ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: VikingWeightlifter on March 06, 2019, 12:03:54 PM
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See the attached picture I mocked up ion photoshop.
What's the community thing of a 1.5 foot stretch? Awesome, or ugly?
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Is it worth the work involved?
To do it properly you'll need to extend the frame and the tub, you'll need upgraded springs (assuming the extension is going to be 'functional'), possibly upgraded brakes, and, last but not least, the departure angle has been affected to the point where if you take the vehicle off pavement, you're going to hang the rear end up on every down slope...
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I'm not so sure about some of that. It wouldn't be carrying any more weight than it already does (a tent, some beer, and a person/dog in the back) - the payload would be almost identical, it would just have a bit more space for bulky objects / leg room.
The departure angle is already better than most rigs, and I don't plan on doing any insane crawling, just the trails that the volvo can't handle.
But yeah, if the idea was to have it function like the truck bed of a tacoma, then I would agree; it's really just meant to be enough space for a cooler and a tent behind the folding seat.
Is it worth the work involved?
To do it properly you'll need to extend the frame and the tub, you'll need upgraded springs (assuming the extension is going to be 'functional'), possibly upgraded brakes, and, last but not least, the departure angle has been affected to the point where if you take the vehicle off pavement, you're going to hang the rear end up on every down slope...
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Sounds like a lot of work for a cooler and a tent - have you considered a roof rack?
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Personally, I don't understand why you would do this. It's a Samurai, it's not a pickup or a LWB. They are becoming scarce in good shape. Unless the body & or frame are already tanked IMO you would be ruining a perfectly good Sammy. If you need more room, why not just sell the Sammy & get a 4 door trackick, or a Yota pickup or... etc. There are LOTS of vehicles out there with more room. Save the Sammy for someone who will enjoy it for what it is!
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Looks like you need a LWB Sammy
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Look at it like a lever. By adding to the frame and body you are adding weight. The rear axle is the fulcrum point. You are going to negatively effect the weight on the front axle. Remember years ago all the stories about how unsafe 15 passenger vans were? Lots of crashes...church youth groups, ladies groups, etc having wrecks and people being killed? That was caused by Ford And Dodge “just adding a foot and a half” to an existing chassis to squeeze in that extra row of seats. It caused disastrous handling characteristics because it changed the weight distribution and put less weight on the front axle.
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That's an interesting point that I hadn't considered, for the intended tent & cooler, it shouldn't be too much of a concern, but, once the space is there, it's likely to get used for other things as well - taking that 'lever' approach a little further, I've seen a number of double cab pickups with bent frames, as a result of 'improper loading' - most double cab pickups have very little bed space in front of the axle, so when loaded, the load is frequently well behind the axle.
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For what the OP wants to do, I think he should just install a bolt on 2” receiver hitch and build a rack to carry the extra items. It would be much easier and less permanent than adding length to the body. I have one of the commercially available hitch racks I have used with my Sidekick. It is amazing to me that just the empty rack effects the handling, even though it doesn’t weigh much, but it is that lever and fulcrum action.