Isolating Vibrations from chassis through subframe to camper box

bobaloo

New member
I'm currently in the stages of designing a sub frame to fit a BAE M1088 chassis, extended 36inches. I've contacted a few subframe vendors and/or fabricators of subframes, but want to collect further opinions here before choosing someone.

What are the best techniques to isolate vibrations from the chassis up through the subframe and ultimately to the camper box? As I design the box itself (and the interior) I will of course put into heavy consideration the terrain we will be traveling on. That said, if I can isolate and mitigate as many vibrations/rattling making it into the camper box as possible, I will have a little buffer to the components I use in the interior, longevity, etc etc.

Most subframes I've seen are chassis mounted either direct, spring, sleeve, etc. Most camper boxes mounted to the subframes I've seen are twist lock, screw and glue, or clamp. Are there vibration mitigating rubber pads that are typically mounted between the glue/screws & subframe? Any air ride/shock systems out there for the purpose of mitigating vibration/rattling to the box (I've seen on the subframe thread of shocks used to lessen the sway of subframe itself--unless this has a dual purpose I didn't catch).

Any thoughts, suggestions, or points in the right direction would be appreciated. This is the next item to schedule for my build.
 

aernan

Observer
The overland camper book suggests hard wood or high density polyurethane strips.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 

Darwin

Explorer
Camperlogic.com has a build thread on here. I believe he mentions going with a military m35 spring mount and I think hardwood on the frame rail, I am not certain so it would be best to contact them directly.

The biggest difference I think you will find is the ability to air down your tire pressure when offroad and on corrugated roads.
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
I believe that all the subframes are designed to mitigate the twisting or flexing of the truck's frame being transferred to the camper (box).

To isolate the vibrations, it would probably be easiest to start with the truck's suspension (very hard on a heavyweight like a 1088), or perhaps adding Lord Mounts (https://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/vibration-and-motion-control/industrial/isolators ) between the subframe and the camper box. While Lord Mounts are great quality (heavily used in aviation for component isolation) they can fail.

If you are planning on having certain components that are vibration sensitive, I would think to isolate those components individually and build the camper box strong enough to resist the road vibrations.

https://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/passive-vibration-and-motion-control/industrial/isolators/surface-effect-mounts

lordmount-fail.jpg
 
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