Custom overland camper from 5 tons
- Thread starter jcdostie
- Start date
jcdostie
Member
The project is:
1- Have a comfortable ride. I mean Air Ride. The idea is to have Air Suspension at the front and rear by removing most of the spring leaves
2- My girlfriend wants to have a car instead of a motorcycle. The smallest car I can find that’s street legal in Canada is a Smart. So, for me, I don’t want to tow a car or a trailer in the back. That’s the garage part. We will have to extend the frame and move back the axles
Those 2 steps are gonna be done this fall
Let’s see after if we meet our 2 criteria. Then we can move on to the cam’er side
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
1- Have a comfortable ride. I mean Air Ride. The idea is to have Air Suspension at the front and rear by removing most of the spring leaves
2- My girlfriend wants to have a car instead of a motorcycle. The smallest car I can find that’s street legal in Canada is a Smart. So, for me, I don’t want to tow a car or a trailer in the back. That’s the garage part. We will have to extend the frame and move back the axles
Those 2 steps are gonna be done this fall
Let’s see after if we meet our 2 criteria. Then we can move on to the cam’er side
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
Buffalobwana
Observer
Good luck on the build! I love the Franken-cab. Some don’t, but I think it looks cool on the inside and out.
Keep us updated on your suspension mods. That is a very important upgrade to these vehicles.
I have considered replacing my rear cab mounts with air ride bags, but need to make sure it doesn’t effect steering linkage, electrical, AC hoses or wiring.
A big rig spring shop should be able to design a front end spring/air bag combo that will do a lot to tame the ride. The rear may be a bit more complicated if I want to keep the articulation.
Keep us updated on your suspension mods. That is a very important upgrade to these vehicles.
I have considered replacing my rear cab mounts with air ride bags, but need to make sure it doesn’t effect steering linkage, electrical, AC hoses or wiring.
A big rig spring shop should be able to design a front end spring/air bag combo that will do a lot to tame the ride. The rear may be a bit more complicated if I want to keep the articulation.
jcdostie
Member
The front and the rear suspension is not very complicated to change to air ride.
For the rear, simply remove most of the spring leafs (leave 2 for the longitudinal rigidity) and put 2 balloons at the front and rear end to get the suspension on air. Then, add 2 torque rod for each differentials.
Like that
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
For the rear, simply remove most of the spring leafs (leave 2 for the longitudinal rigidity) and put 2 balloons at the front and rear end to get the suspension on air. Then, add 2 torque rod for each differentials.
Like that
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
Hi, JC:
I understand pretty well why you want to swap to air suspension. This things look terrific but the drive is miserable.
Why do you want to add torque rods and leave a couple of leaves for lateral control of the differentials? IMHO, if you want to put air as the suspension system for the truck, then get rid of the leaves and install a nice panhard rod.
The original links are more than capable of holding the differentials in place while moving up and down, and the panhard provides smooth lateral control of the movement following its arc.
Moreover, eliminating the leaves makes the differentials independent one from the other, making the ride even smoother, especially when offroading.
Just a thought.
Good luck with your project.
Pairoa
I understand pretty well why you want to swap to air suspension. This things look terrific but the drive is miserable.
Why do you want to add torque rods and leave a couple of leaves for lateral control of the differentials? IMHO, if you want to put air as the suspension system for the truck, then get rid of the leaves and install a nice panhard rod.
The original links are more than capable of holding the differentials in place while moving up and down, and the panhard provides smooth lateral control of the movement following its arc.
Moreover, eliminating the leaves makes the differentials independent one from the other, making the ride even smoother, especially when offroading.
Just a thought.
Good luck with your project.
Pairoa
jcdostie
Member
Thanks Pairoa for the idea. I will explore that this week. You’re right about panhard rod. I’ll keep posting more
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
jcdostie
Member
Finally, we decided to sell the truck and more on another project.
Any interest, check the AD on my website www.jcdostie.com/M923A2
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
Any interest, check the AD on my website www.jcdostie.com/M923A2
JC
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
quickfarms
Adventurer
The spring suspension can be tuned to work fantastic for an RV. With an RV the load is constant so you just need to have all the springs rebuilt for the actual weight plus a little cushion. On my truck I had the suspension, all 6 springs rebuilt to cover what it actually weights plus 5,000 lbs and now it rides better than my wife’s car. The air ride seats in the cab barely move now and this was a lot cheaper than doing an air ride conversion.
Chuckles!
Observer
Here's a long-wheelbase one that just popped up on eBay, looks clean and not too far from Quebec:
AM General | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for AM General at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com