AXLE REBUILD for Bailey, Swift, Coachman and other European caravan
Does your European caravan appear to sit very low down, close to the road, with very little clearance?
The problem
Over time, the rubber suspension insets in the axle have become squashed and no longer rebound. Driving around with poor suspension will harm the whole caravan's interior and outer structure as it will be subjected to the road's impact forces.
The effects of this problem
When the wheels encounter potholes and road indentations, with poor suspension, its ability to absorb road impacts is no longer effective; these forces then pass through the caravan's structure and interior fabric.
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Continuing to tow your caravan despite this issue will likely result in further damage. The bulkheads and cupboards may detach from the walls, while the floor-to-ceiling bulkheads could push through the roof, leading to water ingress. In severe cases, we have observed chassis rails cracking and causing damage to the interior.
The solution
At Vantage RV, we can repair the vehicle's axle without removing it. Moreover, we offer the additional service of installing springs onto the axle.
Spring Upgrade
When we re-rubber the axle, we replace the old squashed rubbers with new round rubbers; after time, the squashed ones no longer have the rebound to return the suspension trailing arms to their factory position after hitting a bump, i.e., they will no longer point downwards at 25 degrees. Therefore, the caravan will sit lower to the ground.
With a spring upgrade, the caravan weight is loaded onto springs instead of rubbers to assist the trailing arms in maintaining the downward position. This upgrade improves towing ability and road shock protection on rough New Zealand roads.
Will shock absorbers do the same thing?
Shock absorbers prevent vibrations after hitting bumps, absorbing road shock. However, they do not assist in pushing the trailing arms down like springs would.
The shock absorbers are great to have but do not assist with the vehicle load on the rubbers, they will assist in absorbing road vibration.
Can we carry more weight after the spring upgrade?
The spring upgrade was never designed to increase the payload.
The original chassis remains unchanged; the chassis was designed for the payload specified on the manufacturer's vehicle plates.
However, the springs will take the pressure off the axle rubbers, absorbing road impact forces much more efficiently than the rubbers alone. The spring upgrade should load about half the caravan's weight on the springs, meaning road impact is absorbed by the spring and the rubbers combined, so, in theory, the suspension may be capable of dealing with more weight. However, the chassis remains unchanged and can only carry the original payload.
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