After 25 years in the school bus industry I’d argue the parents are a bigger problem these days.
Air Suspension vs. Coils - Long Term Durability vs. Real Capability
- Thread starter Michael Gary Scout
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“Can’t Cover Stupid!”Not an official answer from Scout here, but manufacturers have to draw a line somewhere. We can't cover "stupid" in some cases.
That said, we expect people to offroad their vehicles and we will offer factory accessories for that purpose as well. Let's see what the fine print says when we get there.
Meanwhile, our teams are already talking about all the places we are going to "test" vehicles. So expect to see us take them to a wide variety of places before they reach the market. Hopefully we can take a few of you along for the ride.
That needs to be in the warranty disclaimer on each Scout. That’s funny as hell!
My mother in-law drove a school bus for 40+ years. She had the same sentiment about the parents and the tantrums they would throw.
They have in the curling iron warning not to sleep with it in your hair. You would think that would be obvious. Apparently not.
Think I’ll exercise some discretion here
I’m blessed, I have good students and parents.My mother in-law drove a school bus for 40+ years. She had the same sentiment about the parents and the tantrums they would throw.
Said before-I’ve heard funny curling iron story but not for forum
And the story I have about a regular iron is even funnier but not appropriate
I used to have a nice metal sign at a former office that said “Can’t Fix Stupid” that I used to smile at each time I got off the phone with “ certain” difficult customers….It sure made it a bit easier to go back to working.
My wife the spoof one from the movie “sixth sense”. -“ I see dumb people-they’re everywhere” and kept it in her drawer at work
Welp, I’m out!
Have to believe that the Alpine Loop, Yankee Boy Basin, and other attractions in the San Juans of Colorado will be on the list! I'll bring my Land Rover to benchmark.Not an official answer from Scout here, but manufacturers have to draw a line somewhere. We can't cover "stupid" in some cases.
That said, we expect people to offroad their vehicles and we will offer factory accessories for that purpose as well. Let's see what the fine print says when we get there.
Meanwhile, our teams are already talking about all the places we are going to "test" vehicles. So expect to see us take them to a wide variety of places before they reach the market. Hopefully we can take a few of you along for the ride.
Might as well hit up the Georgia Traverse and Beasley Knob and get y'all a badge since its basically right next door to the factory. Hopefully I'll see you guys out there.Not an official answer from Scout here, but manufacturers have to draw a line somewhere. We can't cover "stupid" in some cases.
That said, we expect people to offroad their vehicles and we will offer factory accessories for that purpose as well. Let's see what the fine print says when we get there.
Meanwhile, our teams are already talking about all the places we are going to "test" vehicles. So expect to see us take them to a wide variety of places before they reach the market. Hopefully we can take a few of you along for the ride.
Rode (more like flew up) most of those a few years ago on my Norden 901.Have to believe that the Alpine Loop, Yankee Boy Basin, and other attractions in the San Juans of Colorado will be on the list! I'll bring my Land Rover to benchmark.
Some of those switchbacks will be pretty interesting with the wheelbase on the Traveler.
Welp.
I done it again.
Went off-roading a few weekends ago and blew one of my long travel bags. I didnt think I needed limit straps and extended bump stops because the extended travel airbag manufacturer in Australia called the shock manufacturer (Dobsinsons) to confirm they can play nice together and I took them at their word.
I had the rear axle completely articulated on a steep downhill washed out section and when it articulated the other way one of the bags came unseated from its top mount. So all the air went bye bye and we rode home on bump stops again.
Once I got it home I was able to pop the air bag back into its "top hat" but I dont want to f--k with this anymore.
Unfortunately I am way off into the weeds with this setup and there is limited information on how I need to make it all work together.
A manufacturer like Lexus and Scout will design their air ride systems for the factory suspension geometry and I was running about 2.5" of rear lift on the extended bags, which is beyond what the OEM design is and it all got pretty weird.
We had a Boy Scout campout this past weekend so I decided to abandon the air system for the time being and went full long travel with a coil conversion.
I reached out to my Toyota/Lexus homies, and my buddy that recently did the Dana 60 swap on his Lexus GX470 sold me his long travel Dobinsons MRR shocks and heavy progressive coils rated for 400lb static load for $200. I jumped on it because that setups is around $1,600 retail and I wouldn't have been able to snag it on such short notice otherwise.
Long story short, we made the trip.
The hitch carrier and rear cargo area were stuffed with totes, coolers, and camping accoutrement. (unloaded in this photo)
Didnt squat much at all, if any, with the full load of kiddos and gear.
Though I didnt install his heavy coils, and instead opted for Icon "Overland" progressive coils good for 3" of lift at 200lbs of load or 2" of lift with 400lbs of load.
The shocks were pretty dirty so I cleaned them up in the kitchen sink with some elbow grease and magic erasers. Probably spent more time cleaning the bellows than anything else, but I was happy with how they cleaned up.
The Prison Crocs gave me +5 Stamina -12 Charisma for the cleanup.
The bag on the left that is fully extended is the one that came unseated from its top hat.
You can also see the difference in shock lengths.
The shocks on the left are Dobinsons Extended travel Comfort shocks, which are longer than my factory shocks that they replaced, and the ones on the right are the real deal Dobinsons MRR long travel shocks. 16" collapsed length and a lot more droop!
I used a Metal Tech Stage II Airbag conversion that included the Key Cone dual-stage bump stops, also ordered some extended rear brake lines, Icon 52800 "Overland" progressive coil springs (so they dont fall out when the new shocks are fully extended, Apache Offroad remote reservoir brackets, and I also contacted Perry Parts to make some of their 3D printed bump stops for long travel setups.
Also had to remove the rear sway bar because the links are way too short now for that amount of lift so I ordered a few different sets of Toyota sway bar links of varying lengths and I think I landed on 3rd gen 4Runner rear links, so I will be reinstalling that soon as well.
The Perry Parts bump stops should arrive today so I will be installing those with the reservoir brackets tonight.
Did a ditch test to see how far I can go without the extended Perry Parts bump stops and it still had several inches of travel left in the shock.
The new setup isn't as cushy as my air springs, but it's definitely livable.
I done it again.
Went off-roading a few weekends ago and blew one of my long travel bags. I didnt think I needed limit straps and extended bump stops because the extended travel airbag manufacturer in Australia called the shock manufacturer (Dobsinsons) to confirm they can play nice together and I took them at their word.
I had the rear axle completely articulated on a steep downhill washed out section and when it articulated the other way one of the bags came unseated from its top mount. So all the air went bye bye and we rode home on bump stops again.
Once I got it home I was able to pop the air bag back into its "top hat" but I dont want to f--k with this anymore.
Unfortunately I am way off into the weeds with this setup and there is limited information on how I need to make it all work together.
A manufacturer like Lexus and Scout will design their air ride systems for the factory suspension geometry and I was running about 2.5" of rear lift on the extended bags, which is beyond what the OEM design is and it all got pretty weird.
We had a Boy Scout campout this past weekend so I decided to abandon the air system for the time being and went full long travel with a coil conversion.
I reached out to my Toyota/Lexus homies, and my buddy that recently did the Dana 60 swap on his Lexus GX470 sold me his long travel Dobinsons MRR shocks and heavy progressive coils rated for 400lb static load for $200. I jumped on it because that setups is around $1,600 retail and I wouldn't have been able to snag it on such short notice otherwise.
Long story short, we made the trip.
The hitch carrier and rear cargo area were stuffed with totes, coolers, and camping accoutrement. (unloaded in this photo)
Didnt squat much at all, if any, with the full load of kiddos and gear.
Though I didnt install his heavy coils, and instead opted for Icon "Overland" progressive coils good for 3" of lift at 200lbs of load or 2" of lift with 400lbs of load.
The shocks were pretty dirty so I cleaned them up in the kitchen sink with some elbow grease and magic erasers. Probably spent more time cleaning the bellows than anything else, but I was happy with how they cleaned up.
The Prison Crocs gave me +5 Stamina -12 Charisma for the cleanup.
The bag on the left that is fully extended is the one that came unseated from its top hat.
You can also see the difference in shock lengths.
The shocks on the left are Dobinsons Extended travel Comfort shocks, which are longer than my factory shocks that they replaced, and the ones on the right are the real deal Dobinsons MRR long travel shocks. 16" collapsed length and a lot more droop!
I used a Metal Tech Stage II Airbag conversion that included the Key Cone dual-stage bump stops, also ordered some extended rear brake lines, Icon 52800 "Overland" progressive coil springs (so they dont fall out when the new shocks are fully extended, Apache Offroad remote reservoir brackets, and I also contacted Perry Parts to make some of their 3D printed bump stops for long travel setups.
Also had to remove the rear sway bar because the links are way too short now for that amount of lift so I ordered a few different sets of Toyota sway bar links of varying lengths and I think I landed on 3rd gen 4Runner rear links, so I will be reinstalling that soon as well.
The Perry Parts bump stops should arrive today so I will be installing those with the reservoir brackets tonight.
Did a ditch test to see how far I can go without the extended Perry Parts bump stops and it still had several inches of travel left in the shock.
The new setup isn't as cushy as my air springs, but it's definitely livable.
I honestly miss it for airing down when the kids are getting in and out.Maybe you’ve found your solution
They basically fall out now at the school drop off line lol
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