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Post by Pye 317 Peter on Oct 20, 2015 12:26:03 GMT 10
can anyone advise me about a cracked chassis on my Viscount Aero-lite Grand Tourer, it has an Al-ko chassis. The cracks (both sides) are in the plates just forward of the axle apparently there are no spare parts available any longer. The giveaway to my problem was that the door frame, left side, had dropped at the RHS top corner. My van is in excellent condition otherwise, Can you hels or advise me please.
kind regards
Peter
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Post by youngdazza on Oct 20, 2015 12:51:48 GMT 10
can anyone advise me about a cracked chassis on my Viscount Aero-lite Grand Tourer, it has an Al-ko chassis. The cracks (both sides) are in the plates just forward of the axle apparently there are no spare parts available any longer. The giveaway to my problem was that the door frame, left side, had dropped at the RHS top corner. My van is in excellent condition otherwise, Can you hels or advise me please. kind regards Peter Hi Peter I used to own an Aerolite and luckily the chassis was fine. You could try strengthening the chassis by bolting something on, however I suspect that if you drill into the chassis you would weaken it wherever you drill. Frankly I think your best bet is to replace the chassis. If you can the majority of work yourself you would save a lot of money. And at the same time you could reinforce the floor (if it is a bit spongy due to water ingress. Its a fairly big task but if the van is otherwise in excellent condition it would probably be worth it. On the other hand, if your only planning on using the van on-site, then you can probably just ignore the problem altogether. Cheers |
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Post by doublechevron on Oct 20, 2015 14:59:18 GMT 10
You need to make up a chassis and move the 'van over to it. This is the 17' model right? and there is cracks behind the wheels?. I've heard the factory made them 1foot longer than the specs supplied to ALKO so they fatique cracked. The bolt on "extra frame" was a joke and didn't work (my uncle owned a banana shaped ultra-light at one point ... that had this extra frame ). Once they leak ... the floor goes soft.... and the strength is in the floor, so then they start bending at the ends.... As they bend ... they leak more ... so the floor gets softer.... so they bend mor etc... then they leak more ... etc....  Throwing it onto a chassis should fix all of your problems It shouldn't be vey difficult to make up a chassis and move the van across too it . They were a pretty good 'van if looked after. We used my father inlaws ultralight 17' for quite a few years. He'd always kept it garaged and only used it on sealed roads. It never leaked, so never got a soft floor ..... so never cracked it's chassis or bent There used to be a company in Melbourne that put a chassis under them. My father inlaw always intended doing this, but ended up selling it and buying a camper trailer. You would just lift the 'van up, support it by the floor. unbolt the ALKO stuff ... roll your new chassis under and bolt it on seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by wildgoose on Oct 22, 2015 7:23:14 GMT 10
Once upon a time I had a relative that owned a caravan dealership in Whyalla SA he use to put new chassis under the ultra light Viscounts. He said they were ok if you drove them on bitumen roads and were careful. They were an attempt to help reduce fuel costs in a time of the fuel crisis.
Think I would be talking to so caravan repairers to see what they could do.
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Post by Mustang on Oct 22, 2015 7:27:40 GMT 10
If the van is in good order, then surley you could have the chassis beefed up where its a problem?
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Post by doublechevron on Oct 22, 2015 10:22:30 GMT 10
If the van is in good order, then surley you could have the chassis beefed up where its a problem? They are built like european caravans. The strength of the caravan is in the very thick wooden floor. If the floor gets moisture damaged it suffers badly. There is two frail pressed "C" section frames that run the length of the floor. Just like a pommy 'van they have the rubber ALKO axle and the axle in the middle. I called my father inlaws "the swaying heap of sh!t".... 'Cos that's what it did unless you loaded every bit of luggage forward of the axle to try and get some nose weight there.  found one that hasn't had a chassis fitted (that was harder than I expected). see the stamped C section drawbar. These two rails just run to the back of the van. The alko axle unit bolt into the middle. There is no structure to carry the floor, as the floor is the structural member. If you get one that's not the 17' model (that was apparently built longer than it should have been by the factory so caused the fatique cracks in the fragile alko chassis rails) you should be fine. They sort of "hop" along behind you on there funny rubber bush suspension while madly swaying like b@stards if you haven't loaded all the weight forward. There a real traditional pommy type caravan with no drawbar weight. If you can find a good one that's never leaked .... and make sure you load all the weight forward, It'll work really nicely for you. There is an ALKO friction hitch you can buy for them to try and damp the swaying behaviour. It's better to just load your luggage forward of the axle though. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by planner on Oct 22, 2015 10:49:27 GMT 10
I called my father inlaws "the swaying heap of sh!t".... 'Cos that's what it did unless you loaded every bit of luggage forward of the axle to try and get some nose weight there. They sort of "hop" along behind you on there funny rubber bush suspension while madly swaying like b@stards if you haven't loaded all the weight forward. Shane What a sales pitch, I'd always liked the look of the aerolites. Now I think I'll have to buy one  |
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Post by doublechevron on Oct 22, 2015 12:56:16 GMT 10
I called my father inlaws "the swaying heap of sh!t".... 'Cos that's what it did unless you loaded every bit of luggage forward of the axle to try and get some nose weight there. They sort of "hop" along behind you on there funny rubber bush suspension while madly swaying like b@stards if you haven't loaded all the weight forward. Shane What a sales pitch, I'd always liked the look of the aerolites. Now I think I'll have to buy one There not bad ... There quite a nice 'van. You just need to understand what you have. They are very lightweight for the size and will have excellent insulation due to the foam sandwich construction (like an old franklin and modern pommy van). Accept them for what they are, and there a good thing if you find one that's not rotten. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by planner on Oct 22, 2015 15:54:52 GMT 10
There not bad ... There quite a nice 'van. You just need to understand what you have. They are very lightweight for the size and will have excellent insulation due to the foam sandwich construction (like an old franklin and modern pommy van). Accept them for what they are, and there a good thing if you find one that's not rotten. seeya, Shane L. I was genuine when I said I liked them. I've never had anything to do with them, other than seeing them on the road or in parks. I have looked online at times for one at the right price. Now I have further info if I ever seriously consider one. |
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