Faramir's 416 Build

[Faramir66103]

Well folks I got one!:wings: I'm currently going through old threads collecting ideas for my build. Man! There are a lot of great builds on this site.

Mine is in pretty good shape, and overall I'm really pleased. My first (of many) question is about the suspension. The springs seem pretty flat (to my untrained eyes) and the shocks seem to have little to no travel. I had my wife stand in the center and rock it side to side and the only movement was from the low air pressure in the tires. The suspension seemed to not move at all. What's more likely, that the shocks or springs have frozen? I have no experience with leaf springs at all, so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

Sellers Pics (haven't had a chance to take my own yet)

 

[IH8RDS]

Congrats on you're purchase! Post up some pictures.

I don't get any flex out of my springs unless it is loaded down. Then it articulates really well on the trail.

 

[sseaman]

It would really depend on the spring weight rating as to whether you see movement when you push on it.

On my trailer the springs are pretty light, and i pulled out a few leaves, so I am able to compress it some by pushing down hard.

 

[Faramir66103]

More pics

 

[Faramir66103]

Ok, so how would I tell if the shocks and/or springs need to be replaced?

Would it be a good idea to pull some of the leaves and how big of a job is that?

On the ride home it was empty, and bounced around pretty badly on occasion. I put roughly 75 pounds of tools in it, up near the front at one stop, and that seemed to help a bit, but I thought the suspension was supposed to keep it from bouncing. But, I'm new to this whole trailer thing and have never owned anything with leaf springs.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[Overland]

i have an M101CDN, very similar to your trailer. i did a spring over lift and removed 2 leafs to try and soften how it rides. it seemed to improve some and loaded it is fine. as for bouncing....tire pressure? so often overlooked but one of the largest parts of your suspension. and those old tires are like rocks. you say it swayed when your wife was in it due to low pressure so i guess thats how you towed it home? i run 35"s on my trailer at about 12psi. i really doubt the shocks would be seized...i have never seen that but i suppose it could happen. to check just take off one end of the shock mounts and see if you can compress or extend the shock by hand.

good luck with the build

 

[Faramir66103]

Thanks for the info and encouragement folks.

Each of us stood in the bed and rocked while the other looked underneath and neither of us got any movement out of the suspension. The drivers side had around 12PSI, and the passengers side was around 10PSI. This was before we made the purchase. After the sale, as we got closer to the highway, I pulled in to get gas and used the compressor to add air to the tires. The manual I've got stated the tires should hold 22PSI for cross country and 25PSI on the highway. The passengers side tire didn't look great (lots of hairline cracks, dry rot perhaps?) so I put in just over 20. Adding the air only seemed to stiffen it up further, seemingly confirming my idea that the little motion we got was from the tires, not the suspension.

So, it looks like the next chance I get to work on it, I should check the shock travel and load it up to see if I can get some movement out of it. What's involved in removing spring leafs? Is there a writeup somewhere?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[IH8RDS]

Those trailers where never ment to be pulled empty. So it will be stiff. To test the shocks, pull them off. If you can move them in and out freely and they stay collapsed when you compress them, they are bad. They should forcefully extend and stay in the extended position.