Thread: Weights.

I drink enough beer to appear like an engineer but alas i have no formal training. I have spent alot of time around broken trailers though!

If single swing arm independent set ups really are such a good concept, why do we only see them used in the unregulated part of the transport industry? Left to right load sharing is important especially on an offroad situation.

With regards to the cracked arms, unlikely to be anything special material wise. I wouldnt weld them insitu. Proper prep is vital for this sort of stuff.

Is the suspension from a particular supplier, they look a little like sugarglide? Could have a yarn with the maker re repairs?

S

Peter,

No point comparing or worrying about suspension design between caravans and the transport industry as they are quite different in their usage and work load.

No matter what anyone on here says non load sharing suspension on vans works really well both on and off road, both load sharing and non load sharing have issues when not maintained properly.

If it was me I'd just take the van down to a local engineering workshop and let them have a look at it. Often it is cheaper and faster to go to a engineering workshop then going anywhere near a caravan repairer who usually are snowed under and charge a premium.

cheers,
Terry

all that kerfluffal aside,,
i wondered why I could spin the nav side front with the handbrake firmly applied,, pulled the drum and three things were apparent,,
the brakes were only working on the trailing shoe,
the axle nut was only finger tight,
and I had no idea how electric brakes worked!
adjusted the drum(cant remember the last time I did that--) and went to tighten the nut up only to find the only place on the nut the pin would go through was the original holes,,
After the trip home I know there is no heat or adjustment required of any of the bearings so was quite happy to replace pin.
The insides of the drum does look like its 20 years old,, lots of wear on the magnet, plenty of pad left though.

Might pull the rest on chrissy hols,,

Terry,
I can see you being the guy i met near wakooka trying to weld up some bling off road suspension system for the third time since leaving cooktown.
If trucks that trundle around this wide brown land DONT use a particular set up, its probably because it aint gonna work in the real world.

Dont get,me confused, i dont recommend leaf springs!

Its just that inde trailer set ups are just waiting to fail. Name a single vehicle on the road with single A arm/wishbone suspension and NO anti roll bars. They are a tight arse way of putting coils under a trailer. Full stop the end.

S

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

all that kerfluffal aside,,
i wondered why I could spin the nav side front with the handbrake firmly applied,, pulled the drum and three things were apparent,,
the brakes were only working on the trailing shoe,
the axle nut was only finger tight,
and I had no idea how electric brakes worked!
adjusted the drum(cant remember the last time I did that--) and went to tighten the nut up only to find the only place on the nut the pin would go through was the original holes,,
After the trip home I know there is no heat or adjustment required of any of the bearings so was quite happy to replace pin.
The insides of the drum does look like its 20 years old,, lots of wear on the magnet, plenty of pad left though.

Might pull the rest on chrissy hols,,

My 2 cent Pete, don't buggerise around, replace your brakes with new stuff, replace all the bearings and get that suspension fixed by someone who knows what they are doing (ie) an engineering shop, maybe get it braced a bit more.

Your van is not that heavy, 1.7t is pretty light for a dual axle van, so I would amagine that the suspension is an on road design, the age of the van doesn't help either, so refurbish it and it should last another 20yrs.

Baz.

I have to agree with Baz here.

If you have one crack there will be more. I know its not good to buy something and face big repairs. But in the case an under-carriage service will give you piece of mind. Having the cracked arm off for a repair will make it a better job as well.

I understand a bit how you feel. I had a new van delivered with underrated suspension and it ruined my plans for a mid year trip. The van had its suspension replaced and its now full steam ahead for a Cape York trip next year.

Originally Posted by roverrescue

Terry,
I can see you being the guy i met near wakooka trying to weld up some bling off road suspension system for the third time since leaving cooktown.
If trucks that trundle around this wide brown land DONT use a particular set up, its probably because it aint gonna work in the real world.

Dont get,me confused, i dont recommend leaf springs!

Its just that inde trailer set ups are just waiting to fail. Name a single vehicle on the road with single A arm/wishbone suspension and NO anti roll bars. They are a tight arse way of putting coils under a trailer. Full stop the end.

S

I have Simplicity independant suspension, nothing bling about that and yes it is load sharing.

To compare trucks that do well over a million k's with over 40 ton of weight loaded on them before coming close to getting near the end of their usefull working lives and the average caravan that is lucky to do 100,000 k's in its life with a load on average of no more then 500 kg on top of the build weight of the van seams to me to be pretty pointless. While sharing wheels and tyres after that there is little comparision in wear and tear and the amount of work required.

Most trucks now have air suspension fitted and that is still very rear for vans so lets not get to excited about who has the most bling.

In your opinion independant non load sharing suspension is rubbish and that is fine, everyone is entitled to their opnion.

cheers,
Terry

Originally Posted by mowog

I have to agree with Baz here.

If you have one crack there will be more. I know its not good to buy something and face big repairs. But in the case an under-carriage service will give you piece of mind. Having the cracked arm off for a repair will make it a better job as well.

I agree with Mowog and Barry just get it all done once and properly, repairs like this often aren't that expensive.

An ex member on here Grumdriva (Terry) had the bracket between the wheels of his load sharing dual axle leaf spring suspension rip out of the chassis on a recent trip out near St George. It cost him about $150 to get it welded and have the chasis braced properly.

Once it is done properly it will give you real peace of mind for going off the beaten track.

cheers,
Terry