Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 21:28:39 -0700
Reply-To: Reinhard Vehring <rvehring@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Reinhard Vehring <rvehring@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Traction
In-Reply-To: <BAY101-F23ABD7D00C4EE7455279FBA0CA0@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Ah, yes. Same thing here. The more traction you have
the more stuff you try that was totally impossible
before. Usually I get stuck running out of ground
clearance. It's really quite hopeless. Lot's of dirt
roads now have ruts the size of the San Andreas Fault,
because people power their monster trucks through. I
remember driving a Syncro with lockers across an
unpaved parking lot, not knowing it was the local
truck playground. Bad mistake! I ended up sliding into
the mother of all holes. I was determined to free
myself without external help, but when a tow truck
happened to come buy, I caved in. I was covered in mud
and had tried about everything I could think of. The
guy said something like: "Why would anyone try to
drive off the pavement with such a thing" Ouch!
Lesson learned, or not. A couple weeks later I got
stuck standing my Westy on the front bumper, front
wheels off the ground, no steering, not enough
traction to go back up and no winch point anywhere
near. No way to get a second vehicle behind the van
and no access to any recovery point on the front. Very
funny situation. Took quite a while to get out of
that. It involved major landscaping.
Lesson learned, or not ...
Reinhard
83 "Half-Syncro" Westy, Moose.
--- Dave Vickery <davevickery@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Wet grass is maybe the worst situation. Almost
> embarrassing to be on a flat
> grassy area and be stuck! Better tires help the
> most though. Blizzak snow
> tires made an amazing difference in the snow for me.
> All terrain tires were
> good for dirt. But once the weight shift to lighten
> one side, you are in 1
> wheel drive on the least tractioned wheel. For me
> that was unworkable. I
> got stuck 9 times the last summer I owned my 2WD
> Automatic westy. 4 times
> required towing. At Glen Canyon Rec Area in the mud
> down by the water, I
> needed to be pulled 10 feet and it was $150.00
> (Minimum charge). Now I have
> AAA a syncro and a winch. If I get stuck now, it is
> in more interesting
> predicaments. Last time, wedged up against a tree
> on a steep hill, in a
> huge hole rocking with two wheels off the ground.
>
> Dave in Denver
> 2.5 Syncru
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> >Don Hanson
> >Sent: Monday, September 03, 2007 8:23 PM
> >To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >Subject: Some ride height and suspension
> observations..
> >
> > Today I began working on the traction issue with
> my 84..Unlike
> >me..because
> >I usually wait till there is snow on the ground
> before I try to address
> >issues like poor traction, etc..but I recalled last
> fall, trying to back up
> >on slick grass to get into my shop with the van,
> and also chaining up to
> >make a silly little hill.. I lived in the Rockies
> for over 20 years and I
> >NEVER had to chain up..but with the van, I can't
> even make my driveway when
> >it gets slick...
> > A few observations: First, the rear suspension
> travel is pretty
> >pathetic,
> >at least on my 84 it seems to be. Didn't measure
> it for 'droop', but it
> >seems like the rear wheels only have a few inches
> of travel. So I'm
> >guessing it takes very little to lift a wheel or
> at least greatly diminish
> >the weight on a rear corner...
> > I had a feeling my van was not very well
> balanced, corner to corner.
> >I've noticed that the right rear wheel always seems
> to spin with ridiculous
> >ease in low traction situations. I could see, with
> my carpenters eye, that
> >the left front seemed a bit low and the right rear
> seemed high..So, I took
> >my tape and did a 'quick and dirty' check. Indeed,
> the left front was low,
> >the right rear was high..by about an inch..Now, I
> know measuring body
> >panels
> >is not accurate, but I think this van is so wacky
> that it gave me a place
> >to
> >start..
> > Now all the previous ride height adjustments
> I've made have been on true
> >coil over suspensions, and what I wanted was to
> lower either the right
> >front or the left rear, in order to even up the
> load on all four
> >wheels...Like cutting off the legs of a rocking
> table, right? Looking at
> >the front suspension..no deal there..Too complex
> and not any provisions for
> >adjusting the ride height (or the load on
> wheel)..So, to the back I went,
> >thinking to extend the spring, at least for now, on
> the right rear, the one
> >that has almost no load on the wheel...Actually
> lowering the left rear is
> >what I wanted, but that was not looking easy at
> all.
> > So, I jacked it up under the bottom of the
> a-arm, compressing the spring
> >at the right rear. Clamped the coils and released
> the shock, then dropped
> >the A-arm, making some room at the top of the
> spring to add two 1/8"
> >aluminum plate donuts as spacers..
> > We shall see if that improves the traction any,
> by putting a more even
> >load onto the rear wheels...actually kinda like
> sticking a matchbook under
> >the kitchen table to stop it from rocking...
> > Not quite as precise as putting my Porsche
> racecar onto four digital
> >scales and adjusting the coil overs to within a lbs
> or two, corner to
> >corner...but maybe now I will be able to back up on
> grass, at least as a
> >start...
> > Don Hanson
>
>
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>
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