Jump to content

More Ground Clearance


Saltlakecamper

Recommended Posts

I am new to Toyota rv's. I recently bought two to make one. When I swap in the full floater I was thinking of adding a 3" shackle, and adjusting the front torsion bars up. An extra three inches and a taller tire would benefit me greatly. We don't camp in campgrounds! Can this be done successfully with not to many negative side effects?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The majority of my favorite camp sites are down dirt roads, which require moderate ground clearance. We're not talking about rubicon, but there are rocks and a few small washes to drive through. 6" of clearance in the front is not enough, I want 3" on all four corners. I'll start on this in a couple weeks and post photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind all these motorhomes sag low in the rear. Increasing the front height will make the rear sag more pronounced. You could end up with better front height only to have the rear dragging.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most Toys have the rear axle over the springs, flip the axle and put it under the springs. Then find HD torsion bars and install them to raise the front.

THEN remove any thing heavy off the roof. Because your rig is going to be a bit tippy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A spring over swap would end up being like six inches do to the large spring pack. How many inches can you get out of hd torsion bars, and where can I get them? Has anyone actually done this? I would think how low these vehicles sit someone has tried it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I originally looked at putting the axle below the spring but found the height too extreme.

Shackles will lift but I've found 3" of shackle lift gives me about 1.5" of body lift. This is plenty for my rig as I was only looking to remove the sag.

Based on my criteria your 6 inch "flip" should give about 3" of body lift in the rear. Not sure how it will affect balance.

As far as the front end goes I don't know what to recommend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not really into the off-roading a Toyota MH, but what is it that causes the most clearance problems? What hits first (and 2nd? 3rd?) with the standard suspension/springs (in GOOD shape)? Does standard front ride height cause problems?

I guess if I was intent on going off-road, I'd set it up with a pretty standard front ride height, good rear springs to have slightly higher than standard ride height for getting around on-road and then air springs that could be inflated to raise the rear more for off-roading.

What percentage of your miles do you plan to actually be off-road?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have gone off road many times in my 2wd Sunrader. I drive very slow. I stop and pull rocks out of the road and I fill in deep ruts. The main thing I am protecting is my holding tanks. I do have a short one and air bags but front I think is standard height and I don't crank up the rear much either. Usually around 60 lbs pressure in the rear bags. I would worry more about too much height. Some of these roads are way off of level. Too much height is going to mean more side slip and maybe a flip over.

Linda S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im in the same boat, but not willing to really lift my camper. I'll be in Southern Utah on dirt roads quite a bit.

My camper actually has about as good clearance as my Subaru, which really isn't bad. But I know I'm going to be limited on the roads I can drive down.

Any and all things can scrape bottom...but it's more often you get the steering components or rocker panels on the sides. If you know where the highest point is on your axle (between the differential and steering stuff, you can line up to rocks and miss most. But it's easy to put your tire over a rock and come down on the rocker panel if you misjudge height and can't drive around the rocks...

Approach and departure angles are actually the hardest for my camper, since it's so long.

My ideal setup would be about 2" of lift, 30x9.5 tires (15" wheels) and a rear locker. Sometimes clearance isn't the issue, it's traction. Sometimes it's the other way around...

I would think that in the rear, an add a leaf or a new spring pack, shackles, then the biggest tires you can fit. Not sure what to do in the front but you definitely want it even.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nah. Same gear ratio on this truck as my 83 4x4. 30x9.50 was as high as you really wanted to go without re-gearing, but I've done 31x10.50 without re-gearing and it's fine. People even do 33's without re-gearing. Of course I didn't have a camper on the back of that truck...

30x9.5 isn't that much bigger than our stock tires. Re-gearing is not a bad idea...but I don't think it'd be necessary. There's a guy on the Yahoo Chinook group who runs that size and he does fine.

Either way, though, I kind of doubt I'll ever get around to it. That or the locker.

Typically you'd run 4.56 with 31's, up to about 33, then go with 4.88. Anything under 31x10.50 is ok with 4.10s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fabricated rear shackles for my 1979. Best bang for the buck. Rock auto has good deals for the bushings.

Hi Fred,

How does this work? Would you mind explaining the project? I'm interested.

Fred

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made my shackle extensions from 3/8" x 1.25" flat steel stock. Grade 8 bolts. And I used plumbing pipe nipples inside the new rubber to keep it from compressing when bolts are tightened.

The single picture is the new shackle. The double is the old Toyota unit on the right and new unit on the left.

post-5914-0-17008200-1393326750_thumb.jp

post-5914-0-86138700-1393326865_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made my shackle extensions from 3/8" x 1.25" flat steel stock. Grade 8 bolts. And I used plumbing pipe nipples inside the new rubber to keep it from compressing when bolts are tightened.

The single picture is the new shackle. The double is the old Toyota unit on the right and new unit on the left.

Thanks Fred.

BTW - very good photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was able to find a before and after picture. The 3" of lift gave me about 1 1/2" of body lift. Total cost doing the work myself less than $100.00

post-5914-0-43910800-1393440787_thumb.jp

post-5914-0-94123000-1393440887_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the heck is that thing?

It's pretty cool.

It's a Galavan. Made by Champion. Same one in the popular science link I posted on an earlier thread.

I know there must be more out there. I've had no luck finding another one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just came across some pictures of a Galavan and thought I'd post the link.

http://s849.photobucket.com/user/bugabago/media/GalavanOctober2009001.jpg.html

It was obviously in pretty rough shape, so I don't know how close to 'standard' the interior is.

Derek,

Any idea how to contact the owner?

All the models I've seen have the small porthole over the sink area. Mine never did. It did have a vent in that location for the exhaust fan which I've since removed.

It's nice to know there are others out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...