Whew - I thought I was the only one who wondered why .
As an engineer, Ozjohn, wouldn't the 'shocker' be likely to be more effective in 'suppressing/controlling' weight transfer on the towball if it were placed on top of the "standard receiver" shown in the diagram?
At the moment, as I see it, with downward weight on the towball, the shocker is 'relieved' of weight, and will only 'compress' or take up weight when the weight comes off the towball. Would the introduction of a 'shock absorber' in anyway interfer with the effectiveness of a WDH?
I am not an engineer or qualified in such matters, so by observation only I did wonder what the purpose of the 'shocker' actually performs in practice.
Cheers - John
justcruisin01 said
12:25 AM Nov 11, 2012
rockylizard wrote:
ozjohn wrote:
Why!
Gday...
Whew - I thought I was the only one who wondered why .
As an engineer, Ozjohn, wouldn't the 'shocker' be likely to be more effective in 'suppressing/controlling' weight transfer on the towball if it were placed on top of the "standard receiver" shown in the diagram?
At the moment, as I see it, with downward weight on the towball, the shocker is 'relieved' of weight, and will only 'compress' or take up weight when the weight comes off the towball. Would the introduction of a 'shock absorber' in anyway interfer with the effectiveness of a WDH?
I am not an engineer or qualified in such matters, so by observation only I did wonder what the purpose of the 'shocker' actually performs in practice.
Cheers - John
The way I see it the tow ball adaptor is mounted via two adjustable pins to set the required height.
The red section is connected to the 50mm hitch via a piviot pin so the down load is actually compressing the air bag. To fit the unit it looks like you deflate the air bag, raise the towball section which will lower the air bag & the top mount plate to allow the 50mm hitch to slide into the tow bar, then the top plate & air bag will sit under the tow bar. Inflate air bag.
I beleive these are used more on trucks where there is a lot of pitching upwards due to a longer overhang of the chassis to the rear axle. Dont think it would be necessary on the normal tow vehicle.
JC.
ozjohn said
12:37 AM Nov 11, 2012
Hiya John, While not in the realm of my expertise I doubt if it has any (or little) weight transfer effect. I see it more as an anti vibration unit that could be quite effective on corrugated roads etc. Probably best suited to light trucks such as F150 - F250, Silverado's etc. I doubt that its effects would be noticeable on a Patrol towing a van, but could be useful with a tent trailer.
Like the OP, I'd really like to read some feedback from someone that's used one for awhile. Cheers, ozjohn.
turbopete said
09:19 AM Nov 11, 2012
i read an article which stated that" air bag units have proved to prevent/ reduce goose neck cracking on 5th wheelers",,,,, shock absorber units for caravans have been available in USA for a long time,, i dont think that cracking of drawer bars is particularily prevalent but if the unit made for a less jerky ride over corugations the it will be a good thing to use why not
-- Edited by turbopete on Sunday 11th of November 2012 09:20:15 AM
Bamboo said
06:32 PM Dec 15, 2012
Hi,
I'm using it to off-set the vibration transmitted into the van from the towing vehicle. It was found by GeistOwners that Geist vans towed with soft ride Wagons, etc. Did not get chassis cracking; whereas 4 WD type vehicles were. As I have a strengthened Navara suspension I decided to play it safe.
I have had it now for two months & the ride is exceptionally good.
The only issue is bottoming with the low section under the Hayman Reece.
With Regards, Bamboo. PS: I have been unable to login for two months. Just recently found my password.
turbopete said
03:02 PM Dec 16, 2012
I had password problems in the early comp days,,,then figured out that one password for everything except money matters ,,banking etc when banking came on stream would solve the problem hahaha
problem now is trying to remember which site uses a different - user name- to my regular user name which was not always available, ,,i have now completley stuffed the system by changing from optus
to big pond ,,,, probably using/ confusing the brain staves off dimentia ,,, maybe
Bamboo said
02:27 PM Mar 20, 2014
Further up date on Shocker Hitch after 2 years of operation; attached to a Navara and pulling a Geist LV660 van.
I recently discovered cracks in the rails of our van, but the drawbar is holding together well without further issues.
The van definitely has visual vertical movement, independent of the vehicle, and maybe this is putting more compression onto the van base? Anyone else with experience with airbags attached to vehicles towing vans, welcome to comment.
I am about to add a Shocker hitch to the tongue of my caravan towing vehicle. A Nissan Navara.
Has anyone had experience towing with such a device. If so, please comment. I will be a newbie using such an device.
With Regards, Bamboo
Why!
Gday...
Whew - I thought I was the only one who wondered why
.
As an engineer, Ozjohn, wouldn't the 'shocker' be likely to be more effective in 'suppressing/controlling' weight transfer on the towball if it were placed on top of the "standard receiver" shown in the diagram?
At the moment, as I see it, with downward weight on the towball, the shocker is 'relieved' of weight, and will only 'compress' or take up weight when the weight comes off the towball. Would the introduction of a 'shock absorber' in anyway interfer with the effectiveness of a WDH?
I am not an engineer or qualified in such matters, so by observation only I did wonder what the purpose of the 'shocker' actually performs in practice.
Cheers - John
The way I see it the tow ball adaptor is mounted via two adjustable pins to set the required height.
The red section is connected to the 50mm hitch via a piviot pin so the down load is actually compressing the air bag. To fit the unit it looks like you deflate the air bag, raise the towball section which will lower the air bag & the top mount plate to allow the 50mm hitch to slide into the tow bar, then the top plate & air bag will sit under the tow bar. Inflate air bag.
I beleive these are used more on trucks where there is a lot of pitching upwards due to a longer overhang of the chassis to the rear axle. Dont think it would be necessary on the normal tow vehicle.
JC.
Hiya John,
While not in the realm of my expertise I doubt if it has any (or little) weight transfer effect.
I see it more as an anti vibration unit that could be quite effective on corrugated roads etc.
Probably best suited to light trucks such as F150 - F250, Silverado's etc.
I doubt that its effects would be noticeable on a Patrol towing a van, but could be useful with a tent trailer.
Like the OP, I'd really like to read some feedback from someone that's used one for awhile.
Cheers, ozjohn.
i read an article which stated that" air bag units have proved to prevent/ reduce goose neck cracking on 5th wheelers",,,,, shock absorber units for caravans have been available in USA for a long time,, i dont think that cracking of drawer bars is particularily prevalent but if the unit made for a less jerky ride over corugations the it will be a good thing to use why not
-- Edited by turbopete on Sunday 11th of November 2012 09:20:15 AM
problem now is trying to remember which site uses a different - user name- to my regular user name which was not always available, ,,i have now completley stuffed the system by changing from optus
to big pond ,,,, probably using/ confusing the brain staves off dimentia ,,, maybe
I recently discovered cracks in the rails of our van, but the drawbar is holding together well without further issues.
The van definitely has visual vertical movement, independent of the vehicle, and maybe this is putting more compression onto the van base? Anyone else with experience with airbags attached to vehicles towing vans, welcome to comment.