Technical Ducato Rear Suspension Upgrade 2014 2.3

[SBQ]

Photos of my Fiat Ducato campervan that i've owned since new (2014), UK import to NZ. It's an RV conversion done by Swift, model Forte and from what I learned, they used the lighter duty chassis instead of the heavier duty MAXI vans more commonly found today.

Last month the annual WOF (MOT) inspection showed that the rear leaf springs are touching the rubber stoppers. It did not appear to me that the van was sagging in the rear as it stood pretty much 'level'. With the limited payload capacity, my thoughts were the suspension needs to be upgraded. I also learned that that Fiat design does not have much clearance off the rubber stopper.

Living in NZ, options are limited and the suspension shop advise there's no point replacing or resetting the original factory leaf springs because it will sag again. The premise has their own foundry and spring fabrication so they insist to add another leaf spring which should provide a higher heavy duty pay load on the van.

I should mention about the tires. I had a post some years ago in this forum about my complaint about the 'low ground clearance' in these Ducato vans. Originally came with 15" wheels on R70 profile size tires (whereas the larger Maxi models come in 16"), I could not settle on keeping the same. So earlier in the year when the original tires were due for replacement, I went with the Fiat 16" alloy wheels and larger profile tires R75. That made a HUGE difference to the ground clearance and now my Thule motorised step by the sliding door is less likely to be scraping the speed bumps. OUCH!

Anyways back to my main concern. How high is too high? Because the van has an overly 'high-end' stance that reminds me of the van used in the 80s TV show 'The A-Team'. It may have an affect on the efficiency of the LPG fridge as it's less likely to be level. Following photos show the added clearance between the rubber stopper and the leaf spring (at least 3")

The van has only done 88,000 kms (50,000 miles) but it's had a hard life carrying heavy stock most of the time on our poorly maintained, rough roads. Welcome to any thoughts.

 

[deejays]

Photos of my Fiat Ducato campervan that i've owned since new (2014), UK import to NZ. It's an RV conversion done by Swift, model Forte and from what I learned, they used the lighter duty chassis instead of the heavier duty MAXI vans more commonly found today.

Last month the annual WOF (MOT) inspection showed that the rear leaf springs are touching the rubber stoppers. It did not appear to me that the van was sagging in the rear as it stood pretty much 'level'. With the limited payload capacity, my thoughts were the suspension needs to be upgraded. I also learned that that Fiat design does not have much clearance off the rubber stopper.

Living in NZ, options are limited and the suspension shop advise there's no point replacing or resetting the original factory leaf springs because it will sag again. The premise has their own foundry and spring fabrication so they insist to add another leaf spring which should provide a higher heavy duty pay load on the van.

I should mention about the tires. I had a post some years ago in this forum about my complaint about the 'low ground clearance' in these Ducato vans. Originally came with 15" wheels on R70 profile size tires (whereas the larger Maxi models come in 16"), I could not settle on keeping the same. So earlier in the year when the original tires were due for replacement, I went with the Fiat 16" alloy wheels and larger profile tires R75. That made a HUGE difference to the ground clearance and now my Thule motorised step by the sliding door is less likely to be scraping the speed bumps. OUCH!

Anyways back to my main concern. How high is too high? Because the van has an overly 'high-end' stance that reminds me of the van used in the 80s TV show 'The A-Team'. It may have an affect on the efficiency of the LPG fridge as it's less likely to be level. Following photos show the added clearance between the rubber stopper and the leaf spring (at least 3")

The van has only done 88,000 kms (50,000 miles) but it's had a hard life carrying heavy stock most of the time on our poorly maintained, rough roads. Welcome to any thoughts.

Might be worth checking how much rebound travel you have as it will be limited by the existing damper rebound travel. I added airbag assist to the single leaf spring, and at the same time fitted custom Bilstein dampers with extra rebound travel to accommodate.

 

[freelanderuk]

You can buy air assisted rear suspension kits for these vans , give a better ride hide and fully adjustable to suit your needs , relatively simple to DIY fit

 

[MSjoberg]

The rubber "stoppers" are not solid stops but actually an active part of the suspension, probably not intended to be active as much as they are on many light chassie RV:s with almost constant full load.

A coil spring kit is an alternative to air assisted kits.

 

[deejays]

Photos of my Fiat Ducato campervan that i've owned since new (2014), UK import to NZ. It's an RV conversion done by Swift, model Forte and from what I learned, they used the lighter duty chassis instead of the heavier duty MAXI vans more commonly found today.

Last month the annual WOF (MOT) inspection showed that the rear leaf springs are touching the rubber stoppers. It did not appear to me that the van was sagging in the rear as it stood pretty much 'level'. With the limited payload capacity, my thoughts were the suspension needs to be upgraded. I also learned that that Fiat design does not have much clearance off the rubber stopper.

Living in NZ, options are limited and the suspension shop advise there's no point replacing or resetting the original factory leaf springs because it will sag again. The premise has their own foundry and spring fabrication so they insist to add another leaf spring which should provide a higher heavy duty pay load on the van.

I should mention about the tires. I had a post some years ago in this forum about my complaint about the 'low ground clearance' in these Ducato vans. Originally came with 15" wheels on R70 profile size tires (whereas the larger Maxi models come in 16"), I could not settle on keeping the same. So earlier in the year when the original tires were due for replacement, I went with the Fiat 16" alloy wheels and larger profile tires R75. That made a HUGE difference to the ground clearance and now my Thule motorised step by the sliding door is less likely to be scraping the speed bumps. OUCH!

Anyways back to my main concern. How high is too high? Because the van has an overly 'high-end' stance that reminds me of the van used in the 80s TV show 'The A-Team'. It may have an affect on the efficiency of the LPG fridge as it's less likely to be level. Following photos show the added clearance between the rubber stopper and the leaf spring (at least 3")

The van has only done 88,000 kms (50,000 miles) but it's had a hard life carrying heavy stock most of the time on our poorly maintained, rough roads. Welcome to any thoughts.

Just noticed that your spring installer has left your handbrake cable floating free of the spring mount. Would be a good idea to get that fixed to prevent the handbrake cable flailing about.

 

[jackwhoo]

As pointed out by another reply ,They are not bump stops, they are foam spring assisters. I would expect an rv spring to be touching or very close to touching the foam due to weight.

Has the ride at the rear has become quite harsh ?

 

[SBQ]

Just noticed that your spring installer has left your handbrake cable floating free of the spring mount. Would be a good idea to get that fixed to prevent the handbrake cable flailing about.

Both of the handbrake cables are held by a wire spring clip that is attached to the rubber bump stop. My only concern with this is that the cable will be in constant movement each time the leaf spring hits the rubber stop. Unless Fiat did not intend this to happen often and thus the rubber stop is not an active part of the suspension?



Video above shows his hand brake cables are no longer held on the original bumper stops as they've been replaced with Sumo Spring bumpers. Uncertain if this is critical as he used zip ties lower down. Interestingly, 1 side of the spring is compressed and chose to fix the root problem of a compressed leaf spring with a double leaf spring used in the Fiat Maxi vans.

I have not done a long road trip yet but will do so in 2 weeks time. Then in Nov I will do a major road trip where we will be carrying heavy stock. This van over the years has become a heavy work horse and perhaps, the double leaf spring upgrade should have been done at the start.

Later in the year or next year I have another repair job which may be more significant. The front strut tower mounts sounds like they're compressed as I can hear certain 'widdle like' sounds as I turn the steering wheel. Most noticeable when moving forward and back in a parking area.

UPDATE: I've removed the spring retainer and bent it to shape so it holds at the top most part of the rubber stopper. I prefer cable to not be resting or touching the leaf spring for each time you hit a large bump.

 

[HughJampton]

The leaf springs close to or contacting the spring assisters (not bump stops) is an entirely normal situation, and is part of the design.

A number of people have, in the past, had motorhomes "fail" an MOT in the UK as the tester deemed the suspension overloaded (particularly prevalent on Sevel vehicles - Ducato/Boxer/Relay).

Following complaints, MOT guidance was issued sometime around 2013 clarifying the situation, and negating such failure (except under patently extreme cases).

It is summarised here:

The knowledge: Spring assisters and bump stops – Matters of Testing

Official advice and information about MOT testing from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

mattersoftesting.blog.gov.uk

 

[SBQ]

The leaf springs close to or contacting the spring assisters (not bump stops) is an entirely normal situation, and is part of the design.

A number of people have, in the past, had motorhomes "fail" an MOT in the UK as the tester deemed the suspension overloaded (particularly prevalent on Sevel vehicles - Ducato/Boxer/Relay).

Following complaints, MOT guidance was issued sometime around 2013 clarifying the situation, and negating such failure (except under patently extreme cases).

It is summarised here:

The knowledge: Spring assisters and bump stops – Matters of Testing

Official advice and information about MOT testing from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

mattersoftesting.blog.gov.uk

Thanks for the very informative reply. I initially had thoughts that this was the case with my van and that even though the leaf spring was touching on the spring arresting, the overall level of the van was pretty.. level. Now my loading height is like 6" higher or more on the rear. In my early investigation, I visited the local RV place that deals in Ducato / Swift sales and they said that they send all their 2nd hand RVs that have a touching spring assisters to the suspension shop they recommended to me. Since we are talking maybe 1 or 2" of factory clearance, that is not going to change the overall stance of the van height. You would be tough to see a 1" difference on the rear? Perhaps i've been a victim of being farmed out on unnecessary repairs? Hence my reason for posting here.

As in the YouTube video above, even the installation of an after market spring assister (yellow), the owner still went to installing a double leaf spring. This means that there's not a lot that the spring assister will do when carrying heavy loads. The real benefit is by simply upgrading to a heavier duty leaf spring.

I also noticed all new polyurethane bushes have been installed on both ends of the leaf spring. In my experience polyurethane gives a tougher, more firm ride. But as I mentioned before, we constantly over weight the van carry inventory stock (in addition to the camping gear, bedding, clothing, water, sewage etc).