Caravan Chassis Riser

Submitted: Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 12:28

ThreadID: 131916 Views:13195 Replies:6 FollowUps:3

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Mapesy (QLD)

Folks,
Can someone explain to me what caravan chassis risers are and how they are installed. I am looking at the possibility of raising my van.

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Reply By: 9900Eagle - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 13:53

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 13:53

Mate they are normally a 50mm RHS section welded onto the bottom of the chassis, that has the suspension attached to giving the van more ground clearance.

AnswerID: 597720

Reply By: Notso - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 14:30

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 14:30

Have a look here mate it discusses this issue.

Caravan Chassis Mods

AnswerID: 597721

Reply By: brianH - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 14:49

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 14:49

Hi Mapesy I have had two jayco poptops raised at the factory which included a heavier aframe ,longer stabiliser legs , pull out steps, longer jockey wheel and a taller jack for $ 250 .This was when they were being built .All they do is fit the axle under the springs instead of on top of the axle . Critics tell you that under-slinging the axle will cause all sorts of dire events .I can say I have never had any problems what so ever with the handling of the van including passing road trains , side winds and cornering , I nearly always travel at the posted speed limits ,conditions permitting. Your jockey wheel and stabilisers will probably be able to be used ,the only modification you may need to look at is putting a step under the entry to the van and maybe a higher jack .The only reason jayco put all the extras on vans with this option is because of the Australian design rules .The convenience of not having to worry about drains and speed humps makes it a very worthy thing to do .I know that you are looking at adding risers to the chassis which may be simpler option but the axle under gives me an extra 5 inches height.Brian

AnswerID: 597725

Follow Up By: Mapesy (QLD) - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 15:11

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 15:11

I would assume that to install a "riser" one would have to cut off the tandem axle spring hangers etc and then reweld them to the riser frame?? Would another option be to lengthen the spring hangers as I've seen on some 4wd's. It sounds like a big job in any case...

Spring setup

FollowupID: 866789

Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 16:02

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 16:02

Mapesy,

I had our van raised by getting a 75mm x 50 mm SHS of the same thickness material as the original chassis welded to the bottom of the existing chassis rail. This gave me 2 benefits. It raised the van by the 75 mm and because I had the guy who did the job weld the new section the full length, drawbar to rear end, it stiffened the whole chassis.While he was in there he also fabricated some galvanised guards to protect what I considered exposed plumbing.
Whether you decide to go that way or remove the spring hangers and have new extended hangers attached to the original chassis the old hangers are going to have to be removed anyway.
The extra 75 mm may not sound like much, but we have found it makes enough difference to stop stabilisers or whatever dragging going into servos, caravan parks or our own driveway without going too high.

Cheers
Pop

FollowupID: 866791

Reply By: Erad - Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 20:36

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 at 20:36

Our 16.5 ft Jayco Poptop van has a height restriction - we need to get it into our shed. This limits any modifications under the van. It used to scrape the rear jacks as we left our driveway, so I reversed the jacks and now they clear the crossing (just). In addition, I mounted two rubber tyred castors under the rear bumper supports to take up any major bumps. Neither fix is by any means ideal, but at least we can still get our van away in the shed when we need to

AnswerID: 597738

Reply By: Mapesy (QLD) - Friday, Mar 25, 2016 at 08:00

Friday, Mar 25, 2016 at 08:00

Thanks so much folks for your input. I now have a good idea of what is required. Now for the pennies - might have to do some more travelling before I decide to do it.

AnswerID: 597750