Juddery ride
I've recently bought a Motorhome based on a Peugeot Boxer & would be really grateful for any suggestions as to how to get a smoother ride. At the moment it is very juddery, which is not ideal as I have spinal degeneration.
The first job will be to establish the weight we are carrying on front and rear axels so that we can run on optimal tyre pressures. We will be changing the tyres in the near future as the wear on the front tyres is uneven & looks like they have been consistently run underinflated. As it's quite a light van & we are unlikely to be fully laden I'm not sure if we really need CP rated tyres. Does anybody know if there is a difference in smoothness of ride between CP rated tyres or good quality premium tyres? Does the reinforced wall on the CP rated give a harder ride?
We are also thinking about air suspension/air assisted suspension. Full air suspension is obviously a lot more expensive, but does anybody have experience of its comfort level compared to the cheaper air assisted? At a brief look online most of the air assisted suspension seems to be on the rear suspension only. Are there any measures, other than fitting full air suspension, that can be taken to upgrade the front suspension too?
We're new to all this so advice from people in the club would be most welcome. Thank you.
Comments
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When you say juddery you make it sound like an engine or transmission problem. Do you just mean a bumpy ride?
It might be helpful to give full model details and also what tyre pressures you are running as it might help with advice. Probably the ride will be bumpier with tyres inflated for load if running unladen
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What age is your MH, Whelky? The X250 Boxers/Ducatos around 2007-9 had terrible clutch judder problems especially when pulling away uphill or in reverse. There was quite an outcry at the time.
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CP tyres provide addition support for when the van is standing for lengthy periods of time....flatspotting (presumably) would be more likely in non CP rated tyres.
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One of the disadvantages of a motorhome especially Fiat/ Peugeot varieties, suspension was always stiff on the three vans we owned softening tyres helps but UK Roads always gave an uncomfortable ride. A lightly laden van probably results in a harsher ride as more weight stops the van bouncing over bumps as much, try having more water on board as an experiment. Reinforced tyre walls do give a harsher ride, one of the complaints often levelled at run flats.
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Hi Welky D.
Before you do anything else either change tyres or get them balanced.
If the van has been left sitting on under inflated tyres for a long period they can easily go out of shape. I have had that before.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks very much for all the replies. We will look into all the suggestions. Just to clarify, when I say juddery I am referring to the bumpy, uncomfortable ride on our less than perfect British roads. The transmission is fine. It's the harsh suspension that seems to be the problem. Fully laden the motorhome is only rated at 2800. With lighter vehicles like this is there any real necessity to run on CP tyres? We're unlikely to have it parked up in one spot for months at a time as we plan to have short, but regular, outings in it.
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Whelky D, poor ride quality is common on short wheelbase motorhomes - mine is 3m and the ride was appalling. In trying to resolve the ride, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the manufacturers of various systems.
Full air ride is the ideal solution as it is what is used in ambulances. Semi air suspension on the rear is often the next best. However, you might find that simply changing the coil springs at the front is enough.
Before embarking on corrective action, you need to try and ascertain whether it is the front, rear, or both axles causing the problem. By correcting the wrong axle, you can make it worse. Only a few firms offer semi air suspension for the Al-Ko chassis.
My problem was caused by the stiff front suspension taking the road impact and the van still shuddering when the rear axle suffered the road impact. Lowering the front tyre pressure to one recommended by Michelin based on a weighbridge figure [we last used the weighbridge at Axtec, Runcorn as it is a drive over plate] was the first step because it reduced the initial impact and we added semi air to the rear. Problem noticeably reduced, not solved completely - only full air would do that. I could have chosen softer front springs but that would have meant writing off the cost of the stiffer Hymer springs which help keep the vehicle level.
VB Air Suspension produce a useful guide that is worth reading.
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I wrote elsewhere about tyre pressures on my Autosleepers Peugeot Boxer and there are differences of opinion. One dealer said to inflate to the Peugeot recommended pressures (very high) whereas the service manager said that if I did that the ride would be terrible.
If they are Continental tyres the technical support group will give you the exact tyre pressures for a given axle weight. That's what I will use when I have weighed the van.
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agree with the above, MH weight distribution (due to overhangs, the placement of water tanks and large garages/storage areas) is likely to be different to white van man who generally gas an uncluttered load area in which to work.
with this sometimes 'unequal' loadings, axle weights play a larger role in the tyre pressures required.
always good to weigh the van for 'payload' reasons anyway.
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