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Quadra Lift

32K views 110 replies 40 participants last post by  MrHerbert 
#1 ·
Anyone receive their new rig with Quadra Lift yet? If not, I hope someone posts their thoughts immediately after delivery.

And pics of the different ride heights as well.
 
#84 ·
its a pressurized system where the air is pumped back and forth from the air springs to the tank. I'm sure there is a way to relieve the pressure to service etc.
 
#86 ·
while the system is nice, can't help but to think of BMW X5's had issues with the air suspension, many 2003-2006 Mercedes had issues with air suspension, from control modules, to leaking air, to pumps, what would make this system as reliable as a shock/spring setup available in the Limited? not to mention 1st year production, spells to me like get ready to be in the shop :(
 
#87 ·
There's always more risk when you're talking about a relatively complicated suspension system. You're right that there are control modules, tanks, pumps, etc. that all have the potential to fail. On the other hand, conventional coil springs are very reliable, but they do tend to droop/sag over time. Fortunately, they are easy and inexpensive to replace.

If you're really worried about reliability, just skip the air suspension and go with the coil springs instead.
 
#89 ·
If you don't plan on off-roading, the springs are probably the way to go. I plan on taking my Jeep to Moab, and want the ability to raise it when I need to, without having to drive on the highway the other 99% of the time with a permanent lift that will negatively affect the handling and increase the rollover risk.
 
#90 ·
Drove my 2012 Laredo X QT2 Hemi off the lot yesterday! It is fantastic-dealer trade and they gave me the chrome ltd 18s. Oversite on my part did not get the Adventure Group 2 so I dont have the QuadraLift. Am I going to miss it? Dont plan on any 4wheelin for a while as it is too expensive except for snow but last year we didnt have any-2 years before record 30" or something crazy for the south-Oklahoma City.
I like good handling better than smooth ride. Maybe I will get it when I get the 2015 diesel!
 
#91 · (Edited)
Bouncy (Dolphin) ride in 2014 Laredo when towing 2.5t caravan. Does anyone know how to firm up the rear suspension? Its a Quadra Lift and I keep getting told you cant do anything to it. Can i increase the pressure? Will reducing the normal height improve firmness? Will a change to 20" wheels change things? I am in Brisbane.
 
#93 ·
Bouncy (Dolphin) ride in 2014 Laredo when towing 2.5t caravan. Does anyone know how to firm up the rear suspension? Its a Quadra Lift and I keep getting told you cant do anything to it. Can i increase the pressure? Will reducing the normal height improve firmness? Will a change to 20" wheels change things? I am in Brisbane.
Do you have the proper weight on the tongue? It should be 8-10% of the loaded caravan.


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#94 ·
What Bill said...and if your caravan weighs more than about 3500 lbs, you should also be using a weight distributing hitch (WDH) to insure your vehicle stays balanced. QL alone might keep it "physically level", but it doesn't help with balance issues.
 
#95 ·
Yes, I have WDH and Anti Sway Bar fitted. Ball weight at 150kg. ESC in caravan has come on about 3 times on only marginally bumpy roads. The car and van are dead flat when in sports mode or above 90km/h. I have bee toying with adding an additional water tank to the front of the van, and additional 80kg but thinks I need the car sorted first.
 
#96 ·
Yes, I have WDH and Anti Sway Bar fitted. Ball weight at 150kg. ESC in caravan has come on about 3 times on only marginally bumpy roads. The car and van are dead flat when in sports mode or above 90km/h. I have bee toying with adding an additional water tank to the front of the van, and additional 80kg but thinks I need the car sorted first.
What is the total loaded weight of the caravan?


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#98 · (Edited)
So your tongue weight should be between 225 to 280kg.

I wouldn't be looking for problems with the tow vehicle before I got the weight distribution sorted out.

On some trailers it is possible to move the axel forward or back to shift weight off or onto the tongue.

From Jeep owner's manual;

"Trailer And Tongue Weight
Always load a trailer with 60% of the weight in the front
of the trailer. This places 10% of the GTW on the tow
hitch of your vehicle. Loads balanced over the wheels or
heavier in the rear can cause the trailer to sway

s
everely side to side which will cause loss of control of the vehicle
and trailer. Failure to load trailers heavier in front is the

cause of many trailer collisions. Never exceed the maximum
tongue weight stamped on your trailer hitch."



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#101 ·
Jeep Service suggested today that I remove the WDH in total and they think it will settle down.
Strange when you consider that they specify using WDH over 3500 lbs or something like that in the manual... ;)
 
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#100 ·
Since the tongue weight is a known issue in your case, I would strongly recommend taking care of that issue first. Removing the WDH doesn't seem like an appropriate solution at all.

Maybe, just as a test, you can get some bags of sand, concrete, or other heavy items and load them into the caravan until you have the right tongue weight. Take it for a ride and see what happens. If it doesn't solve the problem you can just take them out and move on to something else. If it does solve the problem, as I believe it will, you can then look for a permanent method to distribute the weight.

Your water tank idea sounds pretty good. That way depending on what other cargo you have on board, you can adjust the tongue weight by adding or removing water.

Let us know how you make out.

Best of luck!


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#102 ·
Well that spec is likely based on what an appropriate ball weight would be for a trailer that heavy overall. A WDH redistributes the ball weight, not the total trailer weight. As mentioned, the ball weight is disproportionately low, so it's not entirely ridiculous to try without the WDH effectively unweighting things further. It perhaps exploits the rebound performance of the suspension as the trailer lifts the rear of the car over undulations?

Theories aside, I agree that step one has got to be getting the ball weight right. A water tank, if valved so you can choose whether you draw from it or the other tank/s, does provide good scope to manage the varying fore and aft weight of the caravan.

Anecdotally, our new caravan was a bit light up front and seemed to porpoise the car quite significantly when towing it home from the dealer. However given consideration, it was fully liquid loaded just behind the axle and most of the unused dry storage is well ahead of the axle... so it became more correctly balanced as I loaded it up. In subsequent use it behaved much better.

Regarding the questions posed... higher should be firmer with QL, but that's not much use in practice as you automatically get Aero above 80km/h. Changing to 20" is unlikely to make a difference... unless your 18"s are grossly under-inflated.
;)
Cheers,
Steve
 
#105 · (Edited)
Peoples, thanks for these comments.

I will make calls tomorrow to Jayco first. Adding weight by an additional water tank sounds logical but means I carry 80kg for the sake of it where loading the van differently may change things. I just don't think I have 80kg of stuff to move forward. Jeep wanted a test drive today with a couple of different setups but that is too difficult.

I really cant do anything until we head out for a trip next week. It appears I am going to be trialling setups on the road. Not ideal.

Tyres in Jeep are at 36lb with nitrogen, so should be stable. I will up them to 38 before we go.

So my steps will be:
1. Tyres to 38
2. Check ball weight
3. Determine whether to run without WDH and only Sway bar
4. Trial with and without WDH and or sway bar
5. Trial in sport mode only
6. Get price to change over to a non Quadra lift version

Have I missed anything?
 
#106 ·
I have quadralift on my 4x4 Summit. I like it, but man is it an "america tuned" ride. The little M-B GLK we have has a nice but firm ride. Really wish "sport" firmed it up but it doesn't. My favorite setting is Off-Road1. I like the firmness of that setting, but alas it goes away after a certain MPH (50 mph is it?).

Anyone 'firmed' up the ride in normal modes?
 
#107 ·
When you speak to Jayco, see if the axel can be moved toward the back. This would put more weight on the tongue without adding total weight.

Running without WDH or switching from QuadrLift seem absurd, compared to taking care of your basic, very common problem.

But, it's your unit, so do whatever you want ... but try to be safe!


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#108 ·
Bill_de,

Well you got to the question where I started.
How do you increase the firmness of the ride in 'normal' mode.
Does not appear to be possible and it appears the common response is that any changes are not recommended by Jeep.
The only concession I have obtained is that it is possible to lower the normal mode, which I did see somewhere in one of these threads. Again the warning was not recommended.
 
#109 ·
Jayco advised today that they believe the ball weight is 180kg and they would expect me to add 480kg to the van offering about 48kg to the ball weight. They believe the WDH and air suspension are fighting each other and have had one other van where removal of the WDH improved the travel.

I will just have to wait until I am on the road, and if possible get the ball weight measured.

Thanks again for input and thoughts.
 
#110 ·
I will just have to wait until I am on the road, and if possible get the ball weight measured.
Apolgies if I'm misunderstanding, but I thoroughly recommend that you do some short trips away with your new set-up... or just go for a few test drives. My neighbours have probably been having a giggle at the lame local destinations we are caravanning to on the weekends, however each trip refines the set-up and leaves me with a list of tweaks to make before next time.

I wouldn't like to set off on a longer trip without being absolutely 100% confident with how the assembly will tow.

Cheers,
Steve
 
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