What is most stable part of van

Submitted: Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:30
ThreadID: 120391 Views:3260 Replies:4 FollowUps:0
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A question came up as what is the best place in a van for storage of breakables, eg; front over draw bar, the middle over wheels, or the rear we thought the front, am I right??
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Reply By: Deleted User - Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:32

Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:32
If you are talking about shear movement from the van suspension, the closer to the front the less the movement. Imagine a string line from your towbar extending out the same length as your van ....place a ruler vertically at the centre point of the axles ..grab string at the end say 8 m away for a BT18. Have someone else at ruler and move through say 90mm down and 90mm up about the same amount as the suspension can travel. That will give an idea of the range of movement ..all pivoting from the a-frame coupling. You might get a shock at how much it moves at the rear. The other cause of movement in a van is the coupling going up and down because of vehicle suspension movement. This amount can be simulated with the jockey wheel. The best place for stuff for this kind of movement is over the axles ...the pivot point. As a compromise anywhere from the axle centreline to the front is the least movement. You could even say ...on smooth highways pack delicates over axles because movement is mainly from vehicle wallowing. When on rough roads at lower speed and van suspension is working hard pack towards front with sensitive gear. I've accidentally left non breakable stuff on the beside table in BT while travelling and it is still there when stopped ..... stuff (books etc) packed reasonably well on rear bunk has been on the floor. Regards Anthony Explore this Great Land ...Do it Easy ...Tow a Bushtracker
AnswerID: 561152

Reply By: Noosa Fox - Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:33

Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:33
I had a computer printer in the rear cupboard, and for some reason it no longer works. It was a silly place to put it really. Our Television was fixed down over the axels and that had to be repaired 3 times when bits rattled loose, so if things are really delicate, don't leave them tied down anywhere in the van. Have them packed so that they can bounce a little on a soft surface like our TV that now travels on the mattress with pillows around it, or if you have the luxury of being able to put them in the car do that. Anyone with a rear wardrobe will tell you that they find it almost impossible to keep hangers on the rail, while our front wardrobe never bounces hangers off. I have watched how much a BT bounces on rough roads and it was no where near as much as most other vans, so some vans must have some breakages. Brian
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AnswerID: 561153

Reply By: Deleted User - Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:34

Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:34
I see of photos of BT's with LCD TV's fixed on
the wall how well do they ride?
If we had one fixed with a rotating arm where is
the best position along the BT?
AnswerID: 561154

Reply By: Motley - Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:35

Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 02:35
We have an LCD Monitor fiwed to a panel on the bed side of the fridge (see Motley's pics) Whave covered sereral thousand kms of rough road, including Birdsville Track and some even rougher corrugations through Northern Territory and Qld Gulf. So far, no problems at all. Now where is the great big lump of wood I need to touch at this stage???
Motley

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AnswerID: 561155

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