Belly scrape!

Louie25

Louie25

Joined
Jan 13, 2022
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Scotland, UK
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Carthago
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New to Motorhome, experienced caravanner 😊
Hello, we picked up our (new to us) Carthago motorhome at the weekend. Had a couple of nights away and then drove home.
Sadly though when reversing it onto our driveway the middle underside scraped at the entrance apex (think that’s how to describe it?).

My husband had a good look underneath and can see it was the exhaust that got it. We are considering air suspension anyway for payload increase but would this solve the issue as well? Or would redesigning the drive be the only other way?!

Now fearful about driving out again!



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Couple of options , see if possible to raise the exhaust, fit air suspension capable of onboard control .
In the meantime you could put down a couple of scaffold boards on drive so rear axle goes onto them before point that exhaust contacts ground .
 
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Are you able to build a two simple timber ramps to give you a couple of inches height over that section? Seems very expensive to fit air just for this.
 
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I’ve fitted air assist to my 7.2m van and that raised the back by 100mm. I’ve then fitted I prayed front springs. This raised the front 50mm. Both jobs simple and I did them at home. So easy for basic garage.
 
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Maybe not a permanent fix, but does having the van the other way around avoid the issue? Or just create a different one? :unsure:
 
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Louie25 said:
Hello, we picked up our (new to us) Carthago motorhome at the weekend. Had a couple of nights away and then drove home.
Sadly though when reversing it onto our driveway the middle underside scraped at the entrance apex (think that’s how to describe it?).

My husband had a good look underneath and can see it was the exhaust that got it. We are considering air suspension anyway for payload increase but would this solve the issue as well? Or would redesigning the drive be the only other way?!

Now fearful about driving out again!



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While redesigning your drive might seem an expensive option, it looks fairly new so should not be too bigger job before the tarmac sets hard and as it settles, the problem might get worse
Fitting air suspension will certainly give a better ride but will also raise you entrance step etc. something, perhaps, you do not need or want? 🤔
Good luck! 😄
 
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L' Hobo said:
While redesigning your drive might seem an expensive option, it looks fairly new so should not be too bigger job before the tarmac sets hard and as it settles, the problem might get worse
Fitting air suspension will certainly give a better ride but will also raise you entrance step etc. something, perhaps, you do not need or want? 🤔
Good luck! 😄
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If it's full air, then it'll generally lower the van when you're in camping level mode.

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I had exactly the same problem with our new Fiat based Carthago. We considered everything regarding length for storage on our drive but had not considered height. We have a peak to our drive and the exhaust caught that when we reversed onto the drive after we picked the van up. The exhaust tail was on a swivel so I loosened the clamp and rotated it a bit but it only gained us a couple of centimeters. The battery box also looked vulnerable. It was ok when we drove off afterwards but that trip was to have levellers fitted at SAP and they changed the front springs as well which gave us another couple of inches onto the front suspension. No problems since then.
 
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A few more trips in and out will eventually!!. No scrub that idea, just re-profile the exhaust outlet with an angle grinder, it doesn't look like a lot is needed. Can you load a picture of the exhaust relative to the offending area?
Mike.
 
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Seems that others have already given all the suggestions I would have. Seems extreme to fit air suspension to solve this issue.
Scaffold boards placed to find out where to alter the drive intially.
Then alter the drive once you confirm the scaffold boards solve the problem.
 
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Don't know about a Merc but on a Fiat Cathago exhaust exits in the centre of the chassis and is only 2 to 3 inches below the chassis far higher than a standard Fiat exhaust. If your vans like that it must be a big bump in the drive.

Full air will give approx 4" of travel on the rear and 5" on the front, so you would be able to raise the van 2" to 3". It will always ride at a constant height regardless of the load & load distribution.
Well worth fitting just for the driving experience.

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Guigsy said:
If it's full air, then it'll generally lower the van when you're in camping level mode.
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But that's only if one goes for the very expensive full air system (about £4000 -£6000) not just the air assist on the back axle.

One can buy a lot of tarmac to redesign the driveway for £6000! 😄
 
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L' Hobo said:
But that's only if one goes for the very expensive full air system (about £4000 -£6000) not just the air assist on the back axle.

One can buy a lot of tarmac to redesign the driveway for £6000! 😄
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You are behind the times its £9000 now & well worth it.
 
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An off the wall suggestion but could you not create a central trench/groove for the offending part to pass through?

I know the drive is new but it could be 'made good'.

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JRT said:
An off the wall suggestion but could you not create a central trench/groove for the offending part to pass through?

I know the drive is new but it could be 'made good'.
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Or just put two boards down for the wheels to run on for exit, return?
 
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Try it at an angle reversing not straight may help. A few inches either way may clear it.

I'm also on the side of a plank of wood.
 
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We had a issue with our current van and previous van both on Fiat Alko, when getting on or off our drive. We did find taking it at an angle did help, but in the end we went for most recently VB Semi Air fitted by SAP, cost 5 yrs ago about 1500.

We reasoned that our driveway was not unique and that we would come across this problem at other places (ferries etc..). It solved our problem (y), when we approach anything dodgy we raise the rear and go slowly, lowering it when clear. It may help with stability when driving but the main reason for us is being able to raise and lower the rear end from the cab.

I would check with someone like SVTech if you want to increase the rear axle payload to see what extra you can go to (for us it made little difference), we ended up redistributing the weight, replaced heavy with light (batteries) and removed stuff.
 
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Guigsy said:
Maybe not a permanent fix, but does having the van the other way around avoid the issue? Or just create a different one? :unsure:
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Will need to try this but don’t want to unnecessarily drive out just to try!

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I would take the van to a garage that can put the van on a ramp and see exactly the problem - just the exhaust or ground clearance. As has been said you will have worse 'ramps' on your travels...
 
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Barclaybasher said:
I would take the van to a garage that can put the van on a ramp and see exactly the problem - just the exhaust or ground clearance. As has been said you will have worse 'ramps' on your travels...
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The crest at the end of that drive is pretty extreme. It's probably equivalent to driving over a kerb stone and worrying about scraping the bottom.
 
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Guigsy said:
The crest at the end of that drive is pretty extreme. It's probably equivalent to driving over a kerb stone and worrying about scraping the bottom.
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Not enough clearance for most speed bumps would be a worry.....
 
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