Alko independent suspension for tandem off road c'van

ian
The Alko suspension isnt a load shared design when in tandem. Mate has it on a horse float and if you hook it up to say something a little higher in towball height such as a Cruiser the front axle isnt taking as much weight as the rear axle. But if C'van is set up properly e.g similar height to tow vehicle it could be OK.
As to the battery question, google www.myswag.org and some one has asked the same question with good replies, should be in the electrical section or general technical section.
Cheers Inj.

Ian,
I have had Alko on two rigs, one a camper trailer (Campomatic) and our present Phoenix caravan. Caravan has done around 60000klms. and weighs in at around three ton,s. Have had no trouble to date and as mentioned in previous thread, it is not load sharing and the rig needs to be set up properly ie all level. The only problem that we have had is the hardnes of the ride when tyres are inflated to the roccomended presure, we are now running at 200 kp,s now and it seems quite a lot better. Other than that I would certainly go Alko again, by the way we have travelled on a lot of rough dirt roads eg. Savanah way ans similar
Hope this helps,
Cheers, Bundy.

Ian,
We had the Alko IRS on our tandem Phoenix and will be having it on our Davidson van currently on order. We're sticking with it as it's pretty much bullet proof and that's what matters to us. You can find plenty of reports of other types of suspension failing in one way or another but I'm yet to hear of one failure of the Alko IRS off road spec leaving an owner stranded.

When ordering, the van's GTM needs to be estimated as accurately as possible so that the rubber rating is ordered to suit. If rated too high the ride will be harsh and reduced tyre pressures are needed to compensate. It can also cause tyre wear, usually 'heel & toe', as the camber is also affected.



The Alko's not alone here. Other types of suspension can also suffer tyre wear. Here's another well known off road brand with tyre wear.



Many vans with the Alko IRS fitted have too high a rubber rating. A lot of owners wouldn't even be aware of it. It's seems to have been set for the ATM of the van not the GTM. The missing weight (ball weight) not sitting over the axles isn't providing the required compression on the rubber to allow the suspension to do it's job. This can also be caused by say not running with all water tanks filled which is usually considered in the GTM calculation.

Many vans (including our Phoenix) have had their axles re-rubbered to fix the harsh ride and tyre wear. Not a cheap fix ($3+k) so important to get it right the first time.

Batteries: The AGMs not liking heat mainly relates to charging. The higher temperatures affects correct charging and this combined with the vehicles dumb charger (the alternator) shortens their life.

Fridges: Compressor is really the way to go in an off road van. The 3 ways don't seem to stand up as well on the corrugations.

The http://www.phoenixowners.com/would be worth joining while you're waiting for your van? They're many owners there who have done some serious off road miles and can give you some good advice.

Rgds
John
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Ian,

My hard top camper is only a lightweight at 500KG Tare 750KG GVM but is high clearance.
Bought it second hand off a mate who has taken it through some tough terrain as have I. It has Alko IRS and Bilstein Shocks and tows very well.

My V8 diesel engine bay runs at about 80 deg. I've measured the electrolite in the 2nd battery on a 40 deg day and it runs at 65/70 deg. – AGMs don’t like this type of heat. Century has published studies on under bonnet battery temperatures and won't warranty thier AGM battery for that use.