Quigley and QuadVan - FOX Shox Ride Improvement Package

[daveb]

Do you have a picture of those bags? I don't use limiter straps. Am I gonna have issues with my bags. To date nothing has happened.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by carringb

The problem is not airbags in general, its those airbags. They are so short they limit travel, and also have an extremely progressive spring rate. U-joint makes a "floating" airbags setup which doesn't limit travel. I ripped my airlift set out and replaced them with a long-travel Firestone setup which has 12" of travel instead of the 4" the Airlifts had. Also the airlifts replace your bumpstops, so if the airbags fail, it becomes a violently rough ride. The Firestone kit mounts outboard of the frame so the bumpstops stay in place.

Airbags are great for better load carrying. They are not a solution to wandering or other drivability problems. Have you had a full alignment check done yet? Especially the caster angle?

These airbags were attached to the frame where the factory rubber bump stop would normally go and then attached to the axle indirectly. There were two basic problems with them: the first was that they were not long enough and acted like a limit strap, holding the axle up and not letting it droop out as far as it should. Funny because it said right on the bag to not suspend the axle by the bag. Second and most importantly they restricted the axle from traveling up (bump travel) as far as it would stock - in fact it limited bump travel to less than 2 inches.

I haven't seen the Ujoint airbags in person but I think they would work well.

[Ocsmb]

Originally Posted by daveb

Do you have a picture of those bags? I don't use limiter straps. Am I gonna have issues with my bags. To date nothing has happened.

[daveb]

Mine are like two of those stacked on top of each other.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by carringb

The problem is not airbags in general, its those airbags.

thank you for the clarification. that makes complete sense.

Originally Posted by carringb

Airbags are great for better load carrying. They are not a solution to wandering or other drivability problems. Have you had a full alignment check done yet? Especially the caster angle?

the reason airbags were recommended to me was due to me inquiring about a 3" block under my leafs. was told (person had not seen setup) that sometimes people remove leaf springs (and add a block to gain height back) to improve ride quality, and that hurts the way it handles at higher speeds, especially with a full load. i plan to haul a car around to races eventually, so I figured it would be handy to have. a kill 2 birds with one stone kinda deal. ill make sure i get the correct ones recommended above when its time.

alignment is good. dealer replaced lower balljoints before i picked it up, then i replaced endlinks when i got it home. they said everything else was good to go. i have added a rear sway from a f350 which did help quite a bit, but i also havent had it packed with 9 people and gear for 4 days again either. none of the bushings on front or back sways are in ideal shape though. was shopping around for poly bushings, just havent picked any up yet.

my alignment guy did mention a customer who had sued quigley for a van he had converted there. he said the van was so undrivable he took it to another company to have a completely different setup installed. he didnt know the name of the second company. when i mentioned the adjustable arms the ccv makes he said being able to add some caster would help driveability. derek @ ccv did take a look at the quigley arms on my van. he said that the ones i had were prone to cracking and to keep an eye on them. suggested boxing them in or replacing with his setup. id like to get some adjustable arms like ccv makes so i can add some caster, but thats down the road.

as always thanks for walking my uneducated ass through these vehicles. i really do appreciate it gents

[BajaSportsmobile]

If you just put the rear FOX Shox (custom valved) on you will be amazed by the difference - it won't fix the front end bottoming problem but it will settle the whole Van down and greatly improve road manners.

[BajaSportsmobile]

I ordered 16 shocks, enough for 4 Quigley Vans. I should have them in the next day or two and will revalve them right away. Three sets are spoken for and they should come through. If you are interested let me know. I can get more at any time but don't want to be out of pocket carrying them if no one is interested.

Shocks are $127.50 (list price) and $180.00 for the springs plus applicable tax and shipping. Basic installation is $300.00.

[SwellGuy]

I am very interested in this. I have a 2001 extended-body E-350 Quigley and have never liked the way it has handled from day one. My most recent effort to correct this issue was a replacement of the rear spring pack from Deaver to get full rear travel (remove the blocks), add a leaf or two, and lift it another 1.5." I also replaced all the shocks with Bilsteins. I still have the Quigley coils on the front.

I'm a little leery of replacing all the shocks so soon after upgrading to the Bilsteins, but wondering if I could get away with just the front spring upgrade since that's the only thing undone on my rig to date? Sounds like the front shock might have to be replaced anyway if travel increases? Is the rear shock upgrade really necessary given that Bilsteins are pretty good shocks?

Sounds like you're in Carlsbad, I'm in Nor Cal, would you need to see the rig before you could provide parts?

Thanks in advance.

[Tapatio]

Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile

I ordered 16 shocks, enough for 4 Quigley Vans

Thoughts on doing the same for SMB suspensions? Not sure how much longer my Old Man Emu's are going to hold up.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by SwellGuy

I am very interested in this. I have a 2001 extended-body E-350 Quigley and have never liked the way it has handled from day one. My most recent effort to correct this issue was a replacement of the rear spring pack from Deaver to get full rear travel (remove the blocks), add a leaf or two, and lift it another 1.5." I also replaced all the shocks with Bilsteins. I still have the Quigley coils on the front.The Deaver springs on another fourm member's van were way too stiff and we made a huge improvement in his ride by removing select leafs from the packs. Do you like the way the Deavers work? Another thing to consider when removing the Quigley lift blocks and going with the Deavers is that the bump travel is increased because it now bottoms out on the axle and not on the lift block extensions. This could result in bottoming out the shocks well before the axle bottoms out on the frame bumps, if this wasn't accounted for. Were the shocks added after the Deavers and correct lengths selected? The welded on extensions the Quigley puts on the rear lower shock mounts will effect this problem.

I'm a little leery of replacing all the shocks so soon after upgrading to the Bilsteins, but wondering if I could get away with just the front spring upgrade since that's the only thing undone on my rig to date? Sounds like the front shock might have to be replaced anyway if travel increases? Is the rear shock upgrade really necessary given that Bilsteins are pretty good shocks?If I were you, I would start by replacing the coil springs only, they will make a big difference. The ~1" increase in bump travel and the higher spring rate should complement the Deaver rear springs. Bilstein are great shocks and should work for you. The difference is that the FOX Shox have been valved for these Quigleys and probably have considerably more valving in them. We removed perfectly good Bilsteins from Ocsmb's van and the improvement is very noticable. Start with the springs and see where that gets you.

Sounds like you're in Carlsbad, I'm in Nor Cal, would you need to see the rig before you could provide parts? I can help you find the springs in your area. If you want shocks, I would need pictures of your front axle's lower shock mounts. On the rear, because of the Deavers, we would need some pictures and measurements.

Thanks in advance.