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Subject Topic: Airmuscle Caravan Steady Ties
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PersonPixie_Hez
06/5/2018 at 7:53am
 Location: Liverpool
 Outfit: Swift Challenger 560 View Pixie_Hez's Profile View Profile   Reply to Pixie_Hez Reply   Quote Pixie_Hez Quote  
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I have recently been investigating ways to decrease the wobble in our new caravan when it is pitched. This is our third caravan and we did not have this problem with either of the first two vans so I am pretty confident that it is not due to the way we have put the corner steadies down. We have tried the steadies in various firmnesses but it makes no difference at all to the very distinct and annoying shake in the van any time anyone moves about.

So, I have been looking on forums to see if others have this issue and how they have addressed it and I came across a very old post on another forum which mentioned Airmuscle Steady Ties. The person who wrote the post feels that they decrease the wobble quite considerably, however, the company who made them is long gone.

Therefore my questions are

1. Has anyone here used these?
2. Did you find them effective?
3. Do you still have them and if so, could you post a photo of them so that I might consider making my own!
4. Has anyone else found an answer to the caravan wobble (please don't say check your corner steadies are down right as I am confident this is not the problem as we did not have this issue in either of our other 2 vans)

Many thanks for your help.

-------------
Pixie


PersonThe 2 Tops
06/5/2018 at 8:38am
 Location: None Entered
 Outfit: Swift Challenger Sport 524 VW Carave View The 2 Tops's Profile View Profile   Reply to The 2 Tops Reply   Quote The 2 Tops Quote  
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It might help if you told us the make, year and model of your caravan and, if possible a photo of one of the steadies.   If others have the same model and steadies as yourself, and are not having problems, it could be an indication that a deeper rooted fault needs to be addressed.
Steadies are pretty basic items - on firm ground and fully down, no undue movement should occur.
Only guessing here, of course, but (a) could the floor be flexing where it should not? (b) could one or more steadies themselves be flexing instead of being rigid as is required?
Bertie.

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The 2 Tops


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Personblueexpo97
06/5/2018 at 8:50am
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Swift Challenger 560 ??

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XVI yes?

As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.


PersonThe 2 Tops
06/5/2018 at 9:05am
 Location: None Entered
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Quote: Originally posted by blueexpo97 on 06/5/2018
Swift Challenger 560 ??


Sorry, but a bit puzzled why you have submitted this post, blueexpo97. To try and help the OP, it is only HIS caravan that we are interested in.
Bertie.

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The 2 Tops


Personblueexpo97
06/5/2018 at 9:26am
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And is that not what the OP's outfit is, according to HIS profile it is.

Puzzled.

-------------
XVI yes?

As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.


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PersonThe 2 Tops
06/5/2018 at 10:14am
 Location: None Entered
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Sorry, blueexpo97, didn't spot that! My apologies. My own van is a 2012 Swift challenger Sport 524, and I do not have the OP's problem, as I assume you also do not.
So, is it safe to presume that it is not a design fault and that, among the possibilities, my own observations may be pointing towards his problems?
Once a steady is firmly down, any cause for wobble has to either come from the fixings at the top end or the lack of firmness in the van floor, or mechanical failure of a steady/ the steadies themselves. Would you agree?
Bertie.

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The 2 Tops


PersonPixie_Hez
06/5/2018 at 3:54pm
 Location: Liverpool
 Outfit: Swift Challenger 560 View Pixie_Hez's Profile View Profile   Reply to Pixie_Hez Reply   Quote Pixie_Hez Quote  
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Hi, my caravan is a brand new 2018 Swift Challenger 560. It has ordinary standard corner steadies, not heavy duty ones.

Maybe movement is the wrong word to use. What happens is that when I am in bed at the back of the van and my husband is moving about in the front of the van, I can feel the vibrations of his movement. He is not jumping about like mad, he is simply walking around making a coffee or something like that. The vibrations are enough to make the wardrobe doors on either side of the bed rattle as well.

On our previous 2 vans we did not have this problem but they were shorter than our new one so maybe this is just a normal feature of longer vans that we were not aware of.

However, after searching other forums for posts on this issue it does seem that others experience the same thing and the Steady Ties were recommended as a solution; however, as they are no longer made, I am having difficulty envisioning what they were like.

If anyone has ever had them, I'd appreciate some information about what they were like.

-------------
Pixie


PersonThe 2 Tops
06/5/2018 at 5:33pm
 Location: None Entered
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I guess you mean the steadies with a simple U-shaped main leg, rather than those legs which have a wider form. didn't know Swift had changed them.
But we did have similar steadies to yours on an Elddis which we had, and there were no problems with that.
I've never heard of these 'ties' and I am wondering what they looked like, and how they worked.
Bertie.

-------------
The 2 Tops


PersonThe 2 Tops
06/5/2018 at 5:46pm
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On another forum, https://www.practicalcaravan.com a poster who used these ties years ago says he cannot speak highly enough of them, and intends to search for a source and post it on the forum if he is successful. It might be an idea to periodically check the forum in case he is successful.
Bertie.

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The 2 Tops


Personnavver
06/5/2018 at 8:22pm
 Location: West country
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19 feet long on a single axle. Bed right at the very back. I think i would expect some movement to be felt.


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PersonPixie_Hez
06/5/2018 at 8:54pm
 Location: Liverpool
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Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 06/5/2018
On another forum, https://www.practicalcaravan.com a poster who used these ties years ago says he cannot speak highly enough of them, and intends to search for a source and post it on the forum if he is successful. It might be an idea to periodically check the forum in case he is successful.
Bertie.


I saw that post which is what originally got me started thinking about these but unfortunately that post is about 12 years old so the chances of the guy coming back now with a reply are slim!

-------------
Pixie


Personromany
06/5/2018 at 9:49pm
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I have used ordinary ratchet straps on caravan steadies in the past taking them from top on one side to bottom on the other, so if you look from back of the van they should for an x between the steadies.

The method is to wind down both back (or front) steadies until just touching the ground then fit straps across and put some gentle PLEASE NOTE GENTLE tension on them then finish winding down.

It will not remove the more vigorous shaking from wind etc but definitely damps out the more general vibrating.   


Personromany
06/5/2018 at 9:52pm
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Quick warning newer vans steadies can be bolted directly to caravan floor not incorporating any chassis strength at all, the tie down tension system I would not recommend on these


PersonSamP
06/5/2018 at 10:09pm
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Just thinking out loud here.

When pitched, the bulk of a van's weight still rests on its wheels since the steadies (& jockey wheel) aren't designed to carry much weight.

Because the van has a (rudimentary) suspension system, it is always going to give a little when you move about inside.

Many (most?) modern vans today have shock absorbers in addition to the rubber torsion suspension used on Al-co chassis.

Would the addition of shock absorbers increase or decrease the amount of "wobble" that Pixie_Hez is having problems with?

If you jacked up each wheel in turn, & put an axle stand in place, wouldn't this stop the "wobble"?

-------------
SamP


PersonPixie_Hez
07/5/2018 at 7:46am
 Location: Liverpool
 Outfit: Swift Challenger 560 View Pixie_Hez's Profile View Profile   Reply to Pixie_Hez Reply   Quote Pixie_Hez Quote  
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Romany, your idea with the ratchet straps sounds like it might be similar to these Steady ties apart from that the steady ties are made from some sort of galvanised steel cable with a tensioner attached. We have some ratchet straps in the house somewhere so that might be a good first option to try. My husband is a retired engineer so he is not too bad at cobbling things together which is why I really wanted to see a picture of these steady ties so he could perhaps rig up something similar!

-------------
Pixie


PersonPixie_Hez
07/5/2018 at 7:59am
 Location: Liverpool
 Outfit: Swift Challenger 560 View Pixie_Hez's Profile View Profile   Reply to Pixie_Hez Reply   Quote Pixie_Hez Quote  
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SamP, thanks for the ideas. I have also considered whether the wobble might be coming from the suspension. I had a look under the van yesterday and noticed that it does have shock absorbers which I assume our other vans did not as they were both older and more budget range than the challenger. However, I also noticed that accessing the axle would be a complicated task due to the position of the motor mover. I don't want this post to get sucked into a discussion on jacking up the van so I might start a new post about that issue.

However, your mention of axle stands has started me thinking. I know that axle stands, by their very name, are supposed to go under the axle, but I wonder if there would be any benefit in using axle stands to provide some extra stability nearer the back of the chassis. Obviously, not to take any major weight or try to lift the chassis but to simply brace it a bit. Any thoughts?

-------------
Pixie



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