2023 UEV-14

[rehammer81]

This has been discussed elsewhere but I also wonder if the swaying has to do with trailer height and weight placement such as having water tanks aft of the axles. I would like to know what kind of real world, loaded to camp, hitch weights these end up with.

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[ttengineer]

This has been discussed elsewhere but I also wonder if the swaying has to do with trailer height and weight placement such as having water tanks aft of the axles. I would like to know what kind of real world, loaded to camp, hitch weights these end up with.

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That would definitely affect the tracking. Even with the weight down low, you never want more than 40% of the weight behind the axle.

I forget how many liters they said were in the tanks, but water weighs 2.2 lbs per liter. So using that number should give you at least a starting point for distribution.

I know guys that carry sand bags just to help distribute weight when they tow if it’s a weird load.


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[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Do Xplores, OBI Dweller and Conqueror all have thier tanks aft if the axels ?

 

[WillySwan]

My Dweller 13 has 32 gallon (approx) tank in front of the wheels and a 22 gallon (approx) aft. The gray water tank is also in front of the wheels. As mentioned in the Dweller thread, weight forward on the tongue makes a big improvement in towing behavior. Most of us tend to use the forward tank only for water when going down the highway.

 

[WillySwan]

Interesting about the torsion bar and highway driving. Maybe it’s needed with the shocks conqueror uses, but I’ve found our Boreas with cruisemaster suspension to tow incredibly well on the highway, and stable as a rock at 75mph. Maybe more a function of cheap shocks and poor dampening or some other design aspect than a universal problem with independent suspension on trailers.

I think you are spot-on with the comment of poor dampening. Upgrading shocks on my Dweller, as detailed in this post, was the single most important upgrade I have made. It totally changed the highway road manners in a very positive way.

I would not consider the Rancho RS55118 a cheap shock, but I think a single RS55118 is likely not providing enough dampening for this application. Like most Rancho products, this shock is specified for a broad range of applications., everything from a FJ40 Landcruiser to a 1-ton Chevy pickup. It would seem that the valving would need to be a compromise for both the very light and the very heavy applications.
The Cruisemaster ATX appears to have an extremely stout remote-reservoir shock on each trailing arm.

 

[Treefarmer]

I think you are spot-on with the comment of poor dampening. Upgrading shocks on my Dweller, as detailed in this post, was the single most important upgrade I have made. It totally changed the highway road manners in a very positive way.

I would not consider the Rancho RS55118 a cheap shock, but I think a single RS55118 is likely not providing enough dampening for this application. Like most Rancho products, this shock is specified for a broad range of applications., everything from a FJ40 Landcruiser to a 1-ton Chevy pickup. It would seem that the valving would need to be a compromise for both the very light and the very heavy applications.
The Cruisemaster ATX appears to have an extremely stout remote-reservoir shock on each trailing arm.

So I'm not well educated in shock absorbers. I was a little worried that a four wheel CM ATX system rated for 9,920lbs could actually handle that much weight with only four shock absorbers and four airbags. Do you think a set up like that can reliably handle that much weight? Other systems seem to use eight shocks (two on each wheel).

 

[ttengineer]

Shocks do not “handle” weight.

Shocks control springs, springs carry weight.

If a spring is bouncing the trailer all over the place, the shock needs to be valved to the user’s preference.

Shocks will control how fast/slow a spring can compress and rebound.


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[vintageracer]

Shocks will control how fast/slow a spring can compress and rebound.


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Also remember that most CHEAP shocks have a decent amount of compression and very little to no rebound.

Rebound is just as important as compression. Maybe more so.

KYB shocks are notorious for lot's of compression and little to no rebound. All a shock with lots of compression will do is give the owner the feeling of a short term solution to cover up a worn out suspension.

 

[WillySwan]

My Dweller suspension is a "very similar" design to the Cruisemaster XT. Like the CM XT, it is a dual shock set up on each trailing arm. The CM ATX is Cruisemaster's premium off-road capable suspension. I think in going with a genuine Cruisemaster product, one of the things you are buying is peace of mind based on their well established reputation and history of providing top quality suspension designs. I personally would have no concern with the set up you are going with. Frankly, I am more than a bit envious and am looking forward to seeing your trailer when you get it.

 

[ttengineer]

Also remember that most CHEAP shocks have a decent amount of compression and very little to no rebound.

Rebound is just as important as compression. Maybe more so.

KYB shocks are notorious for lot's of compression and little to no rebound. All a shock with lots of compression will do is give the owner the feeling of a short term solution to cover up a worn out suspension.

It’s my experience that it’s the opposite. Super slow (too much) rebound and very little compression.


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[Treefarmer]

My Dweller suspension is a "very similar" design to the Cruisemaster XT. Like the CM XT, it is a dual shock set up on each trailing arm. The CM ATX is Cruisemaster's premium off-road capable suspension. I think in going with a genuine Cruisemaster product, one of the things you are buying is peace of mind based on their well established reputation and history of providing top quality suspension designs. I personally would have no concern with the set up you are going with. Frankly, I am more than a bit envious and am looking forward to seeing your trailer when you get it.

When we have more info., we'll probably start a thread here to follow the build. We've already gotten really good ideas from people here over the past few months on chassis/suspension/ wall design and so on. We'll be open to more ideas as we build. You risk lot of criticism when you give details about what you're doing, but it's worth it for the pearls of wisdom you can also get!?

 

[Griff619]

I am purchasing a UEV 14 from ROA. Any current 2023 owners want to weigh in on things they hate/ love and what mods they suggest while it is still at the ROA shop?

 

[Singler3360]

I am purchasing a UEV 14 from ROA. Any current 2023 owners want to weigh in on things they hate/ love and what mods they suggest while it is still at the ROA shop?

While in the shop, I had ROA upgrade the batteries to five 105A Lion LiPo batteries. I also had them replace the solar controller with a Victron MPPT controller. Lastly, they wired the A/C and heat pump unit into the inverter so that it could run for a few hours offgrid.

At home, I'm in the process of installing a wireless rear view camera. I haven't decided on the wire runs for the transmitter yet. Any ideas?

The last project I'm currently working on is to rivnut two 1UP bike racks to the front toolbox. The space on top of the box will accommodate only one rack and I'm thinking of taking some aluminum or steel tubing and extending over the propane bottle box so the second rack can be installed without hindering the removal of the bottle box lid. Ideas?

 

[gendlert]

The last project I'm currently working on is to rivnut two 1UP bike racks to the front toolbox. The space on top of the box will accommodate only one rack and I'm thinking of taking some aluminum or steel tubing and extending over the propane bottle box so the second rack can be installed without hindering the removal of the bottle box lid. Ideas?

WillySwan posted how he did a bike rack using a vertical receiver on the crossbar. A little cutting and welding gets a cool solution that sits the bikes over the tongue box. Might at least get the juices flowing. Here's the post with pics:

OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

Holy awesome. Really?!? For $150 and a couple hours this trailer will tow like we want it to on the pavement? What do we have to do to get install instructions? Thanks for taking the time and leap to getting this done. If anyone else makes this upgrade, post if you have similar...

expeditionportal.com

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

While in the shop, I had ROA upgrade the batteries to five 105A Lion LiPo batteries. I also had them replace the solar controller with a Victron MPPT controller. Lastly, they wired the A/C and heat pump unit into the inverter so that it could run for a few hours offgrid.

At home, I'm in the process of installing a wireless rear view camera. I haven't decided on the wire runs for the transmitter yet. Any ideas?

The last project I'm currently working on is to rivnut two 1UP bike racks to the front toolbox. The space on top of the box will accommodate only one rack and I'm thinking of taking some aluminum or steel tubing and extending over the propane bottle box so the second rack can be installed without hindering the removal of the bottle box lid. Ideas?

Just out of curiosity what did they charge you for the battery and charger mod?