That what the 'suspension' is designed to do Mr Squirrel - you aren't
hurting anything.

On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Rocket J Squirrel <
camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:

> During yesterday's exploration of local campgrounds I encountered a couple
> unpaved roads that were heavily washboarded,* some causing such bad
> juddering that I had to slow down and creep along so the van would not
> shake itself apart.
>
> On the return trip I tried going sufficiently fast (40 mph or so) that the
> tires and suspension could float a little. The ride was nearly smooth.
>
> Okay, this has Vanagon content because I don't want to damage the van with
> that technique. While it felt miles better in the driver's seat when I was
> going fast, I wonder if I wasn't putting a lot of stress on the tires or
> suspension.
>
> Thoughts? Or even better, knowledge?
>
>
> ====================
> * I recall reading someplace how cars create washboard in the road due to
> bouncing off some existing bump and mashing a second bump into the road,
> which bounces the next car, creating a third, &c., until you got them
> washboards. However, yesterday I came across a device parked on a side
> road in the forest that appears to have been specifically designed to
> imprint the corrugations into the road surface. It consisted of two large
> drums, each about 6' wide and 4' high, roughly, mounted side-by-side on an
> axle. The circumferential surface of the two drums had steel corrugations
> spaced about a foot apart all around the drum. I bet any tyro FBI
> fingerprint student could match up with the grooves in the road. The
> device had a trailer tongue that the front so it could be towed behind a
> tractor or something. To make the roads into washboard roads.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27