Independent Suspension Caiman Axle Swap for M1083 6X6

[exon111]

Is it possible to convert a M1083A1R 6x6 to independent suspension by swapping the axles from a Caiman II? I'm not at all an expert on axles or suspension by any means, but from what I've read it seems like the Caiman has pretty much the same frame as an MTV. There was some limited discussion about this subject in this thread, but I couldn't find much else when searching the forum.

The primary goal here is to get a smoother ride both on and off road for an expedition camper. Smoother ride = longer life for camper and happier passengers. An added bonus here is that these axles apparently have disc brakes, lockers, and high speed gearing standard.

Does this seem possible? I have a decent budget to make this happen, within some level of reason. Eastern surplus has Caiman front axles, but I can't find intermediate and rear axles. Are they for sale anywhere? Can anyone recommend a shop with the expertise to sort this out?

 

[simp5782]

Decent budget is a understatement. It isn't that cheap or easy. It would be easier to just make it air ride on the rear axles. Cost under $1000 for everything. FMTV trucks don't ride that bad when the air ride cab. You bought a military truck not a Cadillac. There is a camper build on here by Profo that his aluminum camper has a crawl thru the cab. It rides fine especially on XZL's

The wedge brakes on the FMTV trucks and even the 5 tons work just as well as air disc brakes. I just say if you got stupid money, might as well get stupid and do what you want.

 

[exon111]

The cab rides fairly nicely, but the camper on the back does not have that benefit. The truck will have a pass through and my kids will be riding in the back camper section. A smoother ride is also good for the overall longevity of the camper and the appliances inside. I already looked into air ride for the rear, but decided against it because air ride performs poorly off road. There are a lot of threads on other forums about air ride for off road dump trucks and the overwhelming consensus is to avoid air ride for off road applications.

If an independent suspension conversion is possible for under $30k, I'd consider it assuming it's not super complex and likely to result in other problems for the truck. I know that for the right price, anything can be done, but often times if you do something super custom, you end up with reliability issues and obscure problems that are hard to fix. If these can just drop in though, it hopefully wouldn't fall into this category.

 

[simp5782]

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showt...ing-naked!-Camper-Part-Deaux!&highlight=naked

If that is the case why did the military have air ride rear suspension 5 tons? beats me.

Or why not air ride the box? or make it not as solid mounted. Marty said hes rides great even sleeping in the back. Even his 5 ton camper is this way on the stock suspension.

 

[Suprman]

The truck is made to carry heavy cargo. The box you put on probably weighs less than the bed that was originally there. Some good shocks and remove a spring leaf on each side might help. And it would be cheap to do.

 

[simp5782]

The truck is made to carry heavy cargo. The box you put on probably weighs less than the bed that was originally there. Some good shocks and remove a spring leaf on each side might help. And it would be cheap to do.

You mean my cargo truck carrying no cargo isn't suppose to ride like a Cadillac?

 

[exon111]

Again I'm no expert on this, I just know that everyone I could find who has experience operating a heavy truck offroad on air suspension says not to do it. I wish they were wrong because it sounds a lot cheaper and easier to source than an independent suspension swap. We are building something nearly identical to the rig in the attached photo, but on an MTV platform. The camper plus added fuel and water will amount to around 11,000 lbs of load on the truck. The truck will be loaded to capacity.

 

[Suprman]

Loaded to that weight it should ride as good as a cargo truck can. I don't see how an independent suspension would help with ride comfort. Upgrade the shocks and leave the rest alone. No matter what you do, when driving off road it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

 

[exon111]

This seems like a huge improvement, not that I plan to do a rally race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYvxPM21YJY

Comparison testing of a Active Shock Semi Active equipped FMTV and a stock FMTV

 

[Suprman]

No weight in either cargo truck though. Changes everything.

 

[exon111]

No weight in either cargo truck though. Changes everything.

True. Not trying to be argumentative, just playing devils advocate here. Oshkosh and BAE both made a big hoopla about how independent suspension gives a way better ride offroad for MRAPs. Oshkosh sells their TAK-4 suspension for fire trucks and a lot of fire depts swear it's a huge ride quality improvement. From my own experience, my Toyota FJ rode a heck of a lot smoother off road than every jeep I've ever driven. I think that's attributable to the independent suspension.

 

[NDT]

You could buy an entire Caiman chassis with the unsupported Meritor suspension from member "Midway". He has about 30 of them, Eastern Surplus has some as well.

 

[DiverDarrell]

Ha, DARPA budget for the win. I say go for it!! Would be a way cool project, lots of engineering, huck bolts, and blisters.

 

[Suprman]

if you want to do it and have the money to spend then do it. Personally I think it's a lot of money to spend for little improvement. Stock form parts are available. On the road it may be harder to get parts for a one off fancy suspension. I think 4 great shocks would make a big difference. The lmtv shocks are mild dampeners you can compress them slowly by hand.

 

[exon111]

Ha, DARPA budget for the win. I say go for it!! Would be a way cool project, lots of engineering, huck bolts, and blisters.

This is exactly what we want to avoid LOL. Lot's of engineering = lots of potential for problems. There is a lot of engineering going into the camper but I want to keep potential for problems with the truck itself to a minimum.

It it completely confirmed the Caiman suspension is not more or less a "drop in" modification?

 

[exon111]

if you want to do it and have the money to spend then do it. Personally I think it's a lot of money to spend for little improvement. Stock form parts are available. On the road it may be harder to get parts for a one off fancy suspension. I think 4 great shocks would make a big difference. The lmtv shocks are mild dampeners you can compress them slowly by hand.

Is there a shock that is known to work well with the FMTV? Have not researched this at all yet.

 

[TNriverjet]

You could buy an entire Caiman chassis with the unsupported Meritor suspension from member "Midway". He has about 30 of them, Eastern Surplus has some as well.

Like this? It doesn't look like a swapable set up to me... Lots of fab. Like NDT said... You'd be better off buying one of these chassis and swapping on your cab and hab.

 

[exon111]

Like this? It doesn't look like a swapable set up to me... Lots of fab. Like NDT said... You'd be better off buying one of these chassis and swapping on your cab and hab.

View attachment 708235View attachment 708233View attachment 708234

Yes, exactly like that. Ok, thank you, that answers my question. Will scrap this idea and leave the axles / suspension alone except for high speed gearing and lockers. I don't want more headaches. Will look into nicer shocks though.

 

[DiverDarrell]

Just slow down in the rough section, air down as well. Use the slower speeds to enjoy the scenery out the windows. Be glad that you can find replacement parts. More than one way to make a weather tight cab to hab interface. And air ride seats.

 

[quickfarms]

Decent budget is a understatement. It isn't that cheap or easy. It would be easier to just make it air ride on the rear axles. Cost under $1000 for everything. FMTV trucks don't ride that bad when the air ride cab. You bought a military truck not a Cadillac. There is a camper build on here by Profo that his aluminum camper has a crawl thru the cab. It rides fine especially on XZL's

The wedge brakes on the FMTV trucks and even the 5 tons work just as well as air disc brakes. I just say if you got stupid money, might as well get stupid and do what you want.

How are you going to do air ride suspension for under a $1,000?

Wedge brakes are horrible in wet weather because the brake application is erratic