Monday, Jul 21, 2014 at 21:46
Pete
Don't ignore the advice given by
Ross, it could easily save you from a lot of inconvenient and expensive chassis repairs.
The section of the chassis, plus
the tub or tray, that extends back behind the rear axle is a lever. If you keep adding things to it, it will eventually force the rear end down and and lift the front wheels off the ground as the chassis pivots on the axle. If you actually did try doing that, the chassis would bend while you watched it somewhere between the front hangers for the rear spring back to the area above the axle.
In practice nobody puts that much weight onto their cars but the vast majority seem to forget that the situation changes dramatically when whatever they have behind the axle is in motion.
Your wheels would weigh at least 30 kgs each. The mounting bracket would most likely be over 20 making a very conservative total of 80 kg. Your tow ball would be around 1200 mm behind the axle.
The tub or tray could go back a bit further. The wheels would be off the end of that making them at least about 1400 mm back. That is a long lever. As your rear wheels fall into a depression in the road, the chassis will fall suddenly. The forces generated by those falling wheels will increase by the square of the distance they are behind the axle. That works out to a force of 157 kgs if my maths are correct. On top of that you can add to it the forces generated by whatever else you have behind the axle.
A split second later your car wheels might come back up out of the depression quickly. The falling material in the back will have to be caught by the end of the chassis and heaved up instantly. Imagine what this is doing to the end of the chassis.
The same thing is happening when your front wheels rise and fall. The rear end of your chassis is going up and down in the opposite direction. The chassis is heaving the weight up and catching it when it comes down.
This makes it very difficult to load these type of cab/chassis utes without over-stressing the chassis. The handbook for
mine for example (not a Navara) says a WDH must be used for any tow ball weight exceeding 90 kg. A WDH is not a spring but a lever that picks the rear of the chassis up and transfers weight forward to the front wheels. If I was to mount two spare wheels on the back of my car, I would have more than 90 kg hanging out past the tow ball but I could not use a WDH to move some of that weight forward because I am not towing anything. Herein lies the big problem. Owners can carefully load their utes making sure the car is not over GVM, or the axle load limit, but have so much out the back that the chassis is way outside the factory design limits. This is why countless utes of all makes have bent or cracked their chassis.
The problem can not be fixed with a heavier
suspension. Aftermarket springs may make the car sit up a little higher and look better but the weight is still out the back and still generating the same forces as the chassis moves up and down.
AnswerID:
536390
Follow Up By: Ross M - Monday, Jul 21, 2014 at 22:41
Monday, Jul 21, 2014 at 22:41
Endorsement of 671 reply x a factor of 10.
If the chassis is forced up suddenly by the wheels on the terrain that 90kg may become 200kg or more in an instantaneous situation.
That is why a compliant
suspension ie, long travel ability and not too stiff may be the only saviour.
The weight will cause Porpoising to despite good shocks..
Best to carry the heavies near the front of tray/tub and the bed roll and biscuits at the rear.
FollowupID:
820485
Follow Up By: 671 - Tuesday, Jul 22, 2014 at 20:09
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2014 at 20:09
I am not so sure about the compliant
suspension Ross. The weight is still out there flexing the end of the chassis up and down.
Just out of curiosity, I picked up my daughter's 3.6 kg sledge hammer last night. She uses it as a training tool in her job as a personal trainer. I had no trouble holding the head with the handle in a horizontal position out in front of me. When I held the handle and tried it, the thing was hanging down at about 45 degrees with my wrist strained to the limit. I was still holding only 3.6 kg though. The only change was the greater part of the material in it was now further away from my hand.
If only people would understand the effects of leverage on the rear end of a chassis and the forces generated by mass (the amount of material in something) in motion, there would not be any damaged chassis.
You can't load a car proprely while concentrating on static weight only.
FollowupID:
820518