Earlier this year, the Super Suspension underwent, and successfully completed, NAVISTAR Proving Ground’s 1,000-mile simulated lifetime durability test. The test was conducted under the direction of William Conway, Forest River’s chief engineer. The RV tested was a tandem fifth wheel with a GVW of 18,000 pounds.
NAVISTAR’s test track contains a variety of pavements, rough surfaces and challenging terrain changes. Prolonged travel over these challenging surfaces is calculated to accelerate mileage accumulation so that in 1,000 miles, a lifetime of structural insult can be equaled.
In addition to the durability evaluation, Conway also measured energy transferred into the RV with the placement of five strain gauges strategically mounted to sensitive sections of the trailer’s exterior.
These measurements were compared to a baseline set of data generated by an earlier evaluation on an RV of similar size and weight equipped with a conventional suspension. The All American Super Suspension achieved significant energy reduction, according to the data (below).
Forest River’s XLR Division is the first RV manufacturer to offer the Super Suspension as an upgrade option on all of its units.
Many of XLR’s models are triple axle, so additional testing was conducted in November jointly by Lippert’s frame division and Stalwart on an XLR Thunderbolt toy hauler equipped with motion detecting sensors to confirm the suspension’s suitability for use with three axles.
The All American Super Suspension is now approved for use on certain frames, and units so equipped are covered by the Lippert frame warranty.
