coot Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Having loaded our dethleffs advantage for the first time ready to take out we find that it will bottom when reversing of our drive. If we had air suspension fitted would this solve our problem. It is on a fiat ducats base 2017? I am told it higher the rear end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Hi Coot, First question would have to be what is the load on your rear axle? It sounds more like you are overloaded on your rear axle than an issue with the suspension. If you ARE under weight on the rear axle and still want to add an Auxiliary Air Suspension kit then I personally would recommend a Dunlop system from Marcle leisure... http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/index.php But first you MUST get your axle weights! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coot Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 We are not over weight took all heavy items out of garage. It is the slope of our drive. It will bottom were the drive meets the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Hi coot You obviously drove it onto the drive without it grounding (empty). You really need to establish the minimum clearance between your rear overhang and your driveway when empty. You may find that the clearance in the empty state was virtually nil. This will give you a benchmark for considering whether airbags will help based on the maximum lift these will produce - probably 2 to 3 inches but only guessing. Ideally you need to measure the vertical clearance between the rear overhang in both the empty and fully loaded state in order to fully appreciate the problem. As previously mentioned, best to check the rear axle weight to make sure you're not overloading. Remember, if a significant load is placed behind the rear axle, this takes load off the front axle and consequently the front of the vehicle will rise a bit, making the rear overhang go down. This is in addition to the compression of the rear suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 coot - 2017-03-26 5:53 PM We are not over weight took all heavy items out of garage. It is the slope of our drive. It will bottom were the drive meets the road. OK then, two suggestions , first try reversing on so you drive off, or drop a short length of timber under the rear wheels as you reverse off. But failing that air suspension may well be your only option. I would suggest measuring your rear suspension height currently when totally unladen then adding air suspension and inflating to get the same height when loaded. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 coot I think your Dethleffs Advantage i-6651 is based on a Fiat ‘camping-car’ chassis, so fitting air-bellows to its rear suspension SHOULD be relatively straightforward and inexpensive. (If it has an AL-Ko chassis, things would be different!) An air-bellows system is probably the best approach, but ‘skid rollers’ are available that bolt to the rear end of the chassis. These will not prevent grounding, but are intended to reduce the possibility of it causing damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coot Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 Getting it fitted on Monday hopefully we will be able and reverse of the drive. Looking forward to taking it on holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Hi I have air assist on the back of my m/h.The overhang on the rear axle is between 5 and 6 feet.When pumped up fully the air bags lift the rear of the m\h about 3 inches. Of course the m/h is set up to compensate for the general load we travel with. The height you can gain will depend on your starting point and your overhang. I have a pleasure that I normally travel with and usually just lift the rear when driving onto ferry ramps. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 coot - 2017-03-27 9:34 PM Getting it fitted on Monday hopefully we will be able and reverse of the drive. Looking forward to taking it on holiday. Coot, I appreciate that you have said your van was not overloaded but, since you couldn't take it off your drive in a fully loaded state so that you could get it to a weighbridge, I wonder if you can be sure of this? My suggestion, after you have had the air assistance fitted, would be to do three things. First: make sure the van is empty and then drive it to a level place and measure the height of the centre of rear "bumper" above ground. This will give you a reference height for setting up the rear ride height when loaded. Second: fully load the van, adjust the air assistance pressure to allow you to get off your drive, drive it to your nearest weighbridge, and check that the van itself, and both its axles, are within their permitted load limits. Adjust the load until they are. Remember that you need the van to be loaded exactly as it will be for your trip, including full fuel, as much water as you intend taking, full gas etc. and everyone, and everything, on board. (Anything left out but added later will skew your weighbridge results, so you won't know whether the weighbridge result remains true.) Third, with the van still fully loaded, drive back to the place where you measured the height of the rear bumper above ground, and re-measure the rear bumper height. Then, if still below its height when empty, increase the pressures on the assisters until the rear returns to its unladen height (or as close as you can get within the pressure limit of the assisters), and note down the pressures required. You should find the ride is improved and the floor more or less level, and you should then be able to negotiate your drive without problem on return and, from the pressures you noted down, you will know the pressure you need to maintain to avoid a repeat of the problem in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Motorhome overhangs at the rear are incompatible with steep take off angles and adding air suspension might not be enough, even if it does raise the back end. If the fundamental problem is the steep take off angle at the bottom of your drive, you could try reversing on to the drive to see if that makes a difference to whether you ground or not, otherwise you may have to do some ground work to reduce the take off angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hi coot... Despite ours having a relatively short rear overhang; and irrespective of how it was loaded, we had a similar issue with our last van (at our previous house), as it would clip the one rear steady and/or bumper. (hopefully a photo has loaded?) Dunlop air assistors(from Marcle leisure) sorted ours...(at about 35-40psi) Personally I'd shy away from things like skid-rollers, as they may impose upwards forces and possible "twists"?) on a MH's standard underpinnings, that it wasn't designed for... I'd agree that weighing it at some stage, should be on your "to do" list. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 This is a typical picture . In this case have always back assistance on the rear, or you pay the bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coot Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 Air suspension fitted comes off drive ok. Fitter said we were not overload it is a issue with the long overhang. Taking it away to try everything out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Hi Coot, Thanks for the update. Out of curiosity which system did you have fitted and remind us of your base vehicle for clarity. It helps others reading this thread in the future. Cheers, Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith T Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 we had the same problem with our new Burstner Marano when we lived in Cornwall - our driveway was at what I didn't think was a particularly steep incline, but when we first took the van back there it bottomed out, more likely as there was a rather sharp turn off the roadway to get on the driveway as well. The overhang on the Burstner was I suspect at the maximum within the legal limits and certainly far longer than I had on any previous vans. I was also concerned about grounding on ferries, and had a system fitted by AS Air Suspension, who I think were in Wigan, That solved the problem, and certainly there was no question of being overloaded. We generally run it around 2bars, and it has worked fine for the purpose it was intended, as well as improving the general ride and stability, plus has been of assistance on occasions levelling up on sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 The max overhang rear is a percentage of your wheel base. Being a fiat chassis or alko. All depends what they have fitted on the rear. your main chassis stops at a certain point at the rear. But it is extended by something weaker. It can be up going or sinking. Depending on the rear design of garage and all above it. Their lies the risk of ground clearance abbreviated CG. And all what you will hanging on their on that weaker extended service chassis. Check the GC their bumper and all what lies underneath their from the point of the service chassis. Your waste water tank is a reference point. The ride height of air bags is already on third up. So you have small up to play with. On slopes it is always risky. To use air suspension to cope whit this problem is just commercial. That difference is minimal. What is your GC at the rear? How is your under body looking at the rear? In respect to equipment lower than 6 inches behind the rear axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Once and for all. Your under body is never exposed in commercial sales pictures.However it is of dramatic importance what are they building their. To have a clear view have a full picture of all appurtenances who lies under your main chassis ladder. To start whit on fiat on front you have black sub frame covering mostly only one piece to cover the the air-co compressor only. A standard ducato van is fully covered whit servcice holes in sleeve form. From a side view this is lowest ground. Than you have your fuel tank and exhaust pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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