My 1975 Franklin Arrow (i think)

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Hi All,

My little family have just purchased our new/retro Franklin Caravan which we're really excited about.  It's a 20ft 1975 Franklin (W7036) and from one of the stickers i believe it's an Arrow 
We came from a 2014 Jayco Swan so it's a big change but we both love the retro look and feel.

The Caravan itself is fairly original and needs a fair bit of updating however, it's got good bones and hopefully won't be a money pit (insert nervous laugh here). 
I do have a couple of questions which i'm hoping can be answered   I would love to attach photos but i just don't know how.. sorry

1. Ride Height
After a bit of research i understand that this is a common issue and there several methods in which people have solved.  I believe that the suspension set up on my particular van is a "rocker" system and that this is commonly upgraded to a "Rocker Roller" system as it's a lot stronger and more reliable.  I'm just not sure if this will increase the ride height? I also spoke with a Caravan servicing and repair place and they quoted me upwards of $3,000 for the job.

Is there anything i can do relatively cheap and easy that can increase the ride height and/or suspension at the same time?

2. Draw-bar
The current drawbar is crazy short than what i'm used to when towing.  I've only towed the caravan once and found that it actually towed really well however, backing it was a bit more of a hassle than i'm used to and it seemed really prone to jack knifing.
Has anyone extended their drawbar?  Is it worth it to gain the extra foot or so?

As you can probably tell, I'm really "green" with this and nervous/excited to jump in.

20191119_101940 by Brad O'Brien, on Flickr







Cheers,
Brad

[snoops]

Welcome along - great van you have there, I really like the Arrows. 👍

When I had mine, I did both the things you are looking at. The draw bar extension was the single biggest improvement I made to how mine towed. I’ll post a link to the build if you haven’t already been through that thread.

I changed my drop axle to a straight axle (mine only had one, but the same applies to your tandem - it has the same axles). Kept the factory springs, just stuffed a new axle in.  Your springs look fine and the rocker suspension is the way to go so I’d keep that.  Like everything in life, if you have to pay someone to do everything, it’s always going to be more expensive but if you’re willing to have a crack, you’ll be surprised what you’ll be able to do. 👍.  If you measured the old axles stub to stub you’d get new ones made with brakes for around $800 each using decent bits and a bit cheaper for Chinese parts.

If steel fabrication isn’t your string suit, starting on a draw bar isn’t going to be the way to go, so if you aren’t a competent welder, I would leave that one to the experts, but well worth the effort - I tied the new draw bar on mine right up to the spring hangers.

I’ll dig up a link now - maybe you can post some pics of the inside of the van when you get a chance? 👍😊

[snoops]

Page 3 of this thread - ditzygypsy.proboards.com/thread/2558/new-old-75-franklin?page=3 - shows the new draw bar I made.  Page 2 shows the axle replacement.  Hope this helps. 👍

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snoops Thanks so much for the reply.  The upgraded axle(s) was not something that i had considered and after reading your post (was an amazing source of material) I've decided to give that a crack.

I notice that you had your work done in Sunbury at Hi Tensile; I actually live in the Macedon Ranges so it's not far from me.  I'll get in touch with them about possibly emulating what you had done.

As for the drawbar- I'm definitely not a competent welder and as that's not really stopping me from taking the van out and about with the family, i might leave that one till last and hit up one of my engineer/welder friends

Thanks again for your response, it's very much appreciated.

[snoops]

No probs - I bought the axle from Hi Tensile and fitted it myself but they would be able to do the whole job - they do heaps of trailer work - custom, 1 off, etc so they should be able to sort you out no dramas. 👍.  They had the axle made up to the length I needed.  They’re great to work with, and a friendly bunch - I buy a lot of material from them. 😊

There’s not a part of my Franklin I didn’t have apart, so if you need any more advice, just sing out. 

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snoops Thanks again for you help and patience with me.

I understand that you had your axle fabricated. After doing a bit of research last night, it looks that you can buy these "off the shelf" fairly reasonably. The below link is one of many examples I came across. All made in Australia with quality parts, etc.

www.huntsmanproducts.com.au/trailer-parts-and-4x4-accessories/axles/electric-braked/electric-braked-trailer-axle-45mm-square-complete-1400kg.html

[snoops]

The only thing I’d warn of is to make sure if you’re getting an electric braked axle that ALL the brake parts are Alko and not knock offs - Have been bitten badly by the knock offs twice now - they don’t adjust as well as the Alko units nor have tolerances anywhere as close which can cause dragging issues. Check before you order but the pics from that website certainly aren’t Alko.

Just a bit of buyer beware advice. The hydraulic stuff I’ve not had issues with.

[Mustang]

Nov 20, 2019 18:11:29 GMT 10 snoops said:

The only thing I’d warn of is to make sure if you’re getting an electric braked axle that ALL the brake parts are Alko and not knock offs - Have been bitten badly by the knock offs twice now - they don’t adjust as well as the Alko units nor have tolerances anywhere as close which can cause dragging issues. Check before you order but the pics from that website certainly aren’t Alko.

Just a bit of buyer beware advice. The hydraulic stuff I’ve not had issues with.

I can back this up with brake dragging. We have now fixed the problem after several attempts. The difference is price is not worth the problems.
Brent

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Nov 27, 2019 10:01:10 GMT 10 Mustang said:

Nov 20, 2019 18:11:29 GMT 10 snoops said:

The only thing I’d warn of is to make sure if you’re getting an electric braked axle that ALL the brake parts are Alko and not knock offs - Have been bitten badly by the knock offs twice now - they don’t adjust as well as the Alko units nor have tolerances anywhere as close which can cause dragging issues. Check before you order but the pics from that website certainly aren’t Alko.

Just a bit of buyer beware advice. The hydraulic stuff I’ve not had issues with.

I can back this up with brake dragging. We have now fixed the problem after several attempts. The difference is price is not worth the problems.
Brent

Awesome, thanks Mustang.  I've since found another site where they sell straight axles with ALKO parts.  Can get a pair for about $950 plus delivery.

Just in relation to the ride height; I had new light truck tyres fitted which seems to have made a fair difference.  Not sure of the measurable difference but when i drove into my driveway, i didn't scrape the rear bumper of the van