Date:         Tue, 7 Jul 1998 12:29:21 -0700
Reply-To:     Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Weight distribution data relevant to suspension tuning.
Comments: To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

At 11:48 AM 7/7/98, Derek Drew wrote:
>Steve, I have measured the four wheels of my van on numerous occaisons and
>here is some data for you that may be helpful for comparative purposes.
>Basically, the data suggests that the syncro camper may be typically 200
>lbs. heavier on the left rear than any other corner. Accordingly, it seems
>to me a valid mission to put an extra shim on the left rear corner, as you
>have in the past suggested.
>

[snip]

>  2. WESTFALIA TOO HEAVY ON LEFT SIDE.  As Ed Anderson
>     of Adventurewagen claims,
>     the van is indeed almost 200 lbs. heavier on the
>     driver's side than the passenger's.  Fill up the water
>     tank and the refrigerator and stick the driver in the
>     vehicle and the problem would get much worse.
>  3. LEFT REAR IS THE CULPRET.  It seems odd to find that
>     almost all the L/R weight imbalance comes from the left
>     rear side.  It must be all the blankets I have in there?
>
>Or maybe it is all the food I have? I am not really sure. If the
>camper is really 20% heavier only on the left rear, then perhaps
>we should have a heavier spring on that one corner.
>

        I'm lost as to why this left rear weight bias should be
        a surprise...after all, the cabinetry, refrigerator, stove + sink,
        water tank (even if empty) AND propane tank all add weight to the
        left side!

        The real question is why VW (or Westfalia) never cared to balance
        the suspension for the more common normally laden case with
        water + supplies + camping goodies + clothing etc?

        BTW: passengers in the rear tend to balance the left bias...some.





      OLTECO                         Ari Ollikainen
      P.O. BOX 3688                  Networking Technology and Architecture
      Stanford, CA                   Ari@OLTECO.com
      94309-3688                     415.517.3519