Photog's Lifted Suspension 2009 Roadtrek 190V

[Photog]

The factory isolators were at the bottom of the coil, so that is where I put them on the new springs.

I used WD-40 (it evaporates over time) to reduce the friction between the isolator and the coil. I also used some tools to help the upper end of the isolator move up the wire, making it easier for the lower part of the isolator to be pushed/tapped onto the wire.

If I were to do it over, I would order a set of isolators designed to fit the factory coils from a diesel-engine van. Those isolators would be made for a thicker coil wire.

[trekerinsc]

Thanks for the info. I will look into the isolators for the diesel van and let you know what I find out.

Robert

[Xplorer2000]

I have been following this subject with some interest. I am a photographer in Anacortes, WA. Last year we purchased a 2000 Xplorer Van, which we love. However like most of these B vans, ground clearance is an issue. Two weeks ago we were camped at Cape Disappointment, and parked in the camp site next to us was a Sports Mobile Van on a Ford Chasse. It had 4 wheel drive, great ground clearance, and a diesel engine that gets 18 MPG. I talked to the owner, also a photographer, and he told me he had taken the van all the way to the Arctic circle with his wife and THREE children! I'm just curious if you had considered going this route? His van seems like the perfect solution to all your issues. And with Sports Mobile you can have any custom interior you want.

[Photog]

@Xplorer2000,
I had considered this route, but the wife had her heart set on a Roadtrek. For many years, the Sportsmobile was poorly built. In the last few years, they have been listening to the owners complaints, and suggestions, and incorporating improvements into their product.

I prefer the Roadtrek RV, but I prefer the Sportsmobile vehicle.

Side note: Ford no longer produces a diesel powered E-Series van, for Sportsmobile to build into a Class B RV. Only gasoline power from here on.

[MrRob]

My van has had all the parts fitted & despite the fact I still have to re-set the alignment & balance the front wheels I am very happy with the way it drove the 15 miles of twisting potholed country lanes home ...

Here's a picture of how the van looks now


2013-02 02 Burton Leonard Walk by BitchinRob ( http://MrRob.in ), on Flickr

How it looked before


2012-08-07-Yorkshire-Dales-P8070062 by BitchinRob ( http://MrRob.in ), on Flickr

I will report back when I've had a chance to get the setup done & a few miles under the wheels ...

Thanks you everyone for this great discussion I would never have had the guts to try this without your input.

[campskunk]

looks great, rob - the ride height is maybe an inch higher than mine (probably because you're not loaded to the gills like mine is). check back on page 20 of this post for a comparison photo. those stock wheels look really nice - did you paint them? and how's the ride? i lost my "GM float" when i put the front springs on. what air pressure are you running in the bags? i settled on 60 psi, but you'll be lower with less weight.

[booster]

Originally Posted by campskunk

looks great, rob - the ride height is maybe an inch higher than mine (probably because you're not loaded to the gills like mine is). check back on page 20 of this post for a comparison photo. those stock wheels look really nice - did you paint them? and how's the ride? i lost my "GM float" when i put the front springs on. what air pressure are you running in the bags? i settled on 60 psi, but you'll be lower with less weight.

Those look like aluminum wheels. Do you know what offset they are/

[campskunk]

mine? yes, they're aluminum. they're the american racing ones that came on the unit from the factory - unusual in that they're 16x8, but still zero offset like most of the AR23s Roadtrek used. the AR number is AR236882. here's a link to a supplier:
http://instockwheels.com/index.php?disp ... t_id=30484
the AR236782 is only 7 inches wide and has -6 mm offset, which is a little closer to stock, but not enough to give up an inch of wheel width for. i'm going to switch these wheels out for junkyard steel wheels with the correct offset and new 265/75 tires in a couple of years when these tires wear out, mainly to get the 3415 pounds per tire weight rating vs. the 3042 pound rating for the 245/75s. the tires weigh an extra 20 pounds a set, but hey, i weigh 9600 pounds already - what's another 20?

[MrRob]

Originally Posted by campskunk

looks great, rob - the ride height is maybe an inch higher than mine (probably because you're not loaded to the gills like mine is). check back on page 20 of this post for a comparison photo.

Yep van is empty of water & we don't carry much kit.

Originally Posted by campskunk

those stock wheels look really nice - did you paint them? .

They were sold on eBay as "take offs" but may have been reconditioned. Paint was like new. To my eyes the make the van look 10 years younger. I like the black lug nuts.

Originally Posted by campskunk

and how's the ride? i lost my "GM float" when i put the front springs on. .

Ride was just what I hoped for & expected. Firm over undulations & camber changes. Smoother over potholes with no pitching. The van tracks strait & true in all conditions ... Even self steering around cambered curves ... No correction is needed when traveling in a strait line ... It was every 3 to 5 seconds before.

Originally Posted by campskunk

what air pressure are you running in the bags? i settled on 60 psi, but you'll be lower with less weight.

The garage put the wheels on the wrong axles so I had 80psi on the fronts, 65 on the rears with rear airbags at 35 psi.

The nice surprise was the Silverado wheels & bigger tires (just) clear the front bumper cover without the need to trim it!!!

I'll get the front wheels balanced & alignment set up properly & let you all know how it feels & take some better photos of the wheels & offset / clearances in due course.

[booster]

Originally Posted by campskunk

mine? yes, they're aluminum. they're the american racing ones that came on the unit from the factory - unusual in that they're 16x8, but still zero offset like most of the AR23s Roadtrek used. the AR number is AR236882. here's a link to a supplier:
http://instockwheels.com/index.php?disp ... t_id=30484
the AR236782 is only 7 inches wide and has -6 mm offset, which is a little closer to stock, but not enough to give up an inch of wheel width for. i'm going to switch these wheels out for junkyard steel wheels with the correct offset and new 265/75 tires in a couple of years when these tires wear out, mainly to get the 3415 pounds per tire weight rating vs. the 3042 pound rating for the 245/75s. the tires weigh an extra 20 pounds a set, but hey, i weigh 9600 pounds already - what's another 20?

OOPS, I was looking at the second, older picture, about the wheels on the OP post. I knew you had the zero offset wheels, which is better than the -6 ones we had. The OEM Silverado wheels are actually pretty nice. More openings and some ridges added compared to the Express steel wheels.

[booster]

Originally Posted by MrRob

Yep van is empty of water & we don't carry much kit.

They were sold on eBay as "take offs" but may have been reconditioned. Paint was like new. To my eyes the make the van look 10 years younger. I like the black lug nuts.

Ride was just what I hoped for & expected. Firm over undulations & camber changes. Smoother over potholes with no pitching. The van tracks strait & true in all conditions ... Even self steering around cambered curves ... No correction is needed when traveling in a strait line ... It was every 3 to 5 seconds before.

The garage put the wheels on the wrong axles so I had 80psi on the fronts, 65 on the rears with rear airbags at 35 psi.

The nice surprise was the Silverado wheels & bigger tires (just) clear the front bumper cover without the need to trim it!!!

I'll get the front wheels balanced & alignment set up properly & let you all know how it feels & take some better photos of the wheels & offset / clearances in due course.

Very similar to what we found on ours, i think you will really like the setup. Let us know what you think of it when you get on some gravel. We were amazed how much better it was, presumably because the offset was messing up the geometry when turning and pushing the tires sideways.

Only thing we did different was to add chrome nut covers, DW didn't like the black!

[MrRob]

Originally Posted by booster

Very similar to what we found on ours, i think you will really like the setup. Let us know what you think of it when you get on some gravel. We were amazed how much better it was, presumably because the offset was messing up the geometry when turning and pushing the tires sideways.

Only thing we did different was to add chrome nut covers, DW didn't like the black!

My van's original setup had scrubbed all the tread off inside edge of both front tires in 10,000 miles so it may have been miles out or indeed caused by the incorrect offset of the AR alloys.

Booster what alignment specs would you recommend for me?... given that our van will drive on both the left (UK) & right hand (Europe) side of the road.

Am I right in my understanding this is your set up and it's adjusted for driving on the right?

Toe: +.10 Total
Cross Toe: zero
Camber: +.25
Cross Camber: Zero
Caster: +6.0
Cross Caster: -.4 (lower on left)

... The less chrome to keep clean the better IMO

[booster]

Originally Posted by MrRob

My van's original setup had scrubbed all the tread off inside edge of both front tires in 10,000 miles so it may have been miles out or indeed caused by the incorrect offset of the AR alloys.

Booster what alignment specs would you recommend for me?... given that our van will drive on both the left (UK) & right hand (Europe) side of the road.

Am I right in my understanding this is your set up and it's adjusted for driving on the right?

... The less chrome to keep clean the better IMO

[booster]

The cross caster thing is probably a bit hard to determine. We do drive on the left on 4 lane roads, and haven't seen much difference, but I do know that a lot of "international" vehicles (like a Honda CRV) will give different specs for right and left hand countries. You may want to see if the Sprinters, Fiats, Transits, etc swap the specs or not.

"... The less chrome to keep clean the better IMO "

I here you there! I am lucky that DW seems to like being the "maintainer of the wheels", so I get out of that problem. She does them thoroughly every winter, as I always seem to have them off for something, and it is much easier with the wheels off. The centers can come in and get washed in the dishpan, even.

[MrRob]

Originally Posted by booster

The cross caster thing is probably a bit hard to determine. We do drive on the left on 4 lane roads, and haven't seen much difference, but I do know that a lot of "international" vehicles (like a Honda CRV) will give different specs for right and left hand countries. You may want to see if the Sprinters, Fiats, Transits, etc swap the specs or not.

Idealy I'd be looking for a compromise setup in the centre of the two, Ie not set up for driving on the left or right as I do similar mileages on both. The pull towards the safety of the verge on the left or right isn't so beneficial when the oncoming traffic is that side

Originally Posted by booster

"... The less chrome to keep clean the better IMO "
I here you there! I am lucky that DW seems to like being the "maintainer of the wheels", so I get out of that problem. She does them thoroughly every winter, as I always seem to have them off for something, and it is much easier with the wheels off. The centers can come in and get washed in the dishpan, even.

My better half cooks, organises & cleans inside the van, & I service, drive & clean the outside.

[MrRob]

So I've had the alignement set up and we are off on our first trip with the new set up.

Booster what tire and airbag pressures have you settled on? ... as I guess your loading is fairly similar to mine.
I've guessed at 65 psi for the front and 85 for the rear tires with the airbags at 50 driver's side and 65 psi passenger side.

Cheers.

[booster]

Originally Posted by MrRob

So I've had the alignement set up and we are off on our first trip with the new set up.

Booster what tire and airbag pressures have you settled on? ... as I guess your loading is fairly similar to mine.
I've guessed at 65 psi for the front and 85 for the rear tires with the airbags at 50 driver's side and 65 psi passenger side.

Cheers.

We still play with the airbag pressure a bit and usually set them so the rear leaf springs are just off of the overload leaf, on the front side of the axle. We seem to get the best ride there. If we are lightly loaded we will be in the 20 psi range, heavy is closer to 35 with the AirLift. Firestones have smaller bags and when we had them, we were closer to your 50/65.

[peteco]

Originally Posted by MrRob

I've guessed at 65 psi for the front and 85 for the rear tires with the airbags at 50 driver's side and 65 psi passenger side.

Isn't 80 psi the max for your tires? I think 80 psi is what most people run on RT 190s and 210s

Pete
2006 RT210P

[MrRob]

Oops yep you are correct Pete ... I had too many numbers in my tiny brain. 80psi on the rear is what I have and it is the max. Thank you for pointing that out. B)

[Photog]

With our 275/70R18E tires, we have been able to set tire pressures at 65 psi front, and 75 psi rear. The lower pressure has made for a for a better ride on the rougher highways.