New Deaver Springs - Page 5

jage · 05-01-2008, 04:10 PM

I'm wondering about having Deaver's shipped and installed by a local shop, although I might be going to LA soon so it might not be an issue.

Greggd · 05-01-2008, 05:13 PM

Deminis and Jage ,
If you weigh the Front Half and the Rear Half of your Sportmobile's Loaded the way you would travel and call Jeff at Deaver direct he can figure out the correct spring configurations needed . He always prefers shipping direct to his customers which allows for direct communication and the elimination of cursory mark up charged by the middleman . Jeff can be reached at (714) 542-3703
I think that you will be extremely pleased the outcome of dealing with this 100 year old plus Spring Company .
Greggde

EMrider · 01-20-2009, 08:00 AM

After three days wandering around Death Valley, including a trip to the Saline hot springs, this Deaver spring 'upgrade' has vaulted to the top of my list. The vibration on washboard roads at 5-15mph was unreal. Anything above 15mph and I was concerned that something on the van would break and I didn't feel safely in control. Meanwhile, Jeff (canyonclan's) van was cruising along at 3-4x my speed in controlled comfort. All in all, it was still an awesome trip, but more comfort on washboard roads will make the next visit FAR more enjoyable.

The stock SMB suspension setup is just horrible.
Rob

geoffff · 01-20-2009, 12:36 PM

It's heartening to hear all the positive reviews of switching to Deaver springs.

Please forgive me for asking stupid questions here. I understand why airing down helps, and what shocks do for ride, but not really why one spring configuration rides better than another. I'm especially interested in modifying the front suspension....

- Is it possible to explain to me why the Deaver springs ride better than the springs Sportsmobile supplied? Technically, what is different in the Deaver spring setup?

- What springs do I have on my 2004 SMB 4x4? Ford stock? I thought Sportsmobile was doing something special with their partial military wrap. Or does Sportsmobile just add one more leaf to the Ford stock?

- I'd love to see some before/after photos!

I'm not thrilled with the ride quality of my Sportsmobile 4x4 conversion. Airing down real low helps a lot when I'm speeding at 40 MPH to "float" over washboard (though there's certainly room for improvement), but doesn't do much when I'm wallowing at 15 MPH over really rough rocky trails, or cruising on uneven paved highways (can't air down there).

geoffff · 01-20-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMrider

The vibration on washboard roads at 5-15mph was unreal. Anything above 15mph and I was concerned that something on the van would break and I didn't feel safely in control. Meanwhile, Jeff (canyonclan's) van was cruising along at 3-4x my speed in controlled comfort.

The thing about washboard is that it gets worse above 10 MPH, but then better at about 35 MPH (and especially if you're aired down). For me 35-45 MPH is the "sweet zone" where I'm floating above the corrugations.

Of course, when the road is too winding for 35 MPH, or if sudden dips appear, things can get a bit exciting.

canyonclan · 01-20-2009, 01:57 PM

Geoff,

First, I want to thank you for the posting your baja trip report from Dec 08. I read it completely last night and spent hours looking over your photos. It is a wealth of information you were kind to share, and I'm grateful.

Re the Deavers. I followed jeff's lead (myriadmyriad) and took the plunge after owning our SMB for only 3 months. It galled me to spend another $2.5k on my rig, with less than 5000 miles on it. However, one trip to Saline Valley convinced me that something needed to change. Travelling 120 miles on DV washboard, even airing down to 25psi with BFG 315s was still horrible. I thought the shaking was going to rip the SMB interior apart.

I called SMB and thought about the EMU spring upgrade, but was told the rife would be rougher. What?

Here is the deal with Deavers: The leaf spring pack has 12 leaves, versus the FORD 6-7 springs. Each leaf is half as thick as the OEM spring and has waaay smoother travel rate. I think Jage has some good pics in his gallery, before and after ride heights, etc. All Deaver does is springs, they caluculate the weight of your typical carry loads and build the spring packs for each vehicle. I had them do the install also. While it was there they *fixed* some things underneath that SMB overlooked (I prefer not to go into detail here, as it is water under the bridge at this point) but my point is, they did a very through job. I recommend them highly.

The next half of the fix is shock absorbers. Greggde and Myriadmyriad have explored thsi topic extensively, and I think they have come up with good solutions, including part numbers for Bilstein and Fox to round out the suspension upgrade. The Old Man Emu shocks are not up to the job to handle the GVW and increased travel while offroading with the Deaver spring upgrade.

Hope this helps.

-Jeff

Greggd · 01-20-2009, 04:32 PM

geoffff ,
The reason that the Deavers work so well is their ability to distribute the working load in what I call Progressive Loading for lack of a more descriptive term . Once these Deavers are made and installed , your SportsMobile will have a greater ability to control sprung and unsprung weight according to the conditions in which you have placed your Van in , this in turn will allow your Shock Absorbers to dampen accordingly . My Deaver's are comprised of 11 leaf's instead of the 5 of the stock configuration and this allows them to load as they are needed over the given terrain . I have never felt safe in any of my heavier 4x4 vehicle's with Tires that were aired down and required to run at speed's greater than 20 to 25 miles , I have had several cases of belt fatigue and eventual separation type failures . Immediately after installation I drove a a stretch of bad washboard road that required air pressure's set at 30 pounds for stutter free travel at 10 to 20 miles per hour , with Deaver's I run this same stretch at 30 to 40 mph . You should contact Scott at Deaver's and ask him directly what you need to know and how they would provide a solution for your SportsMobile .
Greggde

**daveb** · 01-21-2009, 11:38 PM

Do thee springs increase the overall height of the lift?

Do you loose the backup spring?

Are the prices for front and back springs?

jage · 01-22-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

Do thee springs increase the overall height of the lift?

I'd say about 2", but my springs were flat and tired.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

Do you loose the backup spring?

Do you mean the overload spring? It's not needed because the 11 leafs are more than enough. My rear springs were permanently on the overload spring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

Are the prices for front and back springs?

I think around $1500, plus install, which I had done locally. Shipping and other factors might affect the price.

Greggd · 01-22-2009, 02:20 PM

daveb ,
The increase in height was 2 1/8 inches when first installed with the SportsMobile at 10,590
pounds . After 500 miles and torqued to Deavers specifications I have settled to our final height of 2.0 inches above stock height when received . And as jage mentioned their is no longer a need for the overload spring . I think that with your technical understanding you will appreciate the Deavers performance parameters very much .
Greggde