"Actually, driving at a speed that minimized washboarding also gave the
shocks a huge workout. This is because the tires were moving up & down while
the body stayed stationary and all of the travel & dampening converted to
heat, melting the tops of the shocks.

If you had driven slower or faster, letting the van washboard, you would not
have lost the shocks. This is because more energy would have traveled into
the van body instead of being absorbed by he shocks."

That's bunk. All three vans drove at the same speed and the other two had no shock meltdown problems.

I drove at 35-40 and liked the absence of cabin rattle and shake. I drove at 5-20 and didn't like the cabin rattle and shake. Either way, the shocks were up to the task.

Bob
'87 Syncro Westy
.... trim your posts.