Well the news is out so here's the build: Expedition Portal So-Cal Teardrop

[Adventure1]

As I've seen with most of these sheet style liners, it was peeling off.

Hello Chris, that's a beautiful teardrop you have!!

Earlier in the post you mention dropping off your trailer to SoCal Teardrops for refreshing. Did you show the SCT team the peeling liner during that visit, or did that starting showing up after? Knowing how excellent SCT stands behind their trailers and warranty when needed, is that something they would have r&r'd for you under warranty, or were you already set in your mind to change out the failing liner with durable roll-on protection?

I'm curious as I keep my Krawler indoors when not in use, and wonder if maybe your previous owner kept it outside uncovered in the sun?

 

[Chris Cordes]

SCT was more than willing to fix anything the trailer needed. The company is awesome and very helpful. Im constantly emailing back and forth asking questions and I always receive a prompt reply. I had cleaned and restuck the liner before heading to SCT so they wouldnt have known the issue. It was after the dust in the desert that it became bad enough to replace.

Hello Chris, that's a beautiful teardrop you have!!

Earlier in the post you mention dropping off your trailer to SoCal Teardrops for refreshing. Did you show the SCT team the peeling liner during that visit, or did that starting showing up after? Knowing how excellent SCT stands behind their trailers and warranty when needed, is that something they would have r&r'd for you under warranty, or were you already set in your mind to change out the failing liner with durable roll-on protection?

I'm curious as I keep my Krawler indoors when not in use, and wonder if maybe your previous owner kept it outside uncovered in the sun?

 

[Chris Cordes]

How long have you had that suspension set up? Since you got the trailer? Did you not notice how soft it was before if you had it on the other trips?

Mine came with the ARB leafs and adjustable shocks. So I'm assuming mine is probably more tight feeling. Of course it still has some play but it felt stiff to me. I haven't gone out with it yet but I've stood up on the fenders and gotten inside the trailer.

I had this setup when I purchased the trailer however I had zero weight in it for a while. I noticed it was soft but didn't think it would be a huge issue. We just didnt realize how soft. We realized how bad it was after spending our first night in it without the support arms in place. The trailer sagged all the way down on the side I slept on. I jacked the side back up and the suspension seemed to hold back at that point. I was concerned and decided to keep an eye on it. It seemed to ride okay so I figured I would simply always use the support arms. When it compressed just driving it became clear just how bad it was.

The SCT suspension should have NO issues. Their setup is the perfect level of soft and stout. You wont find the same issue I had. My TD had work done by sierra 4x4 through the previous owner which is why i bought it cheaper than usual and why Im putting so much money in now. They just made very poor decisions on suspension.

 

[Chris Cordes]

So after some inspection we realized that not only did Sierra 4x4 install an overly soft suspension but they didn't use proper hardware or even the same hard ware side to side. Missing washers etc was common. Since I needed to weld a plate onto the tongue for mounting new components anyway we decided that while removing the body we wanted to add a brace for a water tank down the road as well as reinforcing the frame. While leaf springs are certainly cheaper and simpler, the removal of the body and welding that was already occurring made the cost of swapping to an AT suspension "marginal" over going to new leafs and shocks. Thus a new independent A-arm suspension is now underway. Here is our progress so far

Photo of suspension height before swap - It's sad




Short explanation of what we're doing here is benchpressing a TD. You have to remove the mounting points and then break the body and frame free as they've been pushed together so long. Once you lift it you slide boards underneath.








GOODBYE!


It's kind of hard to tell in this photo but I included it to show just how big this TD is when compared to the horizon in the back


Original mounting points cut

 

[fireball]

You guys make that cabin look light! Ballpark weight of the cabin itself?

Sorry to hear of the suspension troubles. Sounds like if you are going with the AT setup you're getting the best out there!

 

[Chris Cordes]

I'm not sure on the total cabin weight but its surprisingly light. To be honest a suspension swap would have been on my list long term anyway. It needs the extra clearance for water crossings, rocks, etc. this just brought it sooner than anticipated

 

[dstock]

Great pics! You will have so much more peace of mind making the swap, especially after finding mis-matched hardware and such, hate it when places do things half-assed.

 

[Chris Cordes]

I couldn't agree more. I made the terrible mistake of not having So-Cal go through it back to front while it was in their shop. It's incredible how poor sierras follow through was but I guess after what they did to customers im not surprised.

JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS - None of these suspension components came from so-cal teardrops. From everything I've seen So-Cals product are beyond exceptional and the company is amazingly thorough. They utilize best practice on all builds. Sorry just want to make sure everyone knows the problems all came from Sierra 4x4. This is obviously the downside of buying used. Things can be changed by people who THINK they know what they're doing.

 

[Yulli]

Is Sierra 4x4 the company people had issues with back in the day that isn't really around anymore?

 

[Chris Cordes]

They're the company that took everyones money and delivered almost no product after purchase. BBB is loaded with angry complaints.

 

[silvrzuki77]

Your going to love the trailing arm suspension. My home built one works awesome, I have no doubt AT suspension is the shizznizz.

 

[Chris Cordes]

Not a bad change! Now to put the body back on

 

[dstock]

Damn! Even with the body on, that's going to be a significant difference. Very nice!

 

[njtacoma]

Looks great. Too bad about the previous work. It looks like the shackle angle is wrong, even with no weight on the chassis the shackle has a bit of angle on it.
New suspension looks good!

 

[Chris Cordes]

Thanks yall! The body went on last night and were going to add some air, balance the suspension, and seal up some gaps today. Pictures asap!