Help - Rough Ride on I-76

Steve_382 · 06-10-2008, 05:34 PM

We are driving West toward Denver on I-76. I know it's a really rough interstate, but it is shaking the van like crazy. Is that as good as we can do, or do I need new shocks, etc. This is a new Quigley 4x4 V10. It's not very heavy yet, I just have the PH top so far and about 500 pound of my junk in it. Quigley puts some kind of Rancho shock on the front, but I think they just leave the stock Ford shocks on the rear. On really smooth roads, it's almost bearable, but on bad ones it sucks. I have American Racing 672 wheels and BFG ATKO 265/70R17 E rated tires with 60 psi all around. Any comments or suggestions? We have a little over 2,000 miles on the van.

Thanks,
Steve

oclv · 06-10-2008, 11:44 PM

We have the adjustable shocks by Ranco on our SK conversion. There are 9 settings, with 9 being the stiffest. I found that on black top, even with cross winds and corners that the 7 setting was a good all around setting....Not too stiff, but not much body roll either. On washboard dirt roads we found that the 2 setting was fine. oclv

jage · 06-11-2008, 11:37 AM

Too light maybe. This is a 1-ton van and (stock anyway) they're built to ride best with a payload. Full size pickups are notorious for a bad ride when they're empty, I'm thinking maybe you've got the same issue with the van.

NRL · 06-11-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_382

We are driving West toward Denver on I-76. I know it's a really rough interstate, but it is shaking the van like crazy. Is that as good as we can do, or do I need new shocks, etc. This is a new Quigley 4x4 V10. It's not very heavy yet, I just have the PH top so far and about 500 pound of my junk in it. Quigley puts some kind of Rancho shock on the front, but I think they just leave the stock Ford shocks on the rear. On really smooth roads, it's almost bearable, but on bad ones it sucks. I have American Racing 672 wheels and BFG ATKO 265/70R17 E rated tires with 60 psi all around. Any comments or suggestions? We have a little over 2,000 miles on the van.

Thanks,
Steve

Tire pressure at 60PSI seems high. Try 42-45psi.

Greg In Austin · 06-11-2008, 05:28 PM

I think Jage is o to something..... the stiff ready-to-carry-a-load suspension may need a load to keep from bouncing the light empty van aound.

As for air pressure, how can we suggest a tire pressure if we don't know the tires or the max pressure or load range o the tires?

Yes, if the van is light and the tires are at max pressure, that could cause some bounce and skip also.

...BUT check the max cold pressure on the tires and make a pressure decision based on the weight of the van and load range of the tires...

.

Christopher Thwaites · 06-11-2008, 05:57 PM

I'm in a similar place with my van. It's empty for now. I ordered it from Quadvan with Bilsteins, 4 front and 2 rear and also had Roadmasters put on the rear. This may have been overkill.
I've driven it about 4k miles and I'm getting used to it. I removed the Roadmasters. I carry 45lbs of air. I'm almost thinking I can remove one set of front shocks.
As I build it out...SMB top goes on June 30th, and load it with gear I think it will soften. I will also become adapted to it.
Jage is absolutely correct. These are 1ton trucks meant to be loaded. It will never hit 10k lbs. like some SMBs but it is not close to loaded.
I haven't been off road yet. That will tell me more about the ride.
The worst road I've been on is I-5 from Bakersfield north. It's a bone crusher. When I go to Fresno I think I'll try 99 this time for comparison.

Steve_382 · 06-11-2008, 08:41 PM

It seems like you guys are on to something with the air pressure. John K sent an email also about lowering the pressure. I checked the Goodyear site for E rated tires on RVs and they said that for a 245/75R16 E rated tire, with a load of 1865 pounds per wheel, 40 psi would be adequate. That's about where my load is right now. I lowered my tire pressure from 65 to 50 today just to do it gradually. What a difference. I may not put the rig up for sale just yet. I also talked to BFG tech support and they gave me approximately the same numbers. BFG said that 45 psi would be good for 2200 per wheel. BFG also promised to send me the table, but I haven't seen it yet. Here is a link to the Goodyear RV table. It may help some others here.

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/tirecare/loa ... ables.html