Look, in all fairness: You should always give the standard girder bar a kick now and then to make sure it is not snapped. It is there as a warning that your tow vehicle is riding too hard, too stiff a rear suspension, too overloaded, or just traveling too hard for the rough conditions. This problem is usually constrained to towing with larger trucks. However, it is a real possibility with a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge, small trucks for instance; with the air bags over the suspension if people are really loading them up too far. When you really load up a Ford with all kinds of gear and tanks and boats and freezers and such, with air bags over to stiffen it up and raise it back up level, it rides very hard in the rear just like a larger truck. In these kinds of conditions I would suggest an invention I came up with some time ago.
My own van has a girder under the a-frame, that is 50mm x 8mm flat bar, on 50mm x 50mm square vertical RHS tubing struts, Towing with my F-250 air bags over, and Mack truck in the worst of conditions, this one will not snap. It works and it looks good too. I would suggest it is the way to go for worry free upgrade to the girder under the a-frame for the larger trucks. Cost? It is only $250 from new, a little more to add on later, but a good strong upgrade. I have been testing it, and it works very well, weight maybe 20-30 kg more, strength probably triple, cheap insurance. Here is what it looks like:
This one is on my van, towed by Fords, Chevs, and a Mack... And here is a close up:
Questions:
Toyota sized tow vehicle or smaller vans? No.. Not necessary...
Why not just change our Production and do it on all vans? There is no need with smaller tow vehicles, so the weight and cost would be a waste. This should only be considered for larger overloaded tow vehicles, with the stiff hard riding suspensions that can shock the van on rutted out tracks.
But for those of you with plans for heavy cargo on the a-frame, or towing with an air-bag over heavy suspension, dual rear wheels, or light or heavy truck suspensions..... You should request it...
"Happy Trails" from the Lone Ranger
