Rear Suspension

[White Pointer]

G'day,

I strongly suggest that you take it over a weigh bridge, firstly with BMT at typical towing weight and then the car only. This is to make sure you're legal and that towbar downforce is within manufacturer's specifications.

You may need to shift the axle on the trailer of move the boat forward or backwards to balance. Generally, 100 to 150 Kg downforce on the towball is enough to keep the trailer tracking straight and doesn't load up the back axle too much.

Armed with this information a good suspension supplier can give you good advice. I suggest that you buy the complete job in one place so that they have warranty and product liability responsibility for their advice, parts and installation.

Regards,

White Pointer

[dazza]

hi all,
thanks for the info
tow ball wt is 110kg. spent a fair amount of time when i got a new trailer making sure the tow ball wt was ok so that isn't the problem, bro in laws navara stx dosent sag too much, but it is a new vehicle.
how excited about castor angles etc do i need to get?
planning on doing the springs myself and maybe airbags then all to the shop for ballance and setup etc
cheeers
dazza

[Dantren]

Hey Dazza,

You could get so technical with this.
What are you going to do, re-engineer the whole vehicle???????
IMO most factory suspension is sh*thouse.

I can tell you that I've been very happy with firestone bags in my BF XR6 work ute.

When I tow the boat, it is very easy to balance the whole setup & level the vehicle. I just adjust the air pressure in the bags.

Cost about a grand. Worth every dollar IMO.
You can get a kit with air pump & guages so you can adjust them on the run!!!!

May not be relevant to your Patrol. Good Luck.

Dan.

[dazza]

hi all,
have decided to go with a new set of springs to start with 2 inch lift, the springs will let me put an extra 200kg on the back and 80kg on the front, the king springs seem pretty good value for money, 3 year warranty, aust made, will do what i want them to do. i still like the idea of the airbags and will probably get some in the future.
now my question is should i take it to a specialised 4x4 shop or can one of the tyre mob's fit them and do a ballance etc?
i have heard on car ballance is the way to go, especially with the front hub's etc
is this right??
cheers
dazza