Rear suspension too soft on Mojave, squats

[Mtpisgah]

No worries man, i get it.

So, caster is how far back the steering knuckles are rotated back. Consider for visualization the extremes of the range as straight up and down; to a stretched out chopper bike.

Up and down quickest steering; chopper most stable at speed. It has become general consensus that stock caster degree is too close to up and down for quick steering on trail; but at the expense of an incredible lack of steering stability. By pushing it out a degree-degree and a half shows incredible gains in stability with no appreciable loss of quick steering when you need it; although it will weight the steering slightly.

The gains in highway stability are real.

Sooner or later stiffer springs will be available; although if youre constantly laden with a couple hundred pounds, I dont think youd find max tow springs to be harsh.

Thanks, I understand the caster a bit better now. Stability is good. I drive 20k+ miles a year so how it drives is important. I will be off-road maybe twice a month and most of the stuff around here is doable in a stock Jeep.

The AluCab canopy camper weighs about 450lbs, so by the time I outfit it with what I will carry on a daily basis vs a weekend trip, I will add another 50 to 150lbs in the bed. It gets Installed March 1 and I will see how it drives for a few weeks and then start with suspension mods. Hopefully Clayton or OME will have something by April, otherwise it will be bags or Max Tow coils.

We will be planning a trip to VA this spring to mountain bike, maybe we can meet up.

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[KurtP]

Thanks, I understand the caster a bit better now. Stability is good. I drive 20k+ miles a year so how it drives is important. I will be off-road maybe twice a month and most of the stuff around here is doable in a stock Jeep.

The AluCab canopy camper weighs about 450lbs, so by the time I outfit it with what I will carry on a daily basis vs a weekend trip, I will add another 50 to 150lbs in the bed. It gets Installed March 1 and I will see how it drives for a few weeks and then start with suspension mods. Hopefully Clayton or OME will have something by April, otherwise it will be bags or Max Tow coils.

We will be planning a trip to VA this spring to mountain bike, maybe we can meet up.

With that alucab coming in at 450lb, you could def go max tow springs and not be too harsh.

Yeah man. Im around. ?

 

[rogerWilco]

So, here I am, getting closer to pulling the trigger on a Mojave... While the discussion has admittedly discouraged me, I'm glad I stumbled across it.

I wanted to use the Mojave for overlanding and naively thought I'd just throw a rack, RTT, misc gear, and I'd be good to go with what I felt was a nicer stock ride vs the Rubi or Sport. I'm now wondering if I should go back to my original plan of building out a Sport S for my needs. I'm not really into the build part of things, I just want to use it. Which is why I wanted the Mojave and skip as much of that as possible (exception of adding a fr bumper, sliders, rack, and 35s).

I know there seems to be some disagreement here. But if I throw on air bags (looks to be fairly simply and something I can do), am I good to go with no lift, springs, or other adjustments to get rid of the squat? The last thing I want to do is compromise stock ride quality or prematurely wear components.

Thanks

 

[MarcusB]

Well, i have the air bags ordered, and I'll report back. I love my Mohave, and hope this makes it perfect. I go to the Oregon Dunes and several overlanding trips per year.

 

[KurtP]

For carrying a load, icon lift springs wouldnt be bad either. They are stiffer than stock; and advertise 1.5” of lift. While carrying weight in the 400lb range, you would sag back into the appropriate neutral for the bypass zone. Assuming their advertised height is accurate.

 

[KurtP]

So, here I am, getting closer to pulling the trigger on a Mojave... While the discussion has admittedly discouraged me, I'm glad I stumbled across it.

I wanted to use the Mojave for overlanding and naively thought I'd just throw a rack, RTT, misc gear, and I'd be good to go with what I felt was a nicer stock ride vs the Rubi or Sport. I'm now wondering if I should go back to my original plan of building out a Sport S for my needs. I'm not really into the build part of things, I just want to use it. Which is why I wanted the Mojave and skip as much of that as possible (exception of adding a fr bumper, sliders, rack, and 35s).

I know there seems to be some disagreement here. But if I throw on air bags (looks to be fairly simply and something I can do), am I good to go with no lift, springs, or other adjustments to get rid of the squat? The last thing I want to do is compromise stock ride quality or prematurely wear components.

Thanks

Yeah. Youre good to go for that weight requirement.

 

[staying_tuned]

Well, i have the air bags ordered, and I'll report back. I love my Mohave, and hope this makes it perfect. I go to the Oregon Dunes and several overlanding trips per year.

I’m anxious to hear your results. I will be getting quite a bit of use out of the bed and will occasionally need to tow 3k-ish lbs. Not enough of a need for a purpose built/configured spec. So hoping bags at will mitigate the sag.

 

[staying_tuned]

If you decide to spacer loft the rear, you can take the shocks out of their neutral position, but dont go over it by much more than an inch.

I don’t mind factory rake and long term, would much prefer a 1” spacer in the rear over bags. I assumed the Mojave suspension was so dialed in, with near zero wiggle room, that even a 1” rear spacer would diminish the overall package as-is. This is why I am thinking bags. Are you speculating that 1” will be fine in the rear or are you aware of some folks that have done it? This sounds promising, my build is underway and I planned to get the bags (or rear spacers) in advance.

Thanks for all the info ya’ll!

 

[Mac]

Seems like if the Mojave is so sensitive to weight it is not good for someone who may drive it empty one day, put 800lbs in the bed the next and then maybe tow 4K lbs with 400lbs of tongue weight. I use my Sport S for all types of things, the max tow springs with Rubicon take off shocks seem to handle it all without any problems or noticeable change in handling.

 

[KurtP]

Seems like if the Mojave is so sensitive to weight it is not good for someone who may drive it empty one day, put 800lbs in the bed the next and then maybe tow 4K lbs with 400lbs of tongue weight. I use my Sport S for all types of things, the max tow springs with Rubicon take off shocks seem to handle it all without any problems or noticeable change in handling.

Assuming you want the bypass zone to function as designed; it prioritizes ride and articulation over load capacity. If your load varies wildly, you just add airbags and you have the best of both worlds.

 

[KurtP]

I don’t mind factory rake and long term, would much prefer a 1” spacer in the rear over bags. I assumed the Mojave suspension was so dialed in, with near zero wiggle room, that even a 1” rear spacer would diminish the overall package as-is. This is why I am thinking bags. Are you speculating that 1” will be fine in the rear or are you aware of some folks that have done it? This sounds promising, my build is underway and I planned to get the bags (or rear spacers) in advance.

Thanks for all the info ya’ll!

No, i know for a fact it can still function the bypass as long as it isnt much more than 1” off center at the new neutral position.

 

[staying_tuned]

Seems like if the Mojave is so sensitive to weight it is not good for someone who may drive it empty one day, put 800lbs in the bed the next and then maybe tow 4K lbs with 400lbs of tongue weight. I use my Sport S for all types of things, the max tow springs with Rubicon take off shocks seem to handle it all without any problems or noticeable change in handling.

My use would be more like 100lbs bi-weekly in the bed and 3k behind it once a month. I’m OCD when it comes to the rear staying at, or above, the front. My JKU Rubi towed no problem but was rough. My 4Runner towed no problem but was rough. With the 4Runner I ended up going with Fox ext. reservoirs on all corners along with higher progressive springs. Loved loved loved it, totally spoiled me but holy heck that was a lot of coin to drop just on suspension (for me). I’m doing it the other way around with the Mojave. Start with the 3k suspension baked in then tweak as needed. After that 4Runner on a great suspension setup, everything else intended for off-road use feels archaic and bone jarring now.

 

[b-roc]

I’m anxious to hear your results. I will be getting quite a bit of use out of the bed and will occasionally need to tow 3k-ish lbs. Not enough of a need for a purpose built/configured spec. So hoping bags at will mitigate the sag.

I have had good luck with mine so I hope that you do too.

If you have on board air, you can consider the same thing that I did. I y'd my compressor output and attached a pneumatic switch to one output. I use that switch to air up and deflate my airbags ... super easy to use and out of the way ... I bought the switch with a dual needle gauge so that I can monitor airbag and tank pressure
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9BKVL9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076C25CDW/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apap_XYH1A38OAuAZn
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P56RNXK/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apap_HafY89LRafwW5

 

[b-roc]

Here is my underseat mount midway through assembly.

Below is just before wiring the light and installing the seat.

 

[KurtP]

My use would be more like 100lbs bi-weekly in the bed and 3k behind it once a month. I’m OCD when it comes to the rear staying at, or above, the front. My JKU Rubi towed no problem but was rough. My 4Runner towed no problem but was rough. With the 4Runner I ended up going with Fox ext. reservoirs on all corners along with higher progressive springs. Loved loved loved it, totally spoiled me but holy heck that was a lot of coin to drop just on suspension (for me). I’m doing it the other way around with the Mojave. Start with the 3k suspension baked in then tweak as needed. After that 4Runner on a great suspension setup, everything else intended for off-road use feels archaic and bone jarring now.

Drive it as is before you mess with it. Thats not much weight.

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