I have a 1986 camper van with al-co suspension. It is lower at the back than expected and I am checking it out. I have read it up and greasing (with a power greaser) is recommended as it can be missed on servicing.
What I would like to know is how the shock absorbers / dampers work. They appear to extend when the hub is loaded – this appears to go against all my knowledge of how a shock absorber works. Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks
can you be a bit more specific?? when you say ALKO chassis, is it just the extension to your motorhome or is it fitted with twin(tag axle) axles at the back? if so you may have the torsion bar system which you mentioned above, need a good greasing at least twice a year regardless of how much you use the camper, the shocks either work or they don't, take one off the vehicle and extend it to the full, now push it in, if a resistance is felt there is nothing wrong with it, on the other hand if it just goes back easily, throw it away and replace the two or four if as I said its a tag axle, hope this helped a bit.
Thanks very much both of you. The fact that the shock absorbers are double acting working both ways answers my question. As for the greasing I have heard this before and that a power grease gun is best.