Early Jeep and a Teardrop story

[jeep-N-montero]

16" wheels w/Jeep hubs. About 16" of ground clearance w/the torsion axle. I'm looking at an off-road upgrade in the frame. Not sure if I'll go the whole suspension upgrade, but at the very least I'll be upgrading the wheels/tires to match my Jeep - 35x12.5's, which even with the stock axle I'd have around a 20" clearance. Also looking at the max coupler or lock n roll to replace stock. The galley will be upgraded with a Partner Steel stove and a few more drawers, and a refrigerator slide (still deciding on going with an ARB refrig, or sticking with my ice chest for now).

How hard is it to upgrade the suspension height on those, is it simply adding square tube as a spacer between the torsion mount and the trailer frame? My trailer just has a standard axle but has 24 inches of clearance between frame and the ground with just 31's under it.

 

[cobblecrazy]

How hard is it to upgrade the suspension height on those, is it simply adding square tube as a spacer between the torsion mount and the trailer frame? My trailer just has a standard axle but has 24 inches of clearance between frame and the ground with just 31's under it.

Varies on the company, but usually leaf springs and shocks (one uses the Rancho 9000XL adjustable ones), and I've seen an airbag system incorporated into the upgrade as well.

 

[Shoeman]

I'll second the Teardrop convenience. This is my homebuilt. Not a full on offroad rig, but I spec'd the Dexter axle for more clearance than most road only TD's are built with as many of the roads into camping spots here in Maine are rough or have high centers between the tracks. Right now I'm rigging our XJ as the new tow vehicle instead of the pickup. With these guys you park, unhook, and you're done.

 

[Yulli]

Nice set up you got there cobble. Thanks for the info.

 

[AndrewDM]

How hard is it to upgrade the suspension height on those, is it simply adding square tube as a spacer between the torsion mount and the trailer frame? My trailer just has a standard axle but has 24 inches of clearance between frame and the ground with just 31's under it.

Dexter makes a lift for the torsion axle that is just what you described. I just installed one, 2.6 inches of lift.

-Andy

 

[Shoeman]

And to the original point of this thread, that site is considered a gem in both the teardrop and the early CJ world. I first saw it several tears ago when I was putting a '57 CJ5 back on the road, and it helped lead to me building the Tear as well. I love old stories like that. The dad was brilliant in his DIY engineering, and the trips looked like a total blast. Fantastic stuff.

Geoff