I see that stabilizer shocks are available and I've read that in the past, some folks have used an air cushion type stabilizer under the cabover. But I wonder if it makes any sense or if anyone has tried using cargo straps or something similar from the back of the camper to the hitch and tightening them down. The purpose would be to control the up and down movement of the cabover by hooking from the rear jacks to the loops normally used for trailer safety chains.
Just wondering if anyone has tried this or if it would even work??
Full Version: Stabilizing the cabover
I am not a big fan of cab-over stabilizers. Your teuck beb and cab are seperated and move independently to a certain extent and connecting your camper at both ends seems like it would stress the framing of your camper each time you went over a bump. Let it bounce, they are made to do that. Take a look around the campgrounds, you'll see very few people use cab-over stabilizers. Good tie-downs are all that is needed.
QUOTE(mh45472 @ May 14 2010, 01:13 PM)
I am not a big fan of cab-over stabilizers. Your teuck beb and cab are seperated and move independently to a certain extent and connecting your camper at both ends seems like it would stress the framing of your camper each time you went over a bump. Let it bounce, they are made to do that. Take a look around the campgrounds, you'll see very few people use cab-over stabilizers. Good tie-downs are all that is needed.
Thanks for that MH . That actually makes a lot of sense. I'll just rely on my torklift tie downs to do the job. Appreciate the response. Corsa180
The purpose of the struts is not to carry weight. With the load concentrated toward the front of the bed, bumps tend to flex the truck frame in the middle. Any steel structure is a spring, and the frame can take this flexing. The issue is that it is a pretty good spring, and returns most of the energy it stores. There is virtually no damping. Over some roads, usually concrete with expansion joints, the bouncing can build up to very high levels. The struts soak up some energy with each bounce and keep the amplitude from building up.
Most of the flex is in the middle of the frame, the bed moves in relation to the cab. This creates a lot of motion between the cabover and the cab, making this the ideal place to put the damping. There is virtually no motion between the rear of the camper and the rear bumper/trailer hitch.
The struts do not restrain the cab from moving on the isolators. They do pass a small amount of frame/bed/camper vibration to the cab in theory. In practice I don't notice any difference in ride quality/noise, but I do note a marked reduction in the cab-over motion on rough roads.
To achieve this with a cushion between the cab and the camper, it should be some sort of energy adsorbent material...memory foam like they use on mattresses or something like silly putty. In grit ridden New Mexico this would result in paint damage in short order I would think.
Most of the flex is in the middle of the frame, the bed moves in relation to the cab. This creates a lot of motion between the cabover and the cab, making this the ideal place to put the damping. There is virtually no motion between the rear of the camper and the rear bumper/trailer hitch.
The struts do not restrain the cab from moving on the isolators. They do pass a small amount of frame/bed/camper vibration to the cab in theory. In practice I don't notice any difference in ride quality/noise, but I do note a marked reduction in the cab-over motion on rough roads.
To achieve this with a cushion between the cab and the camper, it should be some sort of energy adsorbent material...memory foam like they use on mattresses or something like silly putty. In grit ridden New Mexico this would result in paint damage in short order I would think.
QUOTE(kevbo @ Oct 9 2010, 04:15 AM)
The purpose of the struts is not to carry weight. With the load concentrated toward the front of the bed, bumps tend to flex the truck frame in the middle. Any steel structure is a spring, and the frame can take this flexing. The issue is that it is a pretty good spring, and returns most of the energy it stores. There is virtually no damping. Over some roads, usually concrete with expansion joints, the bouncing can build up to very high levels. The struts soak up some energy with each bounce and keep the amplitude from building up.
Most of the flex is in the middle of the frame, the bed moves in relation to the cab. This creates a lot of motion between the cabover and the cab, making this the ideal place to put the damping. There is virtually no motion between the rear of the camper and the rear bumper/trailer hitch.
The struts do not restrain the cab from moving on the isolators. They do pass a small amount of frame/bed/camper vibration to the cab in theory. In practice I don't notice any difference in ride quality/noise, but I do note a marked reduction in the cab-over motion on rough roads.
To achieve this with a cushion between the cab and the camper, it should be some sort of energy adsorbent material...memory foam like they use on mattresses or something like silly putty. In grit ridden New Mexico this would result in paint damage in short order I would think.
Most of the flex is in the middle of the frame, the bed moves in relation to the cab. This creates a lot of motion between the cabover and the cab, making this the ideal place to put the damping. There is virtually no motion between the rear of the camper and the rear bumper/trailer hitch.
The struts do not restrain the cab from moving on the isolators. They do pass a small amount of frame/bed/camper vibration to the cab in theory. In practice I don't notice any difference in ride quality/noise, but I do note a marked reduction in the cab-over motion on rough roads.
To achieve this with a cushion between the cab and the camper, it should be some sort of energy adsorbent material...memory foam like they use on mattresses or something like silly putty. In grit ridden New Mexico this would result in paint damage in short order I would think.
Thank you for that well informed response. After a very uneventful (except for the scenery)3000 mile trip this summer with my Vanguard 995 (approx. 3k lbs) on my F250 I don't think I need to take any further action of any kind. Your expanation really fits with my experience. Thank you Kevbo
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