3-4 Link Suspension?

[GeoTracker90]

With your experience would you say that the AT trailer's performance was:

A) Due to having the independent suspension.
B) Due to having air bags.
C) Due to having independent suspension and air bags.

It is probably hard to distill because it should all work as a system, but I'm trying to understand how a trailer with a beam axle and air bags might perform compared to one with an independent suspension and air bags.

Mike

 

[archtimb]

Xackly! Here's my take on the whole thing.

Articulation is not needed. Suppleness is. In any solid (live) axle situation any movement on one side is somewhat transferred to the other. That's where that hop come from.

You could get similar performance with supple leaf springs in an independent suspension (although I do not know why you would want to do this). A supple spring in an independent setup will absorb the washboards. The real benefit from air bags come in the adjust-ability of the system. You are able to change the pressure to fit your loads and the road conditions. Best of all worlds.

Now, if you are always loaded the same, then go for a coil, spring over coil or leaf. If you vary weights, go for an air bag. Even heading out with an on-board water tank and heading home with it empty will change your suspension dynamics.

Mitch

Have watched our trailer behind us, don't worry so much about the suspension having much rotational articulation as it pivots on the front coupling and the whole trailer will rotate. The bigger concern is up and down travel. This is what will soak up the bumps and washboards while driving. Even driving behind an AT trailer with its independent suspension, I never saw the trailer really have any rotational articulation as the trailer would just lean over. What I did see was that on the washboard road it would not "hop" like my standard leaf spring setup.

My .02 worth. :ylsmoke:

 

[ExpoMike]

With your experience would you say that the AT trailer's performance was:

A) Due to having the independent suspension.
B) Due to having air bags.
C) Due to having independent suspension and air bags.

It is probably hard to distill because it should all work as a system, but I'm trying to understand how a trailer with a beam axle and air bags might perform compared to one with an independent suspension and air bags.

Mike

Based on what I saw, there are a couple things that most likely affected the performance between our two trailers. Tires I feel had a big effect as the AT trailer had 35x12.5" tires and I am currently on 185-70-14". The larger tires and hence taller sidewall, helped assorb some of the shock, especially on the washboard roads. The second was the dampining of the airbags. Coming from the truck/hot rod world as well (my other hobby) airbags really help dampen the shock to the vehicle. You will actually see them compress and rebound.

I have noticed on my trailer, due in part to short, high rate trailer springs, they really never seem to compress and if they do, it is very little. A longer spring would help a lot. For standard leafs, there is the balance between load capacity and ride quality. Most trailer springs go for load capacity. This is where airbags really shine, as you can adjust for this.

As for a solid axle creating the hopping motion, my Cherokee is solid axle front and rear but does not get the hopping motion but that is due to the spring rates I am running. The axle is allowed to move yet is dampened correctly with the proper shocks.

Independent suspension on a trailer had some benefits but I think airbags have a bigger one regardless of axle type.

My opinion, FWIW :costumed-smiley-007

 

[Grim Reaper]

Cool kit but for $1100, way too much overkill for a trailer. One of the biggest things trailers don't have to worry about is pinion angle. With the above kit, it helps keep the pinion angle correct while traveling through the range of motion.

Have watched our trailer behind us, don't worry so much about the suspension having much rotational articulation as it pivots on the front coupling and the whole trailer will rotate. The bigger concern is up and down travel. This is what will soak up the bumps and washboards while driving. Even driving behind an AT trailer with its independent suspension, I never saw the trailer really have any rotational articulation as the trailer would just lean over. What I did see was that on the washboard road it would not "hop" like my standard leaf spring setup.

My .02 worth. :ylsmoke:

Yeah $1100 is excessive BUT the $250 for key brackets isn't.

http://www.trail-gear.com/trail-link-parts.html