I'm going to assume the 225 and the 240 have the same suspensions, only the 240 is heavier in the stern because of the CAT engine. With a non-trashed suspension, would both coaches measure the same? I know ours has been "beefed", and sits very nicely. I measure 6" from the top of the tire, straight-up to the bulkhead, fore & aft, sitting level, no jacks. Ideas? Comments?
Mike. you say 6" straight up to the bulkhead?? The bulkhead is below and to the front of tires (or rear depending which set you mean)
I think the setting is measured sitting on a level surface and from floor to under the flat area either behind or in front of tire. Not the higher courved area above wheel. The flat section is basically the base of the inside floor of the coach.
JohnH
O.K., "wheel well". Excuse me, John. The point I was making was more directed to a would-be buyer who was inspecting a coach with the torsialistic suspension. Brett has some excellent posts in the forum files on adjusting (shims, etc.), but I was wondering what a "seat of the pants" measurement would be without crawling around underneath. I have seen a lot of 225s and 240s for sale on this forum that looked like "low riders" compared to ours. ^.^d
Yes, the U225 and U240 have the same suspension.
And, as John said you measure from the flat area behind each wheel position that forms the floor of the coach in that area= the top of the wheel well in that area to the ground.
Factory spec is 32-33". To properly evaluate the ride height, record both the dimension at each wheel position AND the number of the 1/4" thick shims at each wheel position.
Yes, there are other things that need to be checked as well, particularly wear in the shackles (the vertical elements coming off the arms that connect to the plate immediately above the shim stack.
If you run into questions, PM me and we can visit by phone.
As with any suspension, ride height is important-- too low and you can crush shocks on compression, get a harsh ride (suspension bottoms out). If too high (unlikely on the Torsilastic unless someone who did not know what they were doing adjusted ride height) shocks can pull apart on extension (take weight of rear axle when the shock reaches full extension. AND too high or too low can put the very short drive shaft in an out of spec angle. In severe cases, wear transmission can occur.
Mike,
There is NO crawling under to check ride height. I use a yard stick cut off at 33" and a 1' ruler and measure standing outside the wheel position. I use the 1' ruler to "extend" the level of the area from which you are measuring forward enough that you can get the yard stick oriented vertically. With a 33" stick is should not take you a full minute to figure out what/where you are measuring.
Again, post both ride height and number of shims at each position if you want a reasonable evaluation of ride height.
And, yes, I have seen (and worked on) a number of those low riders. Some are neglected until ride height is so low that the kick down jacks will not even extend!
Thanks, John and Brett, I get it. I'm going to assume my "initial inspection" idea for newbies is worthless. :-[
Actually mentioning it for new people is not worthless, it is what you where telling them to measure to and from that was worthless.
If you had read Bretts articles he does mention what to measure so I do not see how you thought that the top of wheel well was part of it. The "bulkhead" has been mentioned a zillion times and the location of them also so I find it hard to understand how this item came into the equation?
JohnH
O.K., O.K. John, I stand corrected, Jezz, talk about kicking a guy when he's down! I was not "telling", I was asking for opinions, and , boy howdy, I sure got it from you!
OK, let's move on.
Yes, when posting information (FACTS) we need to be very careful, as it is not reasonable for a newbie to sort through and decide which FACTS are correct and which are "alternate facts".
Yes, both ride height and bulkhead information has been very well documented for many years.
your last word was 'comments". I gave mine.
JohnH