Sutton, Huntin Dave or anybody with a tandem axle trailer.

A

Andrew Holley

Well-known member
Started assembling the trailer and ran into a problem with the leaf spring assemblies.

I bought a large/tall spring hanger to hold the equalizer and originally had small/short hangers for the outside ends of the leaf spring, however when I assemble them the spring arc up towards the front and rear. Is it suppose to be this way? Should I use the larger/tall hangers on both ends and on the equalizer? Probably sounds like a dumb question, but the picture on parts display makes it look like there is small hangers on the ends, otherwise I would have just gone with the same all the way through.

Second question, do springs have a front and a back? One side of the spring has a metal band clipped around the leafs, does it matter?

Thrid question, I was going to weld the hangers to a piece of flat stock, same width as the side pieces or the trailer, then bolt the spring assembly to the trailer with square u-bolts. Thought being I could adjust the position of the wheels to max. balance. I am concerned about the how much weight I am going to have the back of my truck. Good idea??? Or should I just position them as far back as I can/guess and weld them to the trailer frame??

Here is the website of the mfg, so you can look at the parts if it helps/

http://www.carry-ontrailer.com/parts.htm
 
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I went out and looked at my truck to see what end had the clip.....there is a clip on both ends. I was thinking maybe it was end specific to stop wheel hop when the brakes are slammed?
 
I figured it must be there for a reason, but #@$% if I can figure it out. Looked at a couple of trailers at Fleet Farm, most had them on the back, some didn't have any clips, and there wasn't any tandem axle trailers there. Was going to go to the boat yard, but my wife said I was too dirty, from cutting and welding steel. So I put them facing the back of the trailer.

I did go with the carriage assembly so I can move the wheels, right now they are just about as far forward as I can go. Hitch weight I would guess is about about #200-#250, I can lift it, but I grunt. Trying to guess how heavy the front end will be with the boat on, hope I don't have to go to helper springs on the truck?

Just rolled the trailer out of the trailer and called it a night. (Had to, trailer is 30' long and garage is only 26' deep, not leaving my garage door open all night). Tomorrow, finish welding the tongue assembly, bolt the hitch on and run some wires and we are off for a test run. Will I look strange backing it in at the boat launch without a boat, kind of a test run.

Been saving a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue for a special occasion, thinking I might be having a talk with Johnny tonight.


Later.
 
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that bottle gets opened when the boat is finished and the first duck is reduced to possession.....

anyone answer your question off line?
 
No Lee, the kid was still wet behind his ears. Knew where to find the stuff they had in storage, but how it goes together, no idea.

I guess I got it together good enough, the trailer seems to work fine. Isn't completely finished, still have to made the bunks and install the bow stop and winch but the lights and chains are on, so we took it for a drive last night. Follows nicely, but it's big and long, going to take some getting use to.
 
You are correct in using the carriage assembly to balance your tongue weight and a tandem should have about 200lbs. One other thing to be careful about is that the trailer frame should be level with it hooked to your tow vehicle or you can overload one axle causing bizarre tire wear patterns and potential safety issues.There is an extensive discussion about this issue at the maverick boats forum.
 
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I bought a large/tall spring hanger to hold the equalizer and originally had small/short hangers for the outside ends of the leaf spring, however when I assemble them the spring arc up towards the front and rear. Is it suppose to be this way? (no, spring ends ideally should be same, changing to the shorter hanger for the equallizer will keep your overall height lower, if that is a concern) Should I use the larger/tall hangers on both ends and on the equalizer? ( you will probably be ok as is, unless the difference in hanger length is severe, I didn't take the time to go to your parts link, sorry) Probably sounds like a dumb question, but the picture on parts display makes it look like there is small hangers on the ends, otherwise I would have just gone with the same all the way through.

Second question, do springs have a front and a back? One side of the spring has a metal band clipped around the leafs, does it matter? (no doesn't matter clips are there just to keep the leaves aligned)

Thrid question, I was going to weld the hangers to a piece of flat stock, same width as the side pieces or the trailer, then bolt the spring assembly to the trailer with square u-bolts. Thought being I could adjust the position of the wheels to max. balance. I am concerned about the how much weight I am going to have the back of my truck. Good idea??? (Yes very good call, I agree with previous answer concerning the trailer frame being level for equal load to axles.) Or should I just position them as far back as I can/guess and weld them to the trailer frame?? [/font]
 
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