Hi Moto Mech,
Shame you do not live somewhere near by. Love the mods and wish I was capable of ding them myself.
Shame you do not live somewhere near by. Love the mods and wish I was capable of ding them myself.
Our Expanda- from mild to WILD
- Thread starter Moto Mech
- Start date
Tru
true statement but I am a novice and need a guiding hand and advice. Would undersling my van if I could.You won't learn if you don't try 1dayill
I done it to previous van, travelled all over Australia with zero issues.
Springs on this van are slipper but Im going to fit outback eye to eye springs shortly.
Im going to build a drop down rear wheel carrier(or swing out one) , doubt bigger wheel will fit in draw bar carrier.
first step in learning to do things yourself
recognizing your limitations...........
TICK
now you just need step 2
confidence in your own abilities
I'm with you there....I stopped at TICK....recognise your own abilities.
Limited, I'm afraid.
I'm always in awe of others' abilities and execution but love reading about them.... I can come up with the ideas easily....then tend to flounder.
Limited, I'm afraid.
I'm always in awe of others' abilities and execution but love reading about them.... I can come up with the ideas easily....then tend to flounder.
I moved the axle spacer from bottom to top, that way the brakes and axle kept the same aspect as I wasn't sure if the axle would have a slight bend for toe in or not, left the old spacer in place for just in case though..........as luck would have it the lift was just the right height for the hitch so no drama on tug.......so if tyres scrub at all that may be why....
I fond my 14.44 towed heaps better and was more stable with the axle rolled, tyre mounted underneath was better than on the rear for balance and ease of access, turned the old front tyre rack into a hose rack.
You probably on top of it but I found when you cut off the hangers put the new ones on a length of angle then weld that onto the van chassis makes it all heaps easier.......
Thanks for that... Im talking to Brisbane Axles and trailer components about my various options. It appears the Expanda was under spec'd compared to the VIN plate...springs are only 1300kg and shes rated at 1340kg??? To get it speced to 1600kg Ive got to replace axle and go to parallel bearings otherwise with new springs Im sitting at1460kg, got to make a decision on this. I rang Vehicle Components, the workshop didnt know if they could even attempt the job, so they were going to ask the boss who was away. However the more people I ask the more info comes to light....
That sounds a bit strange my 14.44 had 2t axles with tapered bearings and I think you will find a lot of stuff around 2t has just tapered, anyway I chucked the old springs and fitted 2t ALKO springs with new hangers and shackles to mine and actually found it gave me the height I wanted and I didn't have to undersling the axle this time around...bought the springs and stuff from a Bne mob think it was All trailer Spares.
Shouldnt need parallel bearings for 1600kg springs. Usually 2T up are parallel.
Installed a 2.2kw Tuit diesel heater, seems good quality, easy to install and punches out some decent heat.
Didnt use the supplied diesel tank, went for a 10lt Jerry can and used the supplied pick up. Prefered a top pick up to a bottom one incase of diesrl leaks.
Very straight forward install, hardest thing was working where to install it, first two preferences were obstructed underneath floor. Decided on cupboard under sink with a single outlet(unit came with ducting/vents for two outlets but no T junction). Mounted thermostat control on wall near QS bed end so we can control it easily from bed. Installed a muffler(not supplied) and unit seems pretty quiet, pump barely noticible(to my deaf ears anyway).
Jerry can will be mounted on front draw bar, we only use one 4kg gas bottle so will fit it on opposite side.
And wired in all lights, 12v outlets, USB outlets etc to fuse box.
I ordered 3, 2 for customers and 1 for me, lucky we got them by sounds of it.
I prefer plastic over steel , stronger, can see in them easier and Sually less chance of contamination(internal breakdown)
As yet no, the cupboard is huge plus opens up under seat as well but have spare vents to install if needed.
It wont take long to suck all the air from those areas, then it might affect the way it works.
Pic one, this fits inside cupboard base where spreader bar goes in to stop bar from tilting over
Pic two, spreader bar tends to tilt over once curves been added to it.
Pic three, Arched spreader bar
Now, im not sure if the canvas is stretched on the QS bed end or what but even when spreader bar was in place and tight, the canvas was very loose and saggy. And when ...ahem...climbing over mrs to get out of bed, it kept touching my back(when its zero degrees outside that canvas gets cold).
I noticed on my mates Swan that the spreader bar had a slight arch in it to hold canvas higher. So very carefully I bent our spreader bar slightly and boy does it add some extra head room over beds.
Only other thing I had to do was where the bar locks into cupboard, I removed plate and welded on some RHS steel to stop the spreader bar tilting over(pics will explain better).