Hi EonMarie,

Welcome to the forum

The van I had before my current independently sprung suspension was a two axle leaf spring load sharing suspension.
The previous owner had that van from new and as you have experienced, he broke a leaf and suffered severe wear on rockers and shackles.
He had shock absorbers fitted and had no more problems.

I toured for 4 years with that van and had no worries and I found it towed very well.
On rough roads we had very little, if any damage to items and fittings inside.
I would most certainly recommend fitting shocks as a worthwhile modification.

My van was not a Brampton brand but the shock absorber addition will only help the quality of travel as well as helping prevent tyre scalloping.
Some other may say not to fit them on rough stony roads because of stone damage but they are easily protected short term with a cut down pool noodle or you could make up metal protectors. Most people dont worry.

I hope this helps

EonMarie wrote:

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Following a broken spring recently, after travelling on some fairly rough roads in my 2013 Retreat Brampton, I feel it a good idea to add shock absorbers to the multiple leaf springs.

Seems a good improvement to me that can only help.? But maybe there is a reason it was not done in the first place other than cost or standard practice.

Have already replaced every spring in the process. Anyone out there got any experience to offer on this please.

Also I do not seem to see many other Brampton models on the road. Anyone else out there have one and if so how have you found it to be as a van?

Eon and Marie

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 As Jonathan has suggested,lowering tyre pressure is critical,but if the springs are tired,you'll still have trouble.Rob has told you of his experience, which is similar to mine. On the Suttor development road one of my spring packs disintegrated,and the  first decent dip I passed through saw the wheel go through the top of the wheel arch.After limping to Mt Coolon I pulled it all apart, and decided that the springs were too light for the job at hand,so I drove to Brisbane and bought 4 new spring packs,each with a rating 40% greater than what had been fitted to the van.Like you,I wondered about fitting shocks,and eventually I fitted 4 EFS shocks. It is critical that you get the someone who knows what he is doing to design the way the shocks are fitted,so they do not bottom out on the compression stroke,or end up effectively carrying the whole axle assembly in the other direction. There has not been any change in the way the van tows,as it has always sat firmly on the road in all situations,but since fitting the new springs,and shocks,I have travelled thousands of kilometres on  sub-standard roads with severe corrugations,and there has been no further problems.Bit late now,but it is important to make sure that the springs you fit are more than capable of handling the load they have to carry.And DON'T be tempted to buy El Cheapo shock absorbers or you'll regret it! Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 17th of November 2021 09:29:45 PM

I'll add one comment and that is "shock adsorbers" are wrongly named.

They are in fact spring dampers and are designed to reduce the number of oscillations of the spring pack to approx 1&1/2 cycles.

 In doing so they actually increase  the forces transmitted to the chassis ,not reduce them.

Alan

 

Slipper leaf spung is the most forgiving on rough roads - common in single axle vans not so common on dual/twin axles.

Personal preference is rocker eye assembly leaf sprung dual/twin axles. best all round setup for all terrains.

Shock absorbers are used mainly on independent suspensions and will require constant re-alignment.

Tyre pressure and speed are the factors that destroy spring assemblies.

Leaf springs have some self dampening due to the friction generated between the leaves and this seems to be why manufacturers often don't fit them. I suspect the real incentive is to save a few bucks. They should have them. If you try driving a leaf sprung car without them you will never question the need again.

Most independent suspensions on caravans are coil springs. They have no spring friction and dampers are essential to maintain control of the suspension, but the dampers will need to work much harder than with leaves, so the will wear out faster and two are often fitted to compensate.
Cheers,
Peter

Possum3 wrote:

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Slipper leaf spung is the most forgiving on rough roads - common in single axle vans not so common on dual/twin axles.

Personal preference is rocker eye assembly leaf sprung dual/twin axles. best all round setup for all terrains.

Shock absorbers are used mainly on independent suspensions and will require constant re-alignment.

Tyre pressure and speed are the factors that destroy spring assemblies.

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If an  "independent suspension"  needs constant re-alignment it must have a major design or assembly  flaw or it has been installed on  a  substandard chassis that has major  flexing problems ......

All springs  "rebound" once released from compression and as such need shock absorbers to control (slow down )  the "rebound "-  other wise the spring and all that it is carrying is subject to a "pogo" effect of constant bouncing (which is detrimental in ,most cases' to the load it is carrying) .  Shock absorbers do a lot of work . They convert the rebound energy to heat and have to dissipate it to the atmosphere hence the reason for them to get very hot -especially on corrugated roads. So just slow down and give the shock absorbers a chance to do their job and they will "handle with care" the vehicle/van and comfort of the  passengers .       KB      

The articles I have read over the years by spring makers and suspension retailers is trailer spring packs do not require dampers.

Most common cause of damage is lose centre and U bolts, which I have routinely checked mine and managed a small amount of tension only.

The caravan has now approximately 80000 kilometres in 5 years with a mix of secondary and some unsealed rods without issues

I run the same tyre pressure for the caravan as I do for the rear axle of the tow vehicle following the manufacturer guidelines of 36 psi.

We are running below the suspension load rating by approximately 500 to 600 kilograms.

I drive to the conditions and not to the posted speed limit.

So, a big no from me for the need for dampers or shocker absorbers.

Thanks to all for the comments and advice. Not sure if I am now more confused or enlightened.
currently leaning towards the idea of adding shocks on the basis a slowing down or damping of the rebound effect seems logical to me.

EonMarie wrote:

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Thanks to all for the comments and advice. Not sure if I am now more confused or enlightened.
currently leaning towards the idea of adding shocks on the basis a slowing down or damping of the rebound effect seems logical to me.

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 Hi Eon.You already have had one spring break,so the fitting of shocks surely is a no-brainer? Cheers