Leaf Spring Suspensions

[VerMonsterRV]

Hey guys, there seems to be a fair amount of thought/discussion about which subframe to choose for a build. Good because it will dictate how much your frame will be allowed to twist when things get uneven. What I haven't seen much though is discussion on how to allow your axles/wheels be a bit more active when things get bumpy/uneven.

As I ever so slowly learn more about 4x4 and rougher roads I see here in the USA numerous suspension upgrades for pickups/jeeps. In my search for our 1120 LN2 though not so much. I have found and installed parabolic springs (not without teething pains) and they have greatly improved the ride quality when things get bumpy and allow the wheels/axle to be way more active to stay in contact with the ground. Since the upgrade though the shocks are now very much inadequate (Monroe commercial shocks as the originals were shot and Monroe was the only company that publishes on the web the dimensions). I thought I found a company that was getting custom valved commercial Fox shocks for an LMTV that looked like they would be able to work, but Fox seems to be unable to build shocks anymore as they seems to be permanently on back order.

So here is goes with what we have so far, our springs are from https://federfachmann.de/. When I started I had thought that this was a established swap to the new springs, now I am thinking I may have been one of the first. Anyway I am working thru the issues and am still happy with the ride quality.

For shocks I have only found 2 possible suppliers, https://www.marquartshockabsorbers.com/ out of Germany and https://www.grigsbytrucks.com/ for the currently unavailable Fox shocks. My hope is to get shocks that are field rebuildable, can handle the constant damping on corrugated road, and not require too much modification of the mount points. Although Marquart answers emails quickly I have not been able to get a lot of info out of them about the shocks (just sent a new email and will update as I get info). Both these are plain old IFP shocks, would you think they would be up to the task? Any other bolt in options?

And feel free to jump in with any other suspension related ideas/options.

 

[Geo.Lander]

Hey guys, there seems to be a fair amount of thought/discussion about which subframe to choose for a build. Good because it will dictate how much your frame will be allowed to twist when things get uneven. What I haven't seen much though is discussion on how to allow your axles/wheels be a bit more active when things get bumpy/uneven.

As I ever so slowly learn more about 4x4 and rougher roads I see here in the USA numerous suspension upgrades for pickups/jeeps. In my search for our 1120 LN2 though not so much. I have found and installed parabolic springs (not without teething pains) and they have greatly improved the ride quality when things get bumpy and allow the wheels/axle to be way more active to stay in contact with the ground. Since the upgrade though the shocks are now very much inadequate (Monroe commercial shocks as the originals were shot and Monroe was the only company that publishes on the web the dimensions). I thought I found a company that was getting custom valved commercial Fox shocks for an LMTV that looked like they would be able to work, but Fox seems to be unable to build shocks anymore as they seems to be permanently on back order.

So here is goes with what we have so far, our springs are from https://federfachmann.de/. When I started I had thought that this was a established swap to the new springs, now I am thinking I may have been one of the first. Anyway I am working thru the issues and am still happy with the ride quality.

For shocks I have only found 2 possible suppliers, https://www.marquartshockabsorbers.com/ out of Germany and https://www.grigsbytrucks.com/ for the currently unavailable Fox shocks. My hope is to get shocks that are field rebuildable, can handle the constant damping on corrugated road, and not require too much modification of the mount points. Although Marquart answers emails quickly I have not been able to get a lot of info out of them about the shocks (just sent a new email and will update as I get info). Both these are plain old IFP shocks, would you think they would be up to the task? Any other bolt in options?

And feel free to jump in with any other suspension related ideas/options.

Hi Jon, federfachmann.de / DFF also supplied our Marquart shocks because the standard ones would not fit after the lift. We have not had any decent miles on them but they seem high quality and they are paired to our lifted springs. They are pretty standard but well priced, I am not sure how rebuildable they will be as everything seems sealed up on them. Custom valved / build shocks for your truck would seem overkill to me, to make them worthwhile you would have to have damping and compression adjustments available in the drivers cab I think and I know those systems on LRs cost an arm and a leg.

For more mobility and axle articulation we went for a lift with out parabolics (not exactly sure how this will work out in the end), we do the same on land rovers with live axles for the same reason, as you know you do not really get any more ground clearance but you do get articulation and better approach / departure angles that sway bars sometimes limit with standard ride heights.