Trailer Suspension Idea

detailbarn

Adventurer
I am starting a light duty expedition - family camping trailer to haul the family's gear into the field and I want something better than the leaf spring setup the trailer currently has. I'm starting with a 4' x 8' utility trailer with 26" long 4 leaf springs Rating 1750lbs, what I was thinking about doing was removing all but the main leaf spring bring the rating down to approximately 350lbs then install a set of helper air springs that i can adjust the capacity on. Essentially using the single leaf for locating the axle and the air springs for load control. Opinions on this set up. Thanks for the help


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Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
It's a simple and effective way to maintain ride height and soften the leaf spring suspension.

It does not stop the tilting of the trailer caused by the tires going over an obstacle on one side and resulting in the other side of the axle being pushed downward.

But 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

Needs some work on dampening rebound and controlling compression.
 

Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
Sounds good to me too. On a light trailer you are more likely to have too much spring rate, and removing leaf springs and controlling the spring rate with air bags is a good option.

I have been doing something similar on the rear axle of my heavily loaded 4Runner for the past year, with a medium rate coil with a coil-rite 'overload' springs inside the coils for varying/heavy loads. It has worked very well most, even allowing me to dead-weight carry the extreme load of a 30-ft travel trailer. The downside is that air systems sometimes leak and finding/fixing the leaks is sometimes a pain.

Because of a recent leak on one of my coil-rites I'm removing them soon and adding stiffer rear coils for my regular (above average weight) load. I may add the air-springs to the new coils for the ultimate adjustability after I've had a chance to test the new springs solo.

dieselcruiserhead said:
It sounds good to me, if you ask me..
 

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