Air Shocks, air bags or leaf springs?

[camp'n_hunt]

I'm starting a new trailer build soon and have been thinking about what type of suspension to put under it. My first trailer has leaf springs and it's a stiff ride with 3500 lb springs.

Putting air bags and shocks like the Horizon trailer is a nice setup but pricy. 66 buck per bag is the cheapest i can find them, plus shocks and air lines.

I'm wondering if anyone has used air shocks like these(link) i could get these from work(auto parts store) for cheap. one set on each side would provide plenty of lift and they come with the air lines.

Am i going the wrong direction on this? Or should I just bite the bullet and copy the horizon trailer suspension?

Thanks for you input.

 

[hugh]

Consider some advice Martyn gave and think about using some longer softer springs such as YJ leafs. Those would give a better ride than trailer springs and coupled with a set of shocks might work very well.

 

[ExpoMike]

Those are air shocks not air springs. Very, very different beasts. What you listed is to help an existing suspension that might be sagging or needs a little extra load help.

As far as what to use, using a longer leaf spring from a YJ or XJ would ride much better. An independent suspension like an AT trailer has a lot more to it that is much harder to fab correctly. Ask AT what their rejection rate is (or was) on their control arms.

If you want a some what cheap, easy to fab, reliable and adjustable setup, a good choice would be to use a long main spring from a YJ or XJ (just the main spring, not the full spring pack) and then add a set of air bags (not air shocks) and shocks. The leaf spring will take care of the alignment issues and the air bags and shock will adjust and control the ride. This is very common on lowered leaf spring trucks that are not full linked bagged systems. Using the leaf springs makes setting up everything very easy.

My .02 worth. Do some searches on this site as there are some great ideas, comments and issues brought to light by many knowledgeable people.

Good luck and post up pics.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

The link you posted just look like adjustable shocks, and I don't think they would provide any lift. Also, with the AT suspension, the air bags are the easy part... The dual trailing arms, links, and mounts are the hard part.

I'd go with normal shocks and a longer set of leaf springs for the first trailer. Mine are from a Ranger and work very well. Jeep or Suzuki springs have also been used with good results from what I've read.

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[StumpXJ]

I am using two firestone airbags with custom built trailing arm and panhard bar set-up on a 3500lb solid Dexter axle. Sort of like the old school 67-72 chevy pick-ups. Dead simple, reliable, and functional. With a trailer, you basically just need something to keep the axle/spindle in place and allow up and down movement (which aside from 'suspending', are what the leaf springs do) so you only really need one arm on each side and a panhard or trackbar to keep the side to side movement at bay. The rest is just fluff. With the airbags, I will be able to adjust for my load, which is just about impossible with leafs. I have about 200 bucks in my entire supsension materials (Bags, steel, and heims/bushings) and built it myself. There are plenty of ways to do it, just got to figure out what works best for you.

~James

 

[camp'n_hunt]

Thanks for youe input guys, i'm going to go with air bags for sure,i really want to adjust for diffrent load. still desinging the trailer though. i will post pix during construction.