Analog
Well-known member
ZedBed said:
yes, we 'talked' about this a few months back
Lowering woes
- Thread starter sharman
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yes, we 'talked' about this a few months back
sharman
Well-known member
ZedBed said:
Red9 suggested doing this when I spoke to them at Stanford. I'm sure it'd be ok, but it just don't seem right and I ain't done it, yet!
Anyway, there's a lot of friction in the house with the wife wanting back to standard and me trying to compromise between being lowered and not grounding anywhere :argue: .
Thus, I think I'm going to remove the horseshoes and resort back to std on the rear. I've drilled the springplates for the handbrake cable, do you think it'll be ok if I leave em in there with std setup as they were previously rubbing underneath the springplates ?
On the front, I'm going to try fitting my old 185/65 tyres, this will raise her up at the front to stop her nosediving, but run the risk of catching the arches due to width. Currently 175/55 up front. Does this seem logical? And does anyone else have dropped spindles wi brm's and 185/65 tyres?
Cheers
Bigger tyres will rub more often. What you need the adjusters sorting. You wanted to be able to adjust up and down from a start point of flipped spindles and you say you told him this. I suggest you take it back to the "expert" and ask him nicely (at first) to recify his mistake at his own cost. It was his cock-up that's left you in the position where the adjusters may as well have not been fitted at all.
I think I see a concensus that says the rear's a bit low, but the horseshoes are cool.
So, keep the horseshoes and go up a spline? FYI when you prise the springplate off the carrier bottom stop, if it's standard height, it should spring down 10 (very rough!) degs. Dropped a spline it'll be above the stop. As far as I can see though, even if you grind the botto stop off you'll still need to pry the springplate down to change the wheel. But I get the vibe that your wife might not be overly impressed if you start carrying around a legth of scaffold bar so you can change a flat. In which case you need to source those adjustable springplates you wanted in the 1st place.
You say you have had to cut one blob off the rear stops? That's commensurate with a 1 spline drop. More evidence that you are too low. One "horseshoe's worth" is what you were after, what you have is approx 55mm lower. Sort that and look how it sits, get the "expert" to recify his marriage wrecking error, get a pair of whole rear bumpstops and adjustable springplates (just for wheel changing ease) and you should be cooking on gas.
Then put proper standard wheels back on it all round and it'll look good too.
I think I see a concensus that says the rear's a bit low, but the horseshoes are cool.
So, keep the horseshoes and go up a spline? FYI when you prise the springplate off the carrier bottom stop, if it's standard height, it should spring down 10 (very rough!) degs. Dropped a spline it'll be above the stop. As far as I can see though, even if you grind the botto stop off you'll still need to pry the springplate down to change the wheel. But I get the vibe that your wife might not be overly impressed if you start carrying around a legth of scaffold bar so you can change a flat. In which case you need to source those adjustable springplates you wanted in the 1st place.
You say you have had to cut one blob off the rear stops? That's commensurate with a 1 spline drop. More evidence that you are too low. One "horseshoe's worth" is what you were after, what you have is approx 55mm lower. Sort that and look how it sits, get the "expert" to recify his marriage wrecking error, get a pair of whole rear bumpstops and adjustable springplates (just for wheel changing ease) and you should be cooking on gas.
Then put proper standard wheels back on it all round and it'll look good too.
Tim S
Well-known member
A chum has an Autosleeper Rambler much like that called Eric... Eric has matching crockery and is very practical! Plus a combination toilet/shower...Analog said:Bwuttonmoon said:
they have a certain je ne sais quoi. non?
Our bus is low, and has had much money spent on it, and is far from perfect. When I bought it it had been lowered by a "specialist" and was downright dangerous... Front shock trailing arm mounts ground down to 1 turn of thread? Check. Banana shaped track rods where they'd hit the chassis rails? Check. Balljoint bound front suspension? Check. Tread carefully!
Analog
Well-known member
i joke Tim, there are cheaper more practical motorhomes out there, that being one of them.
mine with adjusters at front and horseshoes on rear (std spline height), ground the lower springplate stop, no need for any bars or anything to take the rear wheels off, but i have splitty wheels that have a narrower offset slightly, but you have flared arches
i think when you have adjusters and dropped spindles it can be tricky to get the right balance of drop, depending on where the adjusters got fixed into the beam
i would go back to standard wheels for now, (might need smaller front tyres at some point mind) and like Zed said, raise your adjusters at the front if you can, and are you down any splines at the back with those horseshoes?
mine with adjusters at front and horseshoes on rear (std spline height), ground the lower springplate stop, no need for any bars or anything to take the rear wheels off, but i have splitty wheels that have a narrower offset slightly, but you have flared arches
i think when you have adjusters and dropped spindles it can be tricky to get the right balance of drop, depending on where the adjusters got fixed into the beam
i would go back to standard wheels for now, (might need smaller front tyres at some point mind) and like Zed said, raise your adjusters at the front if you can, and are you down any splines at the back with those horseshoes?
BJ1
Well-known member
Bwuttonmoon said:
No you wouldn't Spence - ever driven one? And the fuel consumption is around 22mpg at best. IMO bays look cool whether stock or lowered.
I'm not against lowering provided it's done properly and safely. There are too many so-called 'experts' out there who charge huge sums of money for lowering, often leaving the bus with strained joints, rubbish camber and castor angles etc etc. I've personally seen several buses that have been lowered by well-known 'experts' that have been downright dangerous. There's a few examples in previous posts - tip of the iceberg!
Oh well, we'll just have to wait for the first real disaster with no insurance payout due to dangerous and/or undeclared mods. Then the dung will hit the fan.
Bwuttonmoon
Well-known member
BJ1 said:
Ok I lie I wouldn't... I'd buy a caravan
Tim S
Well-known member
It's ok, I know you're joking. We're all fond of Eric though!Analog said:i joke Tim, there are cheaper more practical motorhomes out there, that being one of them.
They're no faster than a bay and not any more reliable either.BJ1 said:
sharman
Well-known member
Update,
The front adjusters are at max height and never touched rear, so not sure if previously adjusted, although before and mods, she was 3.5" higher up front.
Finally removed the horseshoe plates. I've left the handbrake cable thru the springplate as it had rubbed when originally underneath the springplate, hopefully this will be ok.
I've had to swap the wheels/tyres around to compensate for the 3.5" gain in height at the rear, as it was pretty equal at 160cm from gutter to floor front and back the plates fitted. I've now fitted 175/55 at the rear and put the 185/65 up front to try and even things up. I now have 165cm front and 170cm rear, so roughly only 2" higher at rear now. Can honestly say I'm not keen on leaving lower profile tyre at rear and it's only a short term fix. Might look at selling my brm's to replace with better offset wheels.:mrgreen:
It looks like it's been rubbing vertical to the driveshaft n/s and also on the base plate of the bumpstop. You can probably see where I've cut the bumpstop. Also the tyre is still close to the rear n/s, whereas I can get my finger in at the other side, so something not quite right and not caused by the horseshoes.
Even treat myself to a new trolley jack, a bit ruff tho :lol:
Anyway, these bad boys are now going in the for sale section! Marriage saved
The front adjusters are at max height and never touched rear, so not sure if previously adjusted, although before and mods, she was 3.5" higher up front.
Finally removed the horseshoe plates. I've left the handbrake cable thru the springplate as it had rubbed when originally underneath the springplate, hopefully this will be ok.
I've had to swap the wheels/tyres around to compensate for the 3.5" gain in height at the rear, as it was pretty equal at 160cm from gutter to floor front and back the plates fitted. I've now fitted 175/55 at the rear and put the 185/65 up front to try and even things up. I now have 165cm front and 170cm rear, so roughly only 2" higher at rear now. Can honestly say I'm not keen on leaving lower profile tyre at rear and it's only a short term fix. Might look at selling my brm's to replace with better offset wheels.:mrgreen:
It looks like it's been rubbing vertical to the driveshaft n/s and also on the base plate of the bumpstop. You can probably see where I've cut the bumpstop. Also the tyre is still close to the rear n/s, whereas I can get my finger in at the other side, so something not quite right and not caused by the horseshoes.
Even treat myself to a new trolley jack, a bit ruff tho :lol:
Anyway, these bad boys are now going in the for sale section! Marriage saved
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