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 inserts in the axle can become compressed and no longer provide the necessary rebound. This may result in driving your caravan with inadequate suspension, which can damage both its interior and exterior. The caravan will be more susceptible to the forces from the road's impact, leading to potential harm to its overall structure.

The effects of this problem

When the wheels hit potholes and road indentations, poor suspension loses its effectiveness in absorbing road impacts; these forces then travel through the caravan's structure and interior.

Read more in detail about this.

Continuing to tow your caravan despite this issue will likely lead to further damage. The bulkheads and cupboards may become detached from the walls, and the floor-to-ceiling bulkheads could potentially push through the roof, resulting in water ingress. In severe cases, we have seen chassis rails crack, which can cause additional damage to the interior.

How do I check your caravan for defects?

We have added a video below so you can check your caravan for signs of axle failure.

The solution

At Vantage RV, we can repair the vehicle's axle without removing it. We also install springs to improve the axle.

Spring Upgrade

When we re-rubber the axle, we replace the old, squashed rubber components with new, round ones. Over time, the squashed rubber loses its ability to rebound, which affects the suspension trailing arms' ability to return to their factory position after encountering a bump. As a result, the arms no longer point downward at the intended 25-degree angle, causing the caravan to 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. 

Do shock absorbers serve the same purpose?

Shock absorbers help prevent vibrations after hitting bumps by absorbing road shock. However, they do not help push the trailing arms down like springs do. While shock absorbers are beneficial for reducing road vibration, they do not support the vehicle's load on the rubber components.

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.

The spring upgrade will reduce the pressure on the axle rubbers, allowing the chassis to absorb road impact forces more effectively than the rubbers could do on their own. This upgrade should enable the springs to support approximately half the weight of the caravan, meaning that road impacts will be handled by both the springs and the rubbers together. In theory, this could allow the suspension system to manage a greater weight. However, it is important to note that the chassis remains unchanged and can only accommodate the original payload.

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