RE: Suspension advice needed. NEED CLEARANCE

[jettycat]

 
I am thinking of lifting my pop up to get more clearance and to put on bigger more offroadworthy tires. Anyone out there have any experience on the subject?
 should I get a new axle/heavier leaf springs and block? I have a coleman 1988 williamsburg. It has those smaller style tires.
 Looking for advice.
 Thanks
 Jettycat

[Nick]

 jettycat
Send an email to Ab Diver.  He knows all about lifitng a PU suspension

[AustinBoston]

 jettycat
First, I agrewith Nick, send an email to Ab Diver.
 
 Second, one possible approach is to " flip"  the axle from being above the springs to being below.  This gives you 2-3"  of clearance. (The axle stays same side up).
 
 Putting on larger tires could be interesting.  Often, there is not enough clearance, even with the body being raised several inches.
 
 Good luck,
 
 Austin
 

[mike4947]

 jettycat
A note on the larger more offroad worthy tires. You ll have to do a lot of homework on tire selection. Like Autin says even when you raise the PU the wheel well radius doesn t increase so you don t get the full effect of the raise as far as diameter of tire is concerned.
 Another problem with increasing tire size is one I ran into. Unless you keep close to the load rating of your PU the tires will be a LOT stiffer. I went up from a  1100 pound rated tire to a 1650 rated tire. Worst mistake I ever made. The PU litterally hopped off the road at every expansion joint and bump in the road. Shook every fitting loose and cracked a cabinet it was so bad.
 After many conversations with several dealers and two tire manufacturers It came down to one of two things I could lower the pressure in the higher rated tires, but nobody could give me any figures on what the load would decrease for pressure decrease or go back to the original size. Since I couldn t be sure od safely towing the higher rated tires I went back to the original size.
 
 PS: PU s aren t made to OffRoad, even dirt roads can mess up a PU s chassis. That s why several manufacturers are making specific models for the less than smooth dirt crowd. If you look at them they ALL have larger frames, heavy duty suspensions, and from what I ve been able to find out even the wall structures and roofs have been beefed up.

[AustinBoston]

 mike4947

ORIGINAL:  mike4947
 PS: PU s aren t made to OffRoad, even dirt roads can mess up a PU s chassis. That s why several manufacturers are making specific models for the less than smooth dirt crowd. If you look at them they ALL have larger frames, heavy duty suspensions, and from what I ve been able to find out even the wall structures and roofs have been beefed up.

 And with that comes significantly higher base weights, I m sure.
 
 Austin
 

[Ab Diver]

 jettycat
Hi Jettycat-I don t know anything about your Williamsburg. How big is the box?  What size tires are on it now? How big are the wheelwells? How *wide* are the wheelwells? What size tire do you want to switch to? Depending on the size of your axle, the Dexter Over/Under kit will give you about 4"  (thickness of the axle, plus thickness of the spring block plus thickness of the kit block). You can also gain another inch or so by shifting the spring bolt to the lower hole in the shackle. Then a taller tire will also add to that. But, as Austin noted, the wheelwell clearance may be a problem. And as Mike noted, larger tires can have different ride characteristics. I got lucky, the new 14"  tires ride smoother than the old 13"  tires... I m guessing it s their lower psi rating.
 
 But if you plan on doing any " serious"  off-roading, you ll need a lot more lift than the Dexter kit will give you. The departure angle is just too low on a pop-up. (in other words, too much trailer hangs south of the axle-- you ll tear off the bumper on any steep rises) But for just getting more ground clearance to miss the normal stuff with the front/rear of the trailer, it will work fine. Remember though, the *actual* ground clearance remains the same: the axle itself. You won t be missing any rocks you re hitting now unless you go to taller tires.
 
 That said, the Dexter kit is a piece of cake to install. You ll also need to change your drawbar so the trailer tows level. Be aware that the stabilizing jacks may not reach the ground on one side of the trailer if the site is very steep. (A block of wood fixs that problem.)
 
 If you want to go higher than the kit, give Dexter a call. Depending on how long your springs are, and the amount of arch in them, Dexter may have a spring that will give you the lift you want. Any higher than that, and you re gunna need to weld different spring mounts on the frame to use larger springs, and possibly need a new axle to use larger wheels (5 lug vs. 4 lug for smaller wheels/axles).
 
 Any questions on the installation of the kit, just ping me privately. I ll be glad to help.

[Firefyter-Emt]

 jettycat
I would be willing to bet that if you could get small car tires that would more than exceed the weight rating for your camper it would ride better.. sure, they are not trailer tires, but you would not want/need the higher weight cap. As for the rear bumper, there is an old adage.. if you can t lift it, slide it.. For your rear you need some skid plates have one made that protects the rear bumper and make sure you have a dolly wheel that can be raised up.. Also protect any wiring and propane hoses.. BTW, I also have a 3 1/2"  lift on my Starcraft, check out my site for some photos..

[AustinBoston]

 jettycat
Here is a link to a very long thread on the old boards about this topic.
 
 http://www.popuptimes.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6351
 
 Austin