Spring-Over question

[mightymike]

I just picked up a vintage Shasta camper that has very low ground clearance. Relocating the axle above the leaf springs will give me about 2" more ride height which is all that I need.

Is this a safe method for some cheap lift? This camper will not be towed off-road other than some gravel forest service roads. I plan to use new u-bolts for the swap.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Token]

The disadvantages are FAR outweighed by the advantage of the extra lift when the lift is needed. I think the biggest one would be increased center of gravity making it more tippy.. But as long as you're aware of it you should be good.

I'm running spring over BTW..

 

[Sportsman Matt]

Axle Spring flip

mightymike check out my posts on the following forum

http://www.sportsmenclassicclub.com/forum/repairs-and-maintenance/important-tire-clearance-issue/

I went through this back in May 2010, had low clearance and enede up squashing the inner tube of the tongue jack coming out of a gas station.

Total cost for me to do it was around $25.00 and 3 to 4 hours of time (mostly using wrenches to disassembel and reassemble the springs to the axle)

Feel free to PM me for more info, but the pics and posts should answer all your questions about your problem.

Good luck

Matt

 

[lowenbrau]

I just picked up a vintage Shasta camper that has very low ground clearance. Relocating the axle above the leaf springs will give me about 2" more ride height which is all that I need.

Is this a safe method for some cheap lift? This camper will not be towed off-road other than some gravel forest service roads. I plan to use new u-bolts for the swap.

Thanks for the input.

Relocating the axle above the leaf spring would make it spring under. I'm pretty sure that is not what you meant.

To get 2" of lift out of a spring over using the same leafs would mean you had an axle tube diameter of less than an inch.

If you want to figure out how much lift you will really have measure from the top of the axle tube to the bottom of the leaf pack. It's unlikely you'll get a measurement much under 4"

Go for it.

 

[Nick02]

Just make sure to weld or relocate new perches atop the axle when you SOA and grind off or somehow remove the old ones. It's important to keep the axle tube in the same position as it is currently.
If you physically "flip" the axle and ru-use the old spring perches the camber will be incorrect, and that will be bad, most trailers have a little positive camber from the factory..

Also, your tongue jack, and stabilizer jacks may need to be modified to reach the ground after the lift; so take that under consideration as well....

 

[mightymike]

Guys-

I really appreciate the advice and examples. I deed indeep mis-type and meant that I want to move the springs over the axle. I will add this to the (long) list of repairs and modifications for the new project.

Here is a pic for now...

 

[rusty_tlc]

Nice trailer.

No need to grind the old perches off IMHO. I use jack stands and wood to bridge the gap between the ground ans stabilizers, kind of hillbilly but it works. The hitch jack still works fine.


I did a full write up on my pop-up SOA.
The Gooney Bird
It doesn't look like you will need to replace the wheels and hubs on yours.

Still to do is retrofitting in taller stabilizers and a double step on the entry.

We have quite a few miles on it now, no regrets and no issues. The only problem is people keep wanting to buy it from us.