with weight capacity, shock mounts aren't meant to take weight. All shocks do is to dampen the springs so that they don't keep bouncing after a bump or dip in the road. You're better off to add a leaf to each side to increase weight capacity.

Also consider that most of our trucks have puny 9" rear brakes, and that the heavier you load it the harder that the brakes have to work, you're expecting those puny things to stop a truck and a half worth of weight..... I hate to say this but if it this is a typical load for you then you really need a bigger truck!!!!!! At least a "heavy" 1/2 ton preferably a 3/4 ton.....

 

Its not typical at all. I don't usually haul a lot of stuff with it. But since the D50 didn't even sag when I got a half yard I figured the Dak would be able to haul a yard easy. So much for figuring. I'm thinking 93 ragtop may be on to something. Once I unload it enough I'll go get it up in a hoist to see if anything is broken. Then I'll figure on what to do. I still want new shocks, they did make a big difference with the D50. Braking was no problem at all. Worked as if it were empty.

 

Coil over shocks dictate you're wrong.

 

The problem with those though, is the shock mounts were never meant to support weight. They were designed to mount the shocks, to control the axle. Not have a ton of dirt pressing down on them. I've seen too many mounts ripped right off the axle to ever do that to anything I own.

 

I appreciate the opinions. I found these https://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/34-263.htm They are the stock strength spring they sell. He agreed they were probably a lot stronger than what I have right now when I told him a yard of dirt made it hit the stops. You can see they hold 2550lbs per spring. $140. I called and asked about having him make them stronger he said for $75 more each they would hold about 3000lbs. It includes new bushings.

 

Actually, eveything being optimal, 2200 lbs in the bed is just fine. The shocks mounts in optimal condition shouldnt be a problem. Id put 2200lbs in my truck if it weren't for the slush box.