Auto-Trail Tail Scraping

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Ray's Scout

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Auto Trail Scout
Hope you don't mind me jumping in here but I have the Auto Trail Scout ( 06 plate ) When I drive up steep hills in Scotland and recently Cornwall the back end of my MH scrapes the floor badly, I was thinking of getting it raised with bigger tyres and looking into how to raise the chaise, can anybody give advise on this ? Many thanks Ray K.
 
I had the same problem on an Autocruise. Good old scaffolding boards. Strong and reliable.
 
I have legs that come down when parked, very hand in the windy days/nights, I was going down hill on bends in Cornwall last week and took my electric step out. I would love to raise the van up by 4 inches not sure what it would do to the van, Would it give more chance of blowing over in high winds or effect the vehicle in any way ?
 
plank of wood to reduce the gradient, cheap and easily moved used this method for 30 years to get parent MH in and out of garden, it was an old door surround so was curved on on side perfect low tech solution
 
Ray's Scout said:
I have legs that come down when parked, very hand in the windy days/nights, I was going down hill on bends in Cornwall last week and took my electric step out. I would love to raise the van up by 4 inches not sure what it would do to the van, Would it give more chance of blowing over in high winds or effect the vehicle in any way ?
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Depends how you do it.
I fitted air assist to the back of my 7.2m Moho and it raises the back by 50mm at 2.5bar, and 100mm if I pump them up to their max pressure. It has also made the van much more stable, so less likely to be blown over. And all for about £300.

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Landy Andy said:
Depends how you do it.
I fitted air assist to the back of my 7.2m Moho and it raises the back by 50mm at 2.5bar, and 100mm if I pump them up to their max pressure. It has also made the van much more stable, so less likely to be blown over. And all for about £300.
Click to expand...
So this goes only to the back and is for when driving not for when parked ?
 
1st thing , have you weighed the vehicle when loaded ? If yes and within limits 2nd Have you measured the ride height against spec ? If low then springs have weakened , then you have a few possible solutions .
 
As above. Air suspension.
Did my Apache 700 with a kit off eBay, pretty easy DIY fit and less than £300.
You need to check what chassis is used first, fiat or Alko. Alko not as easy or as cheap.

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AS Air Suspension

AS Air Suspension UK Ltd. The No1 Air Suspension for all vehicles, ALKO & Non ALKO chasis. If you're not happy with the ride of your motorhome or you keep grounding at the rear then air suspension is what you need, Just read our testimonials. It will make your motorhome feel like a new vehicle!
www.as-airsuspension.co.uk www.as-airsuspension.co.uk

Air suspension will lift the rear of your motorhome.
The height can also be adjusted.
 
Ray's Scout said:
So this goes only to the back and is for when driving not for when parked ?
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if you can get one for the Fiat Decato I will have one. But I would like writing on it in Red. Liverpool FC another stupid question Could you do a LiverBird in Green or am I asking to much
tonka said:
As above. Air suspension.
Did my Apache 700 with a kit off eBay, pretty easy DIY fit and less than £300.
You need to check what chassis is used first, fiat or Alko. Alko not as easy or as cheap.
Click to expand...
Fiat |Decato 2.8
 
Campervan_man said:

AS Air Suspension

AS Air Suspension UK Ltd. The No1 Air Suspension for all vehicles, ALKO & Non ALKO chasis. If you're not happy with the ride of your motorhome or you keep grounding at the rear then air suspension is what you need, Just read our testimonials. It will make your motorhome feel like a new vehicle!
www.as-airsuspension.co.uk www.as-airsuspension.co.uk

Air suspension will lift the rear of your motorhome.
The height can also be adjusted.
Click to expand...
How does the height get adjusted ?
 
tacr2man said:
1st thing , have you weighed the vehicle when loaded ? If yes and within limits 2nd Have you measured the ride height against spec ? If low then springs have weakened , then you have a few possible solutions .
Click to expand...
No have no clue of the whole weight. It differs all the time if I go travelling I make sure the water tank is full because I think it helps in the winds, I am not bothered about the fuel costs. Not sure of the height either I gues |I need to get both done on a weigh machine some where ?
 
I had air ride fitted on my previous 2006 autotrail 696G and it made it much more stable when cornering and raised the backend enough to stop the stabiliser legs grounding when boarding ferries.

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Ray's Scout said:
Hope you don't mind me jumping in here but I have the Auto Trail Scout ( 06 plate ) When I drive up steep hills in Scotland and recently Cornwall the back end of my MH scrapes the floor badly, I was thinking of getting it raised with bigger tyres and looking into how to raise the chaise, can anybody give advise on this ? Many thanks Ray K.
Click to expand...
 
Campervan_man said:
Air suspension lifts the back end of your motorhome.

Lots of info vids on youtube.
Click to expand...

He did mine!

Seriously, it's a 2006 vehicle, probably used extensively and the original fit springs were not really designed to carry maximum weight all the time. Result is you are suffering from spring tiredness. Although you must pay more attention to whatever weight you are carrying (to stay legal), it's inevitable that you get a sag, especially with the long rear overhang - scraping the rear is the symptom.

So your options. Replace the rear springs, a relatively straightforward job but probably best done by a garage with proper lifting and safety gear - you could fit upgraded springs if you wanted.

Fit rear air-assist suspension. This is a DIY job if you've got some spanners and can get underneath safely. It consists of airbags that replace the "bump stops" on the axle which when inflated lift the body off the springs - air assist, simple. They can be inflated by a standard airline through a pressure gauge fitted somewhere convenient or you could go posh and have a compressor kit which would allow you to vary the pressures and thus the ride height.

Or better still, both. But everybody I know who has fitted air-assist has commented on how much better the ride is and how the vans handling is transformed, no more roll or swaying in cross winds. New springs won't achieve that.

Just an afterthought -an obviously sagging van could attract the attention of the authorities with a suspicion of overloading. Points and penalties!
 
Landy Andy said:
Depends how you do it.
I fitted air assist to the back of my 7.2m Moho and it raises the back by 50mm at 2.5bar, and 100mm if I pump them up to their max pressure. It has also made the van much more stable, so less likely to be blown over. And all for about £300.
Click to expand...
Air assist is a great way to raise the rear of the MoHo, and get a far more stable drive. I fitted Easy Top on my Ford based Hobby. Made a lot of difference.

P1040322.JPG P1040429.JPG P1040430.JPG

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I have an older KonTiki which was very low at the back and has a long overhang at the rear end. It got to the point where I decided to have the rear axle overhauled and at the same time had the height raised by 2 inches above the original standard ride height. This was done and now the MoHo looks correct with plenty of ground clearance. Well worth the money and no further complicated accessories to go wrong or service
 
As we travel over mountains a lot, the back end scraped. Even did it when leaving a petrol station once.
I had air suspension fitted. At the same time raised the back an extra 70mm with some white plastic things. Now the van has good clearance and I can raise it further at a touch of a button if needed. Up to 20mph anyway.
The air suspension guys did the work and would not raise it any higher. They know the limits and calculations that make it fit in with warranty and laws maybe?
 
a nearly 15 year old motorhome will most likely need new rear leaf springs. there is a specialist firm in the midlands that make an upgraded version at very reasonable cost Jones springs
 
Scaffold boards. :doh:
Great if you have a steep driveway but not very practical on the open road.
Some didn't fully read the post, did they!!!

Ray's Scout said:
When I drive up steep hills in Scotland and recently Cornwall
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I have air suspension on my Apache as I needed to upweight from 3500 to 3850. Both sides are independent of each other, I also use it for levelling on sites and also when parked up for long periods raise the van and create a fall so water runs off and doesn't pond for long periods of time on the roof.
When we did the Bealach-na-Ba and the B869 Drumbeg Road on the NC500 in November I blew them them up to 5 whereby I would normally blow them up to 2.5-3 on a normal journey and had no issues grounding.
 
tacr2man said:
1st thing , have you weighed the vehicle when loaded ? If yes and within limits 2nd Have you measured the ride height against spec ? If low then springs have weakened , then you have a few possible solutions .
Click to expand...
And 3rd.... why are you driving around the country while we’re in lockdown...😆
 
We had the same problem with our Kontiki 649 bottoming out on ramps, even after having air suspension fitted and with the arse-end lifted up on the bags. The problem was solved by fitting ''bumper wheels'' (see photo). Mick Leightley at SAP in Doncaster did it for us. They work a treat............

Bumper wheels.JPG
 
It would hep us to help you if you told us whether you have rear springs or an Alko tortion bar/beam suspension.
Tortion bar unit is prone to sag over time especially if not greased annually.
 
Jev88 said:
It would hep us to help you if you told us whether you have rear springs or an Alko tortion bar/beam suspension.
Tortion bar unit is prone to sag over time especially if not greased annually.
Click to expand...
Not sure if this question is for me, or the original OP? Anyway, in my case, we have the Alko torsion bar system. Cheers.

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