31 DECEMBER 2011
Not long after I started this project Rob Sijben, a Dutch guy who has rebuilt a 1976
Titan, emailed to let me know that mine was a rare caravan indeed as it had a ‘Z-
Some said, “It could be to aid stability or to allow the caravan to turn easier toward the side with the rear set wheel.”
Others have suggested that it has, “Something to do with the internal layout to ensure that the wheel arches don’t get in the way of the furniture.”
Or even that, “It will limit the sway, like a torsion system with added shocks.”
Someone else guessed that it may have, “Something to do with the round tube going towards the front from the centre of the axle. If it's part of the strength of the hitch to make up for the extremely light frame rails this would make sense as the staggered wheel placement would only twist this tube as opposed to lateral movement if the wheels were straight across.” That went straight over my head unfortunately.
Weight distribution was another idea, “If the right rear corner has too much weight, slide the wheel under it to ‘neutralise’ it.” This idea got me slightly worried as I wondered if it would affect my Titan’s stability when I change the interior layout. By this time I had already come up with a floor plan. So it was suggested that I should, “Try putting holding tanks, batteries etc. in the back behind the rear most wheel or vice versa. Front weight on the side with the forward positioned wheel.”
Then an American guy from the Tin Can Tourists Facebook group said, “I think this was originally designed to offset the wheels and reduce both wheels hitting bumps at the same time. I think it was a novel concept that didn't last.” His statement was endorsed by another guy on the group, “I would agree with the theory. I think the idea was that this would lessen the amount of bounce resulting in less movement of the contents inside.”
So, if anyone has any other ideas or knows the reason, I would be grateful if you could let me know.
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