LUVTruck.com

Not a Luv, but I brought it home with one.


Our camp trailer is a home built thing with leafs, a trailer straight axle AND coil assist springs. The problem I'm having with it is suspension bounce. You'll notice on the right in this photo, the old (broken) tie wraps the previous owner used to try to limit upward travel. I'm thinking I may just use two short pieces of chain. I might add shocks, but I'm trying to keep costs down and can't do the fab work myself. Some sort of limiting strap or even a bolt on stabilizer/torsion bar is what I'm looking for.

Some of you folks are amazing with this stuff, I'd sure appreciate your suggestions. I'm not object to something light duty as this is obviously not a full time road vehicle. Fully loaded it weighs maybe 1000lbs. Honestly, I'd guess it weighs closer to 600-750 lbs with the tent inside, camp fuel, water and bedding. We carry most everything else in the tow vehicle. We take it out usually within 150 miles or so, and if we're lucky maybe 6-10 times a summer.

Here's the pic:

The bungee cord you see hanging is a securing device for some tent poles, it's not part of the suspension.
Let me know if there are better angles or something, I can get more photos.
Thanks for taking a minute to look this over, it gets scary bouncing down the road with this thing.

PS - Here's a photobucket slide show if you want to see the whole thing. This was homebuilt (not by me!) and tows like a dream. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/nukeday/Camper/2008/?albumview=slideshow

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"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" - Thomas Edison

How about some shocks?

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If you think no one cares, try missing a couple of payments...



FIAA!

SFPP!

Hmmmm, shocks would be great if you could get short enough ones but would have to make mounts.
How bout maybe just taking the coils off and just use the leafs, i had a trailer I pulled a lawn tractor on with just leafs and it didn't bounce bad at all.
Or you could go with load leveler shocks and do away with the leafs but that would be a little costly plus fabbing the mounts.

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Too much to do and not enough time or money!
Courage is the other side of fear!
Pain is the weakness leaving the body!

I would say that the coils and leafs are acting with eachother. I would get rid of the coils.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I'd like to keep the coils, I'm not sure what type of temper is left in the leafs. I'd rather have it too high than have it bottom out. I've been doing some looking at lever action shocks. I think late model motorcycle shocks, mounted inline with the axle might work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006-GSXR-1000-REAR-SHOCK-LEVER-w-RODS-7-101-MILES_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQihZ012QQitemZ220235457751QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW



Maybe something off a vintage TR4?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Triumph-TR4-4A-Lever-Shocks-Shock-set-of-two_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34200QQihZ005QQitemZ150249397905QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW#ht_5542wt_0



Ideas?

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"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" - Thomas Edison

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Shocks-s ... 053125291&

Here's some shorty shocks that might work. I wouldn't think shocks would have to be mounted straight up and down either. It looks like a shock could be mounted on the axle using a plate and U bolts by just bending the plate and drilling a hole to put a bolt though and it looks like you have a piece of angle just above the leaf's that the other end might work to bolt to.

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1980 4x4 - Hunt'n truck 9yrs only seen pavement to the gas station. Gets a little spooked when it sees another vehicle.

Actually you could probably slip a ubolt through the Shock eye and just use a piece of flat steel under the axle and bolt it down tight. Bolt a piece of small channel to the top frame and run your bolt through the upper channel and shock.
Find a junk motorcylce and get the rear adjustable shocks from it.

Just a thought.

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Too much to do and not enough time or money!
Courage is the other side of fear!
Pain is the weakness leaving the body!

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been looking at ATV shocks too. I like the automotive lever shocks for ease of mounting, but I'm still looking at all of the options. Mounting a mono style shock on a bolt of some sort is really a good idea. Seems like that would allow full downward travel and provide the upward limitation I'm looking for.

Really appreciate your input...

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"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" - Thomas Edison

If you want the old KYB's off the front of my truck you can have them . They are still in good shape and might work .

Coil Springs like that were add on helper springs, carry more weight, popular on trucks at one time. Maybe find a spring shop and get them to add a leaf or 2 to up the carrying capacity and dump the coils. I think both springs could be working against each other too.

Lookup Teardrop trailers and check out what people have done. My 5th wheel travel trailer with 3 axles didn't have shocks but it could work. There is someone that made a teardrop trailer for off road camping. I don't remember where but it should be easy enough to find.

PS I didn't pull the 5th wheel with my Luv...

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

You can type in teardrop camper in google and they come. They have a;; kinds of plans for them and probably will tell were to find the suspension. Ebay has a bunch of plans for them also. t@b makes them in Ohio.
My 5th wheel or any other pull behind I don't think has shocks. Just the leafs. Maybe not even leafs.

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Too much to do and not enough time or money!
Courage is the other side of fear!
Pain is the weakness leaving the body!

Dexter axles have "rubber torsion trailer axles" No springs... A lot of trailers use them.I think the work good when they are used correctly. We hated them in the oil field "hotshot" business. Back then they were not HD enough for the weight and rough use.

I have wanted to replace my tow dolly axle solid mount with a dexter type axle. Maybe it will keep the bouncing down and the rough ride too. I pulled a car on a tow dolly from Georgia to Texas on I-10. I-10 in Louisiana has to be one of the worst roads in the US. I knocked part of the exhaust off because of the bouncing. I should have worn a Kidney Belt while pulling it.
Pulled my Luv from Oklahoma to Texas where I live... on my tow dolly. It sucks, I can't wait till I can buy a car hauler trailer.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

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the only replacement for displacement is technology.

I just rebuilt my trailer to handle hauling mt Rhino around. If your worried about removing the coils and the trailer not holding the weight, don't be. First I would remove the coils! Coils are a very bad Idea for something that weights so little. A coil acts as a slinky when not much weight is applied. (Have you ever seen a car with bad shocks driving down the road?). If the leaf springs have (3) leafs per pack they are usualy 1000-1750lbs capacity. Get the lenghts or take one off and go to the local trailer supply and beef the springs up to a 2500lbs. Or you can look on http://www.redneck-trailer.com/ for tons of spring spec's.

Thanks for all this info. I'll look over the leafs again, they may be fine by themselves...

Also, Coyote Steel is right here in the area. http://coyotesteel.com/products1.htm
They've got the torsion arm axles, too.

I think the idea for the coils was to keep the tires from punching up through the wheel wells. I found some water damage to the floor on our last trip, so it looks like I may be doing a teardown this winter...

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"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" - Thomas Edison