NOMADICISTA

Very cool

I decided to reduce some of the condensation by adding an extraction vent over the stove top. It works really well , even though there is no fan in the duct , the quantity of hot air out the vent is more than you can put your hand over the outlet.

Well . it's been a while ...............
I have been looking at improving the trucks stability with the camper on.

I have a 25mm rear sway bar (stolen from the front of one of my old mercedes )that has helped the truck stability LOTS over no bar .
However , there is still too much movement for my comfort while driving .

I have just got a 31mm bar from a wrecked Landcruiser , I have made a new chassis mount and new links to suit

So I made the new chassis mount and links , and was dismayed at the small improvement when I rocked the truck by hand, VERY small !

I thought I had wasted my time . However , I needed to go out , so I took the truck.

It seems that the 31mm bar has a little give , then goes really hard , I think with a small length adjustment in the arm , it will be good for my purpose.

On a technical note , the 25mm bar , with its' length and arm length has a strength (tech term LOL) of 283
The 31mm bar , is shorter with longer arms , strength 297 , barely any difference I thought , on paper , interesting in real life though. And there I was thinking I would have to double the numbers to get good effect .

Part of my test drive was down a corrugated shingle road , The difference in stability (including axle tramp control) is significant to the point where I was able to travel nearly twice as fast . Kinda interesting eh.
I've changed the soft rubber bushes for urethane , the difference is small but noticeable , it's getting better .

However ........

I have now noticed an interesting handling effect . The truck is definitely twitchier, that is , more sensitive in a general driving condition (wants to yaw under slight provocation) and wants to oversteer a little .

I think I have 2 options here ,
1/ increase the front factory bar a bit .

2/ somewhat more complicated ... change the location of the chassis mount from in front of the diff , to somewhere rear of the diff . Theory being that the chassis will flex different when loaded further aft.

To be continued ........

Hi Dusty. Any improvement is good so I think you are on the right track. You no doubt have considered double action shocks -- the kind that work both on the up and down stroke.. I found them helpful on several of my early (70's) Chevy Suburban 4 X 4's. Jack

Thanks for your thoughts Jack , and yes , I have some big shocks there .

Just thought to add a pic of the 25mm Mercedes bar and my home made mount that I removed , the 31mm bar is mounted the same , just 100mm further forward on the chassis.



edit , gotta fix the date on the camera , eh.

I did the arithmetic on that. That is a hefty sway bar indeed. Do you have them both front and rear? Jack

Jack , the truck came with a small (19mm) front bar originally and was the first year for such an item on Chevy pickup , I am considering increasing its size a few mm.

After my initial try with the 25mm rear bar , I checked under the '55 Chev camper (center of pic) and the owner/builder has used a 32mm bar , his camper is heavier than mine , but I have a lighter more flexible chassis , so it is calculated guess work really.



The '49 chev in the front has a 27mm rear bar, it has a pretty soft sway to it.

You got my curiosity up so I measured the front sway bar on my Isuzu framed bus--it is 41.275mm and is as solid as a rock. I'll have to crawl under to measure the rear sway bar.

I really like the look of that '55 Chevy. I wonder, does the same guy own all three of those Chevy conversions? Jack

Well , 41mm sure is huge but that is a truck chassis ?? right. Made for big loads etc.

The chevs are father, son and daughter. Darn impressive . All built by the family.

I decided to change the rear bar mount . It has taken a while to get into this as winter is intruding and I am over laying under the truck in the frost (too old) .

This weekend I have moved the sway bar mounts on my cross member aft by 40mm , then made new links to suit. Effectively shortening the sway bar arms by 50mm.

The difference is noticeable , I think I like it , I have only been for a short run down the road , so proper testing during the week is going to happen , but it is looking promising .

Still have to make proper link joints (firm yet flexible) still grinding the gears in my head

Huge thanks to Stuart for getting the forum back online .

In my efforts to keep the old truck working well , especially on this big trip in January, I have added some security to the rear springs .

I have had the 2nd leaf removed and replaced with a slightly longer leaf with a 1/4 wrap.

Springs as removed


New leaf with wrap


I did new pins and bushings also .

Good idea! That's the way my late model Isuzu springs are. You don't much have to worry about what could happen if a master leaf broke.
Jack

I was very clever and ripped a shoulder tendon .................... bloody annoying that pain was ! I thought my big trip south was going to be off.


I had a cortizone injection in my shoulder and the trip to Edendale was a breeze .....

WELL , except for a couple of moments , LOL.

The drive to Tekapo https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=&...Q ... 3vsAbbsNRM: was nice , weather clear and warm , traffic light.
No stress





The road to Haldon Station is mostly tar sealed now , so that was a pleasant surprise , but the Hakataramea Pass is still back country gravel and the dust is like talcom powder



All good though .

The attempt to do Danseys Pass was thwarted by the 137mm of rain the previous day , washed a culvert out and we had a 3hr detour.
After the long drive back thru the pig route we got into the danseys via the back door

Had a fabulous meal at the coach inn
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/uv?hl...d ... oioItAEwDg

After that I really had no idea where we were going , several hills and valleys later (all gravel roads) we passed thru St Bathans
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attra..._ ... sland.html
What followed was really a trip on a goat track ,

it was very interesting as a technical drive , 'cause the drop off the edge was a darn long way down if you missed the only place to put a wheel.
12 gates to open and shut , some on the bloody steep part of the track.
A gorgeous evening beside Lake Dunstan
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazin ... ke-dunstan

Then off over the Nevis Road , this is really why I took part in this trip .
The Nevis is the highest formed rd in NZ which means that it gets a grader over part of it occasionally .
The sign at the start of the road says 24kms and 25 crossings !



Well , the first 20 were ok , some a bit interesting , but ok.



Then we got to the bit where the rain had made a difference .

The river bank was scoured out badly , perhaps a meter drop into another meter of water . It looked like a long drive back to a main road.
Total surprise when a farmer arrived in a 4x4 tractor with a blade on the front and spent some time excavating the bank and filling in the crossing so we could get thru.



He wouldn't even take a beer for it
It turned out his father was bringing a baler thru the next day and the access was for that.
He was still our hero of the day.

There were a few breakages in that latter stage , I had a sway bar link brake and a f100 had the steering box mount bolts go away , most every one spent some time on either end of a rope.

Sort of stuff I used to do in a Landcruiser when we were young and foolish

I'm just painting the running board after having the crunch in it repaired.

The truck went REALLY well

Wow, looks like fun, great pictures, thanks for posting. I'd love to try something like that.

Hey Dusty. What a great trip you had through such beautiful scenery. You are braver than I. Back in the day I'd head out in any direction in my old 4x4 Carryall and never concern myself with break downs--If it broke I'd fix it. No big deal. Now, I hesitate to drive Honeysuckle Rose in the rain much less off the paved road .

Of course I recognize your little beauty but what is the story on the great looking black and yellow rig following you?

We are planning to accompanying a group of "real buses" (MCI's etc) to Nevada in March and then on the first of May, heading out by ourselves to Yosemite California rains and flooding permitting.

Thanks for the interesting post and pictures. Jack