What a difference!

Jay Shapiro tel: +1(650)200-3984 skype: ecoroamer --------------------------- Sent while bouncing around with my iPhone, apologies for any typos or stupid comments. --------------------------- On Sep 9, 2010, at 11:57 PM, Jay Shapiro wrote: > For the past few months I've been growing increasingly concerned with the dynamic mount for the EcoRoamer camper body. If you've been following the build, you may recall that there was a lot debate and testing around our new mounting system using two aluminum rails supported by interspersed rubber pucks. > > When we tested it originally it seemed great, and when we first left with the truck it worked perfectly. But the more we've been using the EcoRoamer the worse the swaying was getting and I was growing really concerned that the pucks were softening allowing the whole body to pendulum back and forth. At it's worst we had to crawl through every pothole and then wait for the pendulum to stop so we didn't wind up sitting on our side in a roadside ditch. I won't even mention what it was like to drive on the highway, just be glad you weren't next to me. > > A very wise Duncan Barbour suggested we try a pair of King Shocks mounted on angles between the chassis and the body at 45' angles, similar to what Doug Hackney had on the back of his Fuso. > > This got me thinking about shocks and crawling under the truck to look at mine. The shocks were one of the few factory parts from Ford that I had never upgraded and clearly they were not designed for the duty put them through. > > Steve & John at Aquasun came to the rescue with a set of F-650 spec'd King shocks that the shipped up to me in Alaska. These are beautiful things, with external oil reservoirs to keep them running cool, and just massive shafts. Clearly they are better suited for the job. > > When the guys at Trailercraft in Anchorage pulled off the old ones it was obvious the rears had totally blown apart, leaving the airbags to simply fill and deflate unchecked as the camper swayed back and forth. > > The difference the new shocks make is unbelievable. All of a sudden the truck is tracking nicely down the road again and we're off-roading with confidence again. > > I bought a pair of air-adjustable Ranch Rs-9000's for the camper box (but I haven't even put them on yight