Hi all,

Thinking out loud / long shot again but ... many of you guys have
'been round' wink I was wondering if anyone has seen this (trailer,
in this case) suspension setup before?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...Suspension.jpg

The guy up at the local(ish) trailer place suggested it was 'home
made' and whilst it could be, I don't think it is, it's just not a
design / format we see over here often (these days?).

The whole trailer is quite sophisticated and I *think* the guy I
bought it from (second hand) suggested it was German (or from the
continent at least) and was 'quite expensive from new'.

When I got it, I fitted new rubber torsion bushes in the trailing
links, 3 per arm, two on the main trailing link and one on the
coupling, turning the right shaped tools to fit and used my 10 tonne
hydraulic press.

I'm asking about this because I was trying to find a spare wheel to
suit, and one I bought that looked like it should, didn't, even after
I had eased out the centre hole slightly. It then didn't fit because
the original wheel nut positions were 'thicker' (more pronounced),
meaning the wheel nuts 'bottomed' on the ends of the splines where the
studs fit through the hub, before actually clamping the new rim to the
hub. ;-(

So, there are a few things I could do. I could turn the tip off the
cones or slightly counterbore the wheelnuts (or get longer / domed
wheelnuts to do that on that would enclose more thread). Or I could
see if can find wheel studs that have shorter shoulders (preferable of
the two) but I think I'd rather find the right rims if possible. The
other choice would be to replace the hubs for ones that fit the
current (and tubeless) rims as it looks like at least one of the seals
is losing a bit of grease, but again, it might be nice to know what
the 'make' is?

The question isn't really how to get over the spare wheel issues (ass
I'm pretty sure I can), it's mainly that I would be interested to know
if it was something that anyone else had see and possibly find a bit
more about it.

All the best, T i m

On 11/10/2014 19:08, T i m wrote:
Hi all,

Thinking out loud / long shot again but ... many of you guys have
'been round' wink I was wondering if anyone has seen this (trailer,
in this case) suspension setup before?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...Suspension.jpg


I have not seen one like that before. Quite likely the shaft diameter
is 1" in which case you could buy new hubs. You need to be careful that
the hub matches the shaft length. I found a set of 4 studs on ebay for £6


--
Michael Chare

On Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:36:51 +0100, Michael Chare
wrote:

On 11/10/2014 19:08, T i m wrote:
Hi all,

Thinking out loud / long shot again but ... many of you guys have
'been round' wink I was wondering if anyone has seen this (trailer,
in this case) suspension setup before?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...Suspension.jpg


I have not seen one like that before.

It does seem quite unusual doesn't it. Certainly not your usual
'Indespension' or solid axle / leaf spring setup.

Quite likely the shaft diameter
is 1" in which case you could buy new hubs.

I'll check that out.

You need to be careful that
the hub matches the shaft length.

Understood.

I found a set of 4 studs on ebay for £6

Well worth it if I can then easily buy spare wheels for it. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I was in a similar position a good few years back with the
Bramber dinghy trailer and it's three stud wheels. At the time it was
easier for me to buy the lightest Indespension units I could find but
there was no comparison between the ride on those compared with the
'Flexitor' units that were originally supplied. With the original
units and an empty (14') boat, it was as if the trailer was floating
on air. With the replacements and even filling the boat with camping
gear it still bounced about all over the place. ;-(

I think I have since found 'SoftRide' suspension units but my sister
owns the boat now so ... ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:23:16 +0100, T i m wrote:

p.s. I was in a similar position a good few years back with the
Bramber dinghy trailer and it's three stud wheels. At the time it was
easier for me to buy the lightest Indespension units I could find but
there was no comparison between the ride on those compared with the
'Flexitor' units that were originally supplied. With the original
units and an empty (14') boat, it was as if the trailer was floating
on air. With the replacements and even filling the boat with camping
gear it still bounced about all over the place. ;-(

I made a cracking twin-axle trailer using two rear torsion-bar beam
axles from Renault 11s. The ride is just like you describe - floaty,
not bouncy. If needed, I have a set of dampers to fit, but I doubt
I'll have to.

On Wed, 15 Oct 2014 18:48:51 +0100, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:23:16 +0100, T i m wrote:

p.s. I was in a similar position a good few years back with the
Bramber dinghy trailer and it's three stud wheels. At the time it was
easier for me to buy the lightest Indespension units I could find but
there was no comparison between the ride on those compared with the
'Flexitor' units that were originally supplied. With the original
units and an empty (14') boat, it was as if the trailer was floating
on air. With the replacements and even filling the boat with camping
gear it still bounced about all over the place. ;-(

I made a cracking twin-axle trailer using two rear torsion-bar beam
axles from Renault 11s. The ride is just like you describe - floaty,
not bouncy.

I bought a very lightweight 'camping' type trailer for the daughter to
tow behind her Corsa and that seems to have a crude 'all in one'
version of the standard Indespension type torsion arms. Empty, it
literally bounces all over the place and if you don't take a speed
hump at walking speed it *will* leave the ground entirely!

If needed, I have a set of dampers to fit, but I doubt
I'll have to.

That's the advantage of a 'real' suspension system isn't it though, it
does the job it is supposed to.

Many many years ago I built an ultra lightweight trailer to tow behind
my Messerschmitt KR200 bubble car. It was just a rectangle of angle,
decked with t&g (not the best but what I had) with an even lighter
drawbar 'A' underneath and a solid axle trailing arm supported by
spring damper units, tangential to the average swinging arm angle. The
'load' was reasonably equally supported along the length of the
trailer but you had to load it with it's lightness of construction in
mind (so anything 'heavy' in the middle etc). I even made up a wooden
support fame to bring home a 25l drum of 2/ oil and with that on the
back it looked like something out of Thunderbirds. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Mon, 20 Oct 2014 12:13:04 +0100, T i m wrote:

I bought a very lightweight 'camping' type trailer for the daughter to
tow behind her Corsa and that seems to have a crude 'all in one' version
of the standard Indespension type torsion arms. Empty, it literally
bounces all over the place and if you don't take a speed hump at walking
speed it *will* leave the ground entirely!

What's the unladen weight of it, and what's the max laden?

I suspect that the unladen is a smallish percentage of the max laden,
which means that the suspension has a fairly impossible circle to square
- decent empty ride, not dragging the arse laden.