Suspension direaction of travel question.

There is a air ride trailer design , the forward axle has the airbags on ether end , the radius rods comes into the center . Looks like it would ride rough but it does fine.

 

If the control arms were re-positioned lower (you'd have to do the math to get them right), then you could make it work with the same geometry. Just installing it the same way, just running the opposite direction would be a rough, more unstable ride and unsafe ride.

A poor analogy would be to image dragging a broom stick. You can drag it over bumps easy, it just hops right over. Now push that broom stick and it gets stuck on bumps pretty easily. Putting an axle & tires at the end of that stick would make it easier to push, but it'd still hit bumps harder pushing than pulling.

 

the first thing that came to my mind upon reading your question and the replies was the idea of inverted shocks back in the day of non unitrack suspension,properly labeled as mono-shock since yamaha introduced it.I am referencing dirt bikes.I still have a 1974 yamaha 125 that i did that to.gosh it seemed like such a large bike back then. then,or was it before,the off set front axle came into being and now look at the travel a dirt bike suspension has. 11-12 inches front and rear.

oh yeah.having the suspension set up for your riding weight,in your protective gear,makes all the difference in the world.spend more money and get it all re-valved and then you are riding at a much quicker/faster pace because you are now in control and the bumps are soaked up as opposed to the geometry of the bike's suspension throwing you around from not being set up properly.not unlike a truck being set up to go.

dirt bikes, trucks,and some women are money pits.I have older bikes(why total a new $8000 bike when you hit the first tree?),an older truck,and a gal that works(an RN) and is my age so my expenditures are on the bikes and truck. in that order too plus one equates the other due to when they don't run,they ain't no fun.

whew.

off topic or what? sorry. the yuengling took over.I think i'll hand your thread back over.

 

One of the best books I have ever read is called, "Door Slammers: The Chassis Book" by Dave Morgan. It's totally geared toward drag racing, but so much useful info on chassis, suspension and fabrication in general for many projects. It is a highly technical book, but written in a way that you don't need an engineering degree to understand. Very good reading for anyone into fabrication of stuff like this.

Now I have to dig it up and flip through it, there goes my night.

 

Grapeape very good explanation , on the dot!