homemade trailer

[hugh]

I bought this trailer from a guy a couple of blocks over from my place so I could pack a bit more gear for our may long weekend run. It currently has a samuri rear axle and the frame is very light duty. So today I bought a 2000 lb trailer axle with new leaf springs and then went to the surplus steel place and bought some 2x2 3/16ths wall square tubing. The plan is to beef it up and build a small camper trailer approx 8 feet long by 5 feet wide and roughly 5 feet high. The walls will be 1/4 plywood in and out with rigid insulation sandwiched inside. The tires are 31 inch by 10.5 by 15.

 

[Martyn]

Congratulations on the trailer.

If the Samurai rear axles has the original leaf spring think about keeping them on the trailer. They are probably much longer than the trailer leaf springs you bought and they will actually flex!

Most trailer springs are short and ridged giving a very hard bouncy ride.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Congratulations on the trailer.

If the Samurai rear axles has the original leaf spring think about keeping them on the trailer. They are probably much longer than the trailer leaf springs you bought and they will actually flex!

Most trailer springs are short and ridged giving a very hard bouncy ride.

Yeah, I don't really get it. I have a utility trailer, well made, I think it's 500lbs empty with a 1500lb cargo capacity. You'd think it had 2000lb leafs but man... When empty, it bounces right off the road over train tracks. I've had it loaded to 2000lbs, and it still bounces a little bit. The only time it's been settled is when it's overloaded. (not that I would ever do that.

By comparison, I have a Seadoo trailer, all aluminum, with torflex axles. The only time it bounces is when it's empty, it only weighs about 200lbs by itself. With a 600lb Seadoo on it, it rides like a Cadillac, and that's a 1500lb axle.

 

[compactcamping]

Here is comparison of standard 24" long trailer springs and the 45" long Jeep YJ one I plan on using.

When you stand on the YJ springs they squat 1", even jumping up and down on the the trailer springs they hardly move.

 

[Martyn]

Yeah, I don't really get it. I have a utility trailer, well made, I think it's 500lbs empty with a 1500lb cargo capacity. You'd think it had 2000lb leafs but man... When empty, it bounces right off the road over train tracks. I've had it loaded to 2000lbs, and it still bounces a little bit. The only time it's been settled is when it's overloaded. (not that I would ever do that.

By comparison, I have a Seadoo trailer, all aluminum, with torflex axles. The only time it bounces is when it's empty, it only weighs about 200lbs by itself. With a 600lb Seadoo on it, it rides like a Cadillac, and that's a 1500lb axle.

I'd guess that the torsion axle was de-rated. When you have a trailer dedicated to a specific purpose, and a know load, the spring rate can be customized.

Trailer springs available in North America are pathetic.

 

[OlympiaFJ60]

Congratulations on the trailer.

If the Samurai rear axles has the original leaf spring think about keeping them on the trailer. They are probably much longer than the trailer leaf springs you bought and they will actually flex!

Most trailer springs are short and ridged giving a very hard bouncy ride.

Definitely agree, I originally built my trailer with Land Cruiser springs and shocks. Drove like a dream. I have regular trailer springs right now because I couldn't get the correct height, spring over or spring under. It was right in between. I will be going back to the Land Cruiser springs this fall once I figure out how I want to get to the right height (shackles or more arch). I may look at some Jeep springs too or OME Land Cruiser springs

 

[Funrover]

Nice trailer... looks like it will make a fun little rig!

 

[Box Rocket]

I can't disagree about using the samurai springs. Seems totally logical and many have proven that longer springs will flex better and have less bounce than trailer springs. So if you've got 'em, I'd use them as has been suggested.

That being said, after my initial camping/test run with my trailer this past weekend, I was pleasantly suprised by how the trailer springs worked. Well, I'll put it this way, they were not even close to as bad as I thought they'd be based on comments I've seen here. I have 3500# springs on mine and expected them to be VERY stiff and bounce like crazy. In actuality they probably are VERY stiff. My guess is that my trailer weighs around 600-700lbs empty and I probably had 300-400 lbs of gear in it for my weekend trip. Far below the weight rating of the trailer so it should still be bouncy. I had my air pressure in the tires (285/75/R16) set to 15psi. I'm sure they provided some or alot of the "suspension" but I was quite pleased with how the trailer did on the trip. There is a rough set of train tracks near my home that I crossed as approx 45mph as we left town. The trailer bounced pretty good on that crossing, but I believe any trailer would so I didn't worry about it. On the trail, you're typically travelling slow enough that having the trailer flex isn't really going to happen anyway. Once you get out on dirt roads where the speeds can go up is where you'd see strengths/weaknesses in the suspension. Through some good bumps and washboard at speeds between 35-50 mph, my trailer sprung trailer did just great, far better than I would have thought. Maybe it was all the tires, who knows, but it worked.

Inspite of all that, I still think it would be better to use longer springs if you are using leaf springs on the trailer. Just makes sense, but I wouldn't say it's a requirement.

 

[dzzz]

If it bounces crazy when empty, the tires have too much air. (Sorry if this has benn said - didn't see it)

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Really? I ran them at 5psi trying to get the Maggiolina home in the utility trailer without shaking it to bits, still bounces.