Spring suspension arrangement for off-road vehicles

Abstract

A heavy duty spring suspension for an off-road vehicle including an axle assembly formed of a transversely extending axle housing and a forwardly extending tongue rigid with the axle housing, the forward end of the tongue having a front ball and socket connection with the chassis. Vertically arranged adjacent the axle housing, and in centered position, is a damped spring suspension device which is connected at its upper end to the chassis and at its lower end to the axle assembly. In the preferred embodiment the suspension device is of 'T' shape with the arms of the 'T' including a transversely extending hinge type connection with the chassis. The lower end of the suspension is connected to the axle housing by a rear ball and socket connection, the front and rear ball and socket connections, together, defining a fore-and-aft extending roll axis. In an alternate embodiment the suspension device is of inverted 'T' shape having a transversely extending hinge type connection with the axle housing, the hinge type connection in both cases providing rigidity so that relative rolling movement is confined to the ball and socket connections thereby to keep the suspension device in generally upright position. An auxiliary suspension device is provided having a damped biasing spring of the centering type connected from the chassis to the axle assembly at a point eccentric to the roll axis for relatively biasing the axle assembly toward a centered position parallel to the chassis.