Hey guys, I’m looking at purchasing a new Lotus Trooper with ATX suspension. On the owners forum there’s a number of reports of ATX failures. Primarily bolts falling out of the shock mounts. Is this something Cruisemaster are across and putting in place solutions.
Hi there, we are unaware of any manufacturing faults regarding ATX shock bolts. Typically a failing shock bolt is due to a loss of clamping force, this can be due to not torquing to manufacturer specs or degradation of the mount service (paint or gal build up being worn down). In most cases something that can be avoided with proper maintenance.
I did the Gibb from Brissy 6 mths ago with our Lifestyle Reconn with Cruisemaster suspension, The Gibb was easy as we went through on the 4th day after it opened
Wonder what you break this time. Watched all previous RAT runs. Have neighbour with your XT suspension in his single axle van weighing up to 2.6 tonnes. I service it. Has done really well over the last 5 years in many areas of Australia including the Gibb and all through the Centre. But Jim drives to the conditions but it is still tough going. Retired mechanic/machinist in SW Sydney.
Just completed the Gibb with the ATX Suspension on a 3.7 Tonne Van, went all the way to Kalumbaru, handled it with a breeze, great product, easy to grease and check over happy so far.
When driving along a flat road, the caravan should be roughly level except that it could tilt down a bit rather than up. The movements demonstrated by the brown standard 50mm hitch should be indicative of driving over speed bumps, driveways and maybe minor off road stuff, not allowing for differences in height between the vehicle towball and the caravan hitch. The caravan I have ordered comes with a standard 50mm hitch for use in caravan parks mainly. The DO35 clearly is for off road use. I can't see that I will need one.
Great video thanks. Just thinking about the 1mm toe-in specification for the front wheels. Has this value been set to account for the fact that it is only practical to place the straight edge across the top of the wheel? If it was feasible to do the measurement across the full diameter would the toe-in specification be say 2mm?
That standard measurement for a 50 mm ball does not take into account the aspect of the trailer. Surely if the trailer is level and the height of the ball is above the stated height, it should comply. We all know that the aspect of the trailer has a lot to do with trailer / caravan handling?
You don’t show a connected trailer. 4177 says when trailer connected. So your demo vehicle is legal when not connected to a trailer. Bad explanation of definitive regulations.
Yeah, and my Pajero Sport is 520mm at centre of towball. That's without the van attached. I pick up my 16' Jayco in a couple of weeks and I will take my tape measure with me and see how much it drops with 170kg of towball download.
Thanks for the info but I think it could have been delivered more simply. Like others in the comments I was left wondering at the end whether the DO35 had height restrictions or not.
I see this video is a bit old. Is this the same process for the Crusiemaster ATX Disc brake setup? Also, Since I am in the USA and have your awesome ATX suspension under my X195 Trailer (caravan), where can I find replacements (spare parts) over here?
Instead of paying the fortune for a new 300 series I've gone the other way and bought a decent 80 series which I'm going through and replacing all the worn out stuff on, I could put 10 rebuilt engines and transmissions through the 80 for the cost of a 300 and it's a joy to own, looks better and won't depreciate as they're collectable now....oh and the 80 is cool 😂
One aspect of GVM upgrades that no one seems to cover is are the mods approved by the vehicle manufacturer? If not and let's say the vehicle is still under warranty, who covers the cost of repairs or replacement to a component, e.g., a transmission or engine failure that is directly attributable to carrying/towing a load over and above the vehicle manufacturer's limits? I'm pretty sure the manufacturer won't. Will the GVM kit manufacturer cover it? I doubt it.
I have a 2013 RR Sport supercharged and I take it out on Fort Fisher beach in North Carolina which is very deep sand, and with tire pressure at 15 (street tires) and sand mode it is flawless. Zero problems. So whatever the achilles heel is for RR and sand, I have not experienced it.
it astounds me that you spend so much on these cars when you purchases them new and you still need to upgrade suspension etc to make them tow a 3500kg van safely. Why don't Toyota make something that is more than capable without having to do any alterations?
