Caravan bottoming out

Hi . My nextdoor neighbour had the same problem , I see he has a pair of 4 or 5" wheels mounted on/under the rear, and it just lifts the van up as he goes in and out.
They are the cast solid rubber ones .
seems to work Ok.
Cheers Des.

Perhaps you could construct a pair of ramps that you could place under front of wheels at the required point so as to raise the rear of the van as you drive up the steep part of the driveway. I gather the new van is not the Off Road Coromal with high rear end shown in the profile.
Bob

Have you considered putting the axle under the springs, that is if it isn't already there ?
pd

Your suggested solution might cause severe van damage, in that asking the rear end of the van to temporarily support weight that the road wheels normally carry is way out of spec. You could damage the chassis or at least over-flex it and damage the van's body structure. As for the drop down legs - even if the chassis could take weight there, the legs are not designed to carry much at all - they are not 'jacks' - and if they were to snag, they might damage more than themselves (mountings). How about temporary steel plates across the driveway's low spot to lessen the angle when moving in and out ? BTW - I have seen the whole of a down-sloping driveway made level with a steel beam and ramp structure (like some retail car yards use to elevate and feature a vehicle) - the 'levelled' space was used for parking a larger van....I only mention it, to illustrate the idea of temporarily remodelling a driveway.

G'day Lifethics
You could use two small low profile hydraulic jacks with a spreader plate at the top to spread the load and by placing the jacks between the axle and the chassis you can raise the height of the caravan to give more clearance. Make sure, if you have shocks, that the shocks are dropped off at the lower end so the temporary raise can be done.

Works on both independent suspension and beam axle too.

If a dual axle apply to the axle which will give the most beneficial amount of lift. I would imagine it to be the rear axle but depending on the profile of the terrain you may have to use the front axle.
You must make sure no point loading is applied to just one spot on the chassis though and the spreader will have to have some serious consideration as to it's strength and profile. Possible a heavy angle iron spreader which has a deep side wall.

I would look at air bag bellows to lift the van for that time only, you could hook it up remotely so you just have to stop raise and away you go

Mate,
if you have plenty of clearance at your tow hitch when starting your transition from flat to climb then you could use a dropped tow hitch to lower the front of the van and raise the back.

It may just dive you enough clearance.



RA.

Wouldn't wheels just exacerbate the problem by their diameter?

Maybe you could use 12mm nylon pads which would be sacrificial, they would be very long lasting & also be easily & cheaply replaced.

You probably don't wan t to admit it but your missus' idea has merit.
Our local garage has a steep entry angle and most modern cars scraped their bottom and nose going in and out.
He laid a concrete 'plank' in front of the gutter (on the road) and that provided enough lift for the cars to stop scraping. Wasn't very high and the cars just rode up a rounded edge and spanned the gap between the gutter and the road. No water blocking as there was a gap in the gutter.

Try her idea with different thicknesses of board one day by moving back and forwards and watching the height at the back of the van.

It can be left as a permanent solution.

Bill