By David Marriott on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I am Reading this page for the first time and am finding the interest in a 6x6 with suspension to be inspiring. Approx two years ago when i subscribed to 6x6talk i posted this same question.

I recieved e-mails mainly insulting me by attacking my intelligence for asking such a "stupid" question.

I purchased the plan set from the Edge Products to use as a base for my project, and have come up with several different designs using three independent rear suspension units out of small Japanese cars.

I have the same concerns of the weight of these designs effecting the bouyancy, and the cost and complexity of components, such as 12 CV type joints, 6 coil-over units and either 6 or 12 fabricated suspension arms.

I have not had the privilege of owning a 6X6 and am not experienced in the ride quality of conventional machines.

Do these machines that rely on the "give" in their tires, give adequate ride comfort?

By Ernie Savinsky (Lucky45) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

"Give" You got it! The things will bust your back in 1/2 if used with more than 1 psi in tires.
Its why all the old 6x6's had softwall tires.

A modern 6x6 w/ 6 wheel independent suspension that floats is beyond RI's( Max Manufacturer) Engineering ability.

Maybe Argo, or one of the big name Quad 4x4 makers will build one and put RI where they belong. Out of business in the stone age. !

By MaxRules (Brandon_price) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Ernie you don't seem to ever look at the whole picture. Why doesn't RI and ODG make a 6x6 with fully independant suspension? Because it performs like crap and would put the cost of the vehicle so high that no one could buy it. A friend of mine put independant suspension on his Max back in 1993 and it just plain sucked.
Water performance was gone. Shocks would let the tires hang way down in the water so they couldn't paddle right. It lost all balance that it had before.
One person in the Max IV was good just sitting there, load it up with four people and the belly about sat on the ground. Most ground clearance is lost while carrying a load. Argo and Centuar's main purpose is to carry lots of cargo so suspension would be a step back for them.
Price of a new vehicle would not only be high but there would be a lot more parts to wear out and break. I think there is countless other things on these 6x6s that could be improved before suspension is even considered.
I am not saying there is no way suspension would work. Recreatives is putting a suspension seat in the Max IV next year. This will be a first for the 6x6 industry. Not even ODG's most expensive machine has a suspension seat so no need to bad mouth RI. The suspension seat will work great because it will not effect vehicle performance but will take the shock out of the bumps. It looks like RI is moving in the right direction to me. I'll be first in line to buy one of those.

MaxRules