Rear Suspension

Front Wheel Drive Rear Suspension:

All Wheel Drive Rear Suspension:

The rear suspension design on this vehicle uses leaf springs, and a tube and casting axle. It is designed to handle the various load requirements of the vehicle. The leaf springs used on the rear suspension of this vehicle are of either a mono-leaf or multi-leaf design. The rear axle used on front-wheel-drive applications of this vehicle is mounted to the rear leaf springs using isolator bushings at the axle mounting brackets. The rear axle used on all-wheel-drive applications of this vehicle is also mounted to the rear leaf springs but does not use isolator bushings between the rear axle and the leaf springs. The rear suspension used on the front-wheel-drive commercial version of this vehicle is unique to this application. The rear axle is mounted to the rear leaf springs as on the non-commercial application of this vehicle, but does not use any isolators between the spring and the axle. The leaf spring used on the commercial version of this vehicle is a multi-leaf spring, but is a unique design for the commercial application. The rear leaf spring shackle angles provide increasing suspension rates as the vehicle is loaded. This provides a comfortable unloaded ride and also ample rear suspension travel when the vehicle is loaded. The shock absorbers are mounted at an angle, more parallel to the springs. This design provides greater stability in addition to controlling ride motion. The rear wheel bearings used are similar to the bearings used in the front suspension. A hub and bearing assembly is used. The bearings are permanently sealed and require no maintenance.