Radflo's & OME 866's

[SanDiegoCruiser]

I just got back from a few days camping in Death Valley and noticed an issue with my rear suspension setup. Granted, my rig was loaded down heavy with a bunch of camping gear, Slee Rear, 10gals of extra gas etc, but the rear Radflo's were bottoming out constantly throughout the trip.

The Radflo's have about 3'' shaft exposed while the bumps stops have about 4'' of travel before they engage. So, the shocks were bottoming out before the bump stops had a chance to protect the shocks.

I'm thinking I need some taller springs like Slee's? I just don't think it is good for the shocks to be constantly bottoming out.

Has anyone experienced this with Radflo's?

 

[Mxndrnks]

There are going to be tradeoffs to changing the springs. A spring that can handle heavier loads will be great when Loaded down. But for dd duty may be too stiff. it will really come down to preference.

We can talk more about it if you want. Give me a call.

Heck, if you want, we can trade rigs for a couple days if you want to experience the stiffer ride.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Thanks Jonathan, but I thought 866's were pretty stiff. It would be nice if Christo published the specs for his Slee springs such as spring rate etc so one could compare them to OME's.

 

[Fallon 40]

I have the 866 springs and non remote 2.5 Radflo’s on the rear of our 100. This past year we drove thru Saline Valley on our DV trip. Before Saline’s famous washboard road they were awesome. I did however destroy the front top shock mounting stud on one shock and loose all the gas in three out of the four shocks driving over the washboard road in Saline Valley…..


Evidently I did not install them correctly when I tightened the top nut up and that caused the gas to escape from the shock. I did not secure the stud by the 4mm flat area on top of the shock and that in turn loosed the seal up in the shock.
The bummer is I had to remove all the shocks to check the pressure in them and that is a PITA.


The good thing is they fixed the shocks, refilled them and explained the proper way to install them. So far I am 100% happy but I have not been thru Saline again….



Maybe you need a little more pressure in them if you did not lose any gas? The best thing would be to call them and talk about your concerns. The one thing that makes me 100% sure I bought the right shocks is there wiliness to help and make sure you are happy with their product. I just wish there was a way to check and fill the shock with gas without having to remove them from the cruiser.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Fallon, can you do me a favor and measure how much open shaft travel you have on your rear shocks? Measure to the beginning of the rubber stopper that is on the shaft.

Thanks

 

[spressomon]

SDC: You do not want to use the shock as a bump stop especially stock location rears regardless of what spring you run. The upper mount isn't all that strong (at least not designed to take bottom out compression forces) and the lower mount is a single sheer mount. Regardless make sure the bump stop takes the complete bottom out before full spring or shock bottom out.

Are you running remote reservoirs on your Radflos? You can run higher NO pressure to get a little more lift and more compression damping if you just need a little more of each when more heavily laden than normal.

FWIW: I never liked the 866 when I ran them especially with variable loads and/or heavier loads than that spring can accommodate. If you run a load a little heavier than what the softer portion of this spring can accommodate these coils will collapse and leave you with, effectively 1/2 a spring. And in the same scenario when in the whoops they unload somewhat unpredictably...not linearly.

 

[Rover4]

Just a quick word about suspension; springs support the weight of the vehicle, shocks dampen the suspension movement. If your rear suspension is bottoming out, look for stiffer springs.

A shock should never bottom out. That's what bumpstops are for. If the shock is bottoming out before the bumpstop, either the shock is not right for your application or the bumpstops need to be modified. Try removing your coil springs and cycle the rear suspension using a floor jack and blocks of wood if necessary. Confirm the bumpstops are protecting the shock.

I met Mike from Radflo at the Off-Road Expo in Pomonoa. Cool guy. He has the LX470. Try calling them up and explain your situation.

 

[Fallon 40]

Fallon, can you do me a favor and measure how much open shaft travel you have on your rear shocks? Measure to the beginning of the rubber stopper that is on the shaft.

Thanks

Will do, I have the Slee rear bumper but nothing in the back right now. When we're loaded down for a weekend I think the springs might be a little soft but I have nothing to compare them to. I do not think I have ever bottomed them out.
Ken

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Will do, I have the Slee rear bumper but nothing in the back right now. When we're loaded down for a weekend I think the springs might be a little soft but I have nothing to compare them to. I do not think I have ever bottomed them out.
Ken

Great, this is exactly how my truck is right now. Empty, with the Slee Rear.

 

[Phx99Cruiser]

I'm also running the OME 866's in the rear with OME shocks, as well. I wasn't necessarily bottoming-out that I could tell with all of my hunting and camping gear loaded up, but I didn't like the sag on the rear of the vehicle and how it affected the handling.

I installed a set of Air Lift Springs to replace the bumpstops - Amazon for $85 bucks or so:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CFS02S/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

The URL is the link to the size/model that the Air Lift rep gave me after taking measurements of the 866's.

It's a good approach if you're happy with the vehicle with no load and just need to beef it up when you're towing or have it loaded with gear, or both.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Air bags are an interesting approach. How hard are they to install?

 

[bluecruiser]

I agree with air bags...gives you the height and ride unloaded that you like and you have the ability to keep that when loaded down by adding air...there are a couple of threads about installing them. I think wrngdog (not sure of sp) did one a while back...

 

[spressomon]

Quick search for "air bags" found this
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/487915-air-lift-1000-install.html

I ran these with the KK trailer and they worked fine for that purpose. You're increasing your effective spring rate when inflated and that's where increasing the Radflo's (2.5" diameter anyway) NO psi to 300psi-ish will get you some compression damping back. Otherwise they can be a little 'bouncy'.

The downside to airbags is they tend to restrict the coils even with only 5psi in them (when you're running your rig without all the gear) and somewhat restrict coil movement/articulation if that matters.

But for many its the lesser of two evils (having two sets of springs).

Dan

 

[Fallon 40]

DS is 3 1/4" & PS is 3 3/8"

I have not measured the distance in my bump stops but I will now.

Ken

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Those are similar measurements that I get. I'm seriously considering the Slee springs as 3 inches of travel is not acceptable. I just have to make sure I can still fit in my garage! I have an inch to spare.

 

[paulbgardner]

You might also consider the second swing out since the tire, gas and trasharoo all hanging way off the back of the truck on a single swig out creates a big lever arm. Moving it back towards sitting over the wheels might help de-amplify the load that the springs see.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Yeah, it the ladder swing out is easy to remove when not being used, I may look into that. Dealing with dual swing outs on a daily driver would get old fast!

 

[Mxndrnks]

It honestly doesnt get old..... I use them every day pulling strollers out. I mean, once you have one swing out... the other is only 2 seconds longer....

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

After further research and suggestion from 3rdCruiser, it appears the 1st 4 coils of the progressive 866 spring are completely compressed and collapsed when the truck is empty. So, it appears it is time for a stiffer spring.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

I ordered some rear Slee springs. After chatting to Christo, I'm going to have a local shop cycle the rear suspension to determine how much my bump stops need extending.