Renault -Rear spring mods'?

[pepe63xnotuse]

Hi all..

I'm toying with "raising" the rear suspension on our Renault based Chaussson by fitting either coil spring assistors or air assistors...

It's 4mtr wheelbase,3.85t gross(3.1t in running order)..

I did fit some Grayston coil spring assistors to our previous van(Compass 120 on 3t gross, swb Peugeot )and they did the job on that okay but I'm not entirely sure whether the benefits (30-40mm at wheel on that)would be as noticable on this longer/heavier vehicle?

Should I bite the bullet and go the air suspension route?(looking at Marcle Leisure)

Anybody with a Renault,any advice on this?

I should just add that we're well within our weight limit.. it's more the trend for the manufactures to design their vehicles with ground hugging bodywork,that's the problem.. *-)

..and now not helped by our Towtal bumper we've had fitted.. :$

[tp002c784tp002c784tp]

pepe63 - 2010-09-13 1:45 PM

 

Hi all..

I'm toying with "raising" the rear suspension on our Renault based Chaussson by fitting either coil spring assistors or air assistors...

It's 4mtr wheelbase,3.85t gross(3.1t in running order)..

I did fit some Grayston coil spring assistors to our previous van(Compass 120 on 3t gross, swb Peugeot )and they did the job on that okay but I'm not entirely sure whether the benefits (30-40mm at wheel on that)would be as noticable on this longer/heavier vehicle?

Should I bite the bullet and go the air suspension route?(looking at Marcle Leisure)

Anybody with a Renault,any advice on this?

I should just add that we're well within our weight limit.. it's more the trend for the manufactures to design their vehicles with ground hugging bodywork,that's the problem.. *-)

..and now not helped by our Towtal bumper we've had fitted.. :$

 

Hi Pepe63

 

I had a Renault Lunar Telstar and had Airide fitted and found that it made a great deal of difference to the roadholding , I had the same system fitted to my earlier Highwayman, and it was one of the first things I had fitted to my present Lunar Roadstar would not be without it .

 

Terry

[pepe63xnotuse]

Thanks for that.. ;-)

I also think what doesn't help with the Renault is that the rear wheels look "tucked" underneath(because of the standard width rear axle)and it looks "overbodied" to start with...

(..Viewed from a few paces,side on it's fine..but as you get closer,the arc of the wheel arch "cuts through" the top of tyre line..making it appear "saggy")

Yeah,I think it's something we'll seriously consider...

Thanks again.

Chris

[Keithl]

Hi Chris,

 

I haven't got a Renault but do have a Merc and recently fitted the Dunlop system from Marcle and thought you might like to hear my view on that side of things.

I was very impressed with the speed of delivery from Marcle and the kit and instructions were far better than I had expected.

The main chassis stiffeners to support the air bellows are made of 4 mm thick steel plate and extend a total length of 500 mm along the chassis. Other kits just appeared to fit to the bump stop mountings!

It took me a good half day to fit, having driven the rear wheels up onto my levelling blocks and only using a trolley jack to lift the weight of the chassis to actually fit the air bags into place once all the bracketry was fitted.

I did toy with the idea of getting a gauge kit but in the end didn't bother and haven't found it to be a problem, I can always add one later if I change my mind.

 

All in all I would thoroughly recommend the Dunlop system from Marcle!

10 out of 10!

 

And as for the Towbar, we have a Towtal bar fitted and it weighs 45 kg without any fixings so may well have added to your 'low' stance.

 

Finally I run our Air Sus at 40 psi and find this lifts the body around 1 inch measured at the rear wheelarch, so the Towbar rises by well over 1.5 inches, and gives a much firmer ride without anyway near as much sway and roll.

 

A long post but I hope useful info...

 

Keith.

 

Edit. Why do you always spot mistakes after posting?

[pepe63xnotuse]

Thanks for the info' Keith!

(..as I'd forgotten to ask Terry,just how much it had "lifted" his van! :$ )

So by the sounds of it,they're not that much of a hassle to fit then...

Like you,I don't think I'd bother with a gauge & taps set-up to start with.

I did pay Marcle Leisure a visit last year,when I first looked into it and the gentleman there was very knowledgable and pleasant.

(..but life got in the way and it got put off.. *-) ) and it's only really since having the bumper fitted(..with it occasionally grounding out at the one end when getting on/off our driveway! :-( ) ,that has made me revisit this..

 

Could I just ask,how much lift do you get when nearing it's maximum?

(..I do realise that it wouldn't/shouldn't be driven at maximum pressures..)

Thanks again

Chris

 

 

[Keithl]

Hi Chris,

 

Unfortunately I've never inflated above 40 psi so cannot give you an answer. But the max allowable pressure is 100 psi so I would guess that this will give 2.5 times as much as 40 psi. See my logic?

If you want a system that you can alter quickly, say to get on and off your drive or a ferry, then you'll need to look at adding a compressor and this will roughly double the cost of the system.

I didn't actually add it to our MH to raise the rear but more to improve the ride, it used to roll and sway badly, a trait of Merc's so I'm told!

 

Keith.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Thanks again Keith!

Well,as it's really increased ground clearance that I'm looking for,it was really more a case of knowing whether the,"1in at the wheel" that you acheived,was all the system had to give or not...but it abviously has more up it's sleeve... ;-)

 

This is one reason that I'm steering away from the coil spring assistors,as there's no real way of knowing what the benifits would be until they were fitted...and by then it's to late..

Once again....Thanks! :-)

Chris

[roger s]

If you go the AirRide route don't hold your breath - we have been waiting for a kit since July !

[Guest JudgeMental]

air is always better if you can justify the cost....Why did you fit the bumper, as if this is the reaon you are comsidering air, I wonder if the bumper installation is "fit for purpose"

[pepe63xnotuse]

Yep!..air is the favourite so far ! ;-)

Why did I fit a bumper?..well...probably for the same reason a everybody else does,to protect the brittle,fragile,expensive to repair,rear panels! (lol)

..and sorry, I don't really think ,"fit for purpose" is relevent,as it's not the bumper's fault that some MH manufacturers drape their vehicles in road hugging bodywork..(lol)

 

...and just to clarify,the bumper isn't overly heavy and it doesn't sit any lower than the rear panel,it's just that the gateway to our drive' is at a sharp angle to the road and the drive' is very steep,so occasionally the one end does clip the ground at one point..

 

I now realise that the rear bodywork would've been coming very close anyway,I'd just never stopped at that spot on the drive' to check.

 

And this "realisation" of just how low it can get, has also made me very cautious when pulling onto some campsites...hence the reason why I'm looking into doing something with the rear suspension..

Chris

Edit: for spelling(well,some of it.. :$ )

[Guest JudgeMental]

Thanks....I am changing vans at the moment and the Fiats seem also to be low to the road. I have fitted air myself twice on previous campers, and just went with the basic air ride without compressor, it was excellent in raising rear, improving ride quality, and probably more importantly buffeting on motorways.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Judge'..

As you've fitted "air" to previous vehicles,have you ever transfered a system?..or is that not really viable option?(..by the time you've sourced the relevent brackets for the the new vehicle etc).

..I don't want to be spending £500odd..only just to change the vehicle in a couple of years time(..and then possibly be doing this all again *-) )

[Guest JudgeMental]

Yes I did move it from vehicle to vehicle,this was on a 4x4 pickup and demountable camper rig. Driverite are very good and I am sure yoiu could even get the additional parts if necessery if you go for a differnt chassis later....

 

I never paid more the £300 for a kit, ordered from main Dublin branch in Euro's

 

http://www.driveriteltd.com/

[pepe63xnotuse]

That's great!..I'll give 'em a look...

Thanks again

 

Chris

[Keithl]

Unfortunately my experience of Driverite doesn't match yours Judge!

I had a technical query and the first UK agent I contacted couldn't answer after 2 weeks of me calling so I phoned Dublin and asked for technical help. I was told in no uncertain terms that they did not talk to customers and to contact an agent. They gave me the name of another UK agent who again after a week could not answer my question!

I thought that if they couldn't answer a simple question for a prospective customer then what chance would I have if ever I had a problem!

I crossed them off my short list and bought the Dunlop system from Marcle and don't regret it for one moment.

 

Just my experience but felt I had to add to the thread.

 

Keith.

[tp002c784tp002c784tp]

pepe63 - 2010-09-14 8:33 AM

 

Thanks for the info' Keith!

(..as I'd forgotten to ask Terry,just how much it had "lifted" his van! :$ )

So by the sounds of it,they're not that much of a hassle to fit then...

Like you,I don't think I'd bother with a gauge & taps set-up to start with.

I did pay Marcle Leisure a visit last year,when I first looked into it and the gentleman there was very knowledgable and pleasant.

(..but life got in the way and it got put off.. *-) ) and it's only really since having the bumper fitted(..with it occasionally grounding out at the one end when getting on/off our driveway! :-( ) ,that has made me revisit this..

 

Could I just ask,how much lift do you get when nearing it's maximum?

(..I do realise that it wouldn't/shouldn't be driven at maximum pressures..)

Thanks again

Chris

 

 

Hi Pepe63

 

I have had all my systems fitted at shows my present Airide was fitted at the Peterborough show three years ago, and it was around the £500 mark.

I have always had the gauge and valve fitted in the drivers side step well, what I like about this system is you can if required pump up one side a bit higher if you need it, I run with mine as Keith about 40 to 45 psi and I find the road holding exellent and anti bufeting by the Artics is almost nil.

 

I must admit that after watching 3 sytems fitted I have said " I could do that " but my first vehicle I had it fitted I got a better part exchange by leaving it on. My second van I lost in floods 3 years ago so that one could not be recovered, and my present system I thought about buying the kit and fitting it myself but sadley my aches and pains do not allow me to crawl under my vehicle now and the wife refuses point blank. (lol)

 

I have not mesured how high it lifts the vehicle but I would say three to four inches and the rear road springs bend up now instead of been straight.

 

Another advantage to haveing the gauge and taps is you can monitor any loss quite easy, I lose about three to four pounds in a month, I asked Airide to look at this a year after I had it fitted and they could not find any leaks, but I now have it pinned down to the near side by turning one tap on and the other off. I shall be asking Airde if they can have another look at it when I go to the Lincoln show, but as they have now been bought out by Solar Solutions I don't know if they will .

 

Terry

[Guest JudgeMental]

well, I bought 3 systems from them and had a great service even over the phone etc.... I qualify that by saying it was over 5 years ago so I dont know what they are like now.

[Keithl]

JudgeMental - 2010-09-15 7:02 PM

 

well, I bought 3 systems from them and had a great service even over the phone etc.... I qualify that by saying it was over 5 years ago so I dont know what they are like now.

 

And for the record my experience was in July this year!

 

Keith.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Thanks for these comments..they're all very usefull... ;-)

 

I have fired an email off to DriveRite(asking price/checking kit number etc),so we shall see what that brings back ....

 

However,I do recall now,during my visit to Marcle leisure last year,the chap did say he used to deal with the Firestone kits..but he shifted to using Dunlop,due to the poor back-up/spares etc(..that may've been the Firestone side not DriveRite though..?)

He could of cause have just been "Bigging-up" his product though.. *-)

Chris

[pepe63xnotuse]

Well I've had a reply..and they've qouted me £354 inc vat and postage(which isn't a great deal more than some of the coil spring assistors were coming in at!)

..and it's £100 less than the Marcle' kit...BUT Marcle' are only in the next county to me,where as DriveRites' nearest agent is down in Dorset(..4hrs plus away).

Oh!..decision decisions... *-)

[Guest JudgeMental]

pepe63 - 2010-09-16 12:50 PM

 

Well I've had a reply..and they've qouted me £354 inc vat and postage(which isn't a great deal more than some of the coil spring assistors were coming in at!)

..and it's £100 less than the Marcle' kit...BUT Marcle' are only in the next county to me,where as DriveRites' nearest agent is down in Dorset(..4hrs plus away).

Oh!..decision decisions... *-)

 

See:-D They are only small thick rubber balls and a machanical connection, nothing much to go wrong? If you had called and grumbled a bit at the price I bet it would have been cheaper...

 

Keith, by your own admission you had bought your unit from another dealer so your sales contract was with them not Dublin

[Guest JudgeMental]

Keith, ignore what I said above.....I did not realise you where looking for pre purchase advice :-S

[pepe63xnotuse]

My enquiry was sent to Dublin but the "..we've got them in stock.." reply email,came from Autovan in Dorset..

So it sounds as that's where it'd be coming from..

Chris

[Keithl]

And that's the first stockist who after numerous phone calls and broken promises over 2 weeks failed to answer my simple question!

 

I'd go back to Marcle tomorrow if I bought another MH.

 

Keith.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Well,I think at the moment ,due to their locality,Marcle' may have the edge.. ;-)

 

(..as,if need be,I could be at Marcle' in about an hour..)