Spring calculator for expedition vehicles
From „The cold storage trick“ - Burkhard Menn
Important notes on the calculation:
- Objective: Pre-dimensioning, non-standard verification
- Vehicle: ladder frame, expedition truck
- Bearing: Fixed bearing at the rear, spring-loaded at the front
- Accelerations: 0.5 g (realistic, not normative)
- Safety factor: 1.8 (flat rate)
- Frame torsion angle: 4° (conservative empirical value)
📏 Not sure how to determine the values?
Here you will find a detailed Instructions for determining measured values on the vehicle with pictures and step-by-step explanations.
⚙️ For technicians and engineers:
Want to understand how the calculation works? Here is the complete derivation with formulas and interactive visualization:
→ The physics behind the spring calculation
⚠️ IMPORTANT: This is the distance between the left and right spring on the main frame, NOT the wheel track width! Typically 0.8-1.0 m for truck ladder frames. Values that are too large lead to dangerously weak springs!
