Trailer suspension make?

[T i m]

Hi all,

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

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

[Michael Chare]

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

[T i m]

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

I'll check that out.

Understood.

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

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

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.

[T i m]

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!

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

[Adrian]

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.

[T i m]

I can't say without looking and it's not here but I'd say similar to an Erde Classic 122.2

.. so 65kg unladen and a 335kg load / 400kg gross? It also has an axle with a capacity of capacity 400kg and that makes even more sense than having that (suspension unit) on the smaller 102.2 with its slightly less unladen weight and can carry 90kg less load.

Oh indeed, I'm pretty sure that is the case but I'm also sure that some of those nasty side effects can be minimised with something that offers a better / greater non-linear type of suspension design. As with the one I mentioned previously:

If you look at the rubber compression device at the top of the picture, there is a smaller rubber insert that is protected / travel limited by it's steel 'cover' and then a heavier insert to take the real loads when they are applied.

Standing directly over a 'cheap' 250 kg suspension unit barely sees it moving, on a 'better design' (of the same capacity) there is much more 'give'.

Pays yer money I guess ... ;-)

Cheers, T i m