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What's best. Leaf springs or the independand torsion suspension?
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What's best. Leaf springs or the independand torsion suspension?
What's best. Leaf springs or the independand torsion suspension?
Also, has anybody had any experience with Rolls Axle trailer with their new patent suspension using only rubber and stainless steel.
Your input would be much appretiative!
Torsion axles under tailers blow away steel springs anyday of the week and for years to come... Only problem is they don't make torsion axles for trailers under 3000-3500lbs that I know of.. Someone should make a 1000-1500lb torsion axle for Jonboats setups that get dunked 50-150-250 times year..
There is no way to protect steel leaf springs from rusting no matter what you spray on them. Piled up steel flexing/rubbing together exposes fresh steel everytime they flex.. Torsion axles work by tristing steel against rubber.. It's a no brainer...
Torsion if you can get them. I changed from Torsion to spring under my last ocean boat and could feel the difference right away in how it handled. Torsion is much smoother but it was a three month back order for me on my trailer. Thats why I went with springs.
__________________ Fountain 31TE...... Hydra Sports 21 Bay...... Dodge 3500 Camping unit "Gone Fishing"..... Tinker Toy..... Sunset Point Nixonton NC
I don't like torsion axles and avoid them on my on setups if possible... The torsion axle is superior if you're dunking your trailer since leaf springs will rust out if you dunk them in salt. My rig is set up with rollers instead of bunks and I never even get my rims wet when launching and retrieving between 150 and 200 days a year...
Where leaf springs are superior to torsion suspension is in daily towing. I can spot a trailer with torsion setup from a distance since every time it hits a bump or depression in the roadway there's an echo effect - the trailer works up and down a lot more than it should afterwards going down the road. With leaf springs there's a simple up and down and no "echo"... If you're towing on an uneven roadway those with torsion suspension will see their trailer working a lot harder than it should in my opinion, but each to his own. By the way I think that torsion axles are available now on smaller trailers under 3,000 lbs. I was offered them on my EZ Loader that I bought in 2005 but turned them down for the above reasons.
I'm towing 20,000 to 25,000 miles a year with a single axle setup so I've got a pretty good idea of what I want..... For anyone that's submerging their trailer while launching or recovering the torsion axles are probably the way to go instead of the leaf springs that I much prefer.
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
[img][img]
Torsion axles under tailers blow away steel springs anyday of the week and for years to come... Only problem is they don't make torsion axles for trailers under 3000-3500lbs that I know of.. Someone should make a 1000-1500lb torsion axle for Jonboats setups that get dunked 50-150-250 times year..
There is no way to protect steel leaf springs from rusting no matter what you spray on them. Piled up steel flexing/rubbing together exposes fresh steel everytime they flex.. Torsion axles work by tristing steel against rubber.. It's a no brainer...
I don't like torsion axles and avoid them on my on setups if possible... The torsion axle is superior if you're dunking your trailer since leaf springs will rust out if you dunk them in salt. My rig is set up with rollers instead of bunks and I never even get my rims wet when launching and retrieving between 150 and 200 days a year...
Where leaf springs are superior to torsion suspension is in daily towing. I can spot a trailer with torsion setup from a distance since every time it hits a bump or depression in the roadway there's an echo effect - the trailer works up and down a lot more than it should afterwards going down the road. With leaf springs there's a simple up and down and no "echo"... If you're towing on an uneven roadway those with torsion suspension will see their trailer working a lot harder than it should in my opinion, but each to his own. By the way I think that torsion axles are available now on smaller trailers under 3,000 lbs. I was offered them on my EZ Loader that I bought in 2005 but turned them down for the above reasons.
I'm towing 20,000 to 25,000 miles a year with a single axle setup so I've got a pretty good idea of what I want..... For anyone that's submerging their trailer while launching or recovering the torsion axles are probably the way to go instead of the leaf springs that I much prefer.
Man you dont even get your rims wet? Must be a small boat. If I stop when my back tire get wet I dont even think my boats touching the water. My boat is only 24'. I know from riding around short runs to the ramp on our subdivision roads that torsion axles ride much much better then spring axles.
Man you dont even get your rims wet? Must be a small boat. If I stop when my back tire get wet I dont even think my boats touching the water. My boat is only 24'. I know from riding around short runs to the ramp on our subdivision roads that torsion axles ride much much better then spring axles.
My trailer frame isn't touching the water if I stop before my rims get wet.
Normally I have to have water over the top of my trailer tire before the boat comes off the trailer.
__________________
That is crap.
Which idiot told you that CO2 only makes up 0.039% of the atmosphere?
Here's a photo of my rig when launching or retrieving....
[img][img]
The hull is a 21 year old Maverick that I rigged myself. Total weight most days somewhere between 2000 and 2200lbs. My first trailer died at over 350,000 miles (probably not a good idea to have run it that long since the axle snapped while going around a corner one day...), this trailer is a 2005 and has somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 miles at present.
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
[img][img]
Unlike a drive on style trailer, this rig is designed to be winched on. You'll note the PowerWinch in the photo. Maneuver the hull to the back of the trailer, hook up, and use the lanyard that comes all the way to the stern end of the trailer to start the loading. Once the bow's up onto the first roller step off the hull onto the walkboard, then to dry land where you'll finish the loading. The rims stay dry, your feet stay dry, the rollers provide dead centering automatically (you can single handed load the skiff at 4Am in a 40mph crosswind if necessary). When you're loading and launching as many as 200 days a year, it's a very nice setup, even if it is a bit old-fashioned... When you launch, everything's done with the PowerWinch, release the bow safety chain, then the forward bridle (if you have one like I do), then drop your hull using the brake on the Power Winch, with none of the fussing, and struggling that you see many at the ramp dealing with. One other minor point, my rig was designed from the beginning to fit exactly into my garage. It's considerably shorter overall than it would be with a float on style trailer, so it fits in less overall space (the tongue on a float on style trailer is longer and it's very difficult to shorten one...).
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
[img][img]
I launch and retrieve with my hubs dry as well and never had trouble with leaf springs. Mine are 6 years old and are hardly rusty at all despite lots of salt water trips. I give them a lite coat of diesel fuel every spring and fall with an old paintbrush. Very effective idea I got from a Maine lobster guy. In looking at cutaway drawing of torsion setups, it seems salt water can run up between the rubber snubbers and be trapped in the axles. Is this sealed somehow?
__________________ Ed Panzella
"BAITS MOTEL"
2450 MAYCRAFT PILOTHOUSE
Higganum, Ct
Torsion all the way for me EXCEPT, I like leaf springs on some tandem and all triple axle applications. ONLY because when you go over the crest of a ramp (the top where the slope goes to level ground) the leaf spring seems to distribute the load more equally on the axles. When we launch my buds 34 Venture, at one point backing onto the ramp, the entire load is on just one axle There is just so much more wheel travel it seems with the leaf springs...
I don't think I want to winch a 30 ft boat up on the trailers.
I winch a 25 ft boat. Piece of cake. I use an 8500 lb Ramsey winch. I can use ramps that would be impossible with a drive-on 20 footer and launch/retrieve by myself. Drive on is quicker but not possible at low tide at two of the ramps that I use. Even alone I'm on the trailer in under 5 minutes. Hubs/springs/bearings/rollers last forever.
__________________ Ed Panzella
"BAITS MOTEL"
2450 MAYCRAFT PILOTHOUSE
Higganum, Ct
I am glad I live in the south. I NEVER had a problem at a launch ramp. From launching 13' wood skiffs up to my 32' Edgewater all with 2wd 1/2 ton trucks. Never a launch or retrieval problem and I have NEVER spun a tire.
__________________
That is crap.
Which idiot told you that CO2 only makes up 0.039% of the atmosphere?
There are some manufacturers who recommend that their torsion axles not be used with triple-axles trailers, I think it's the forces involved in dragging the wheels around sharp corners.
As mentioned above, leaf springs on multi-axle trailers have a feature that distributes the weight between the spring sets. The lack of this weight equalization makes it much more important to tow a torsion-axle multi-spring trailer perfectly level than with leaf springs. If the torsion-axle trailer is not level the weight will be concentrated on the lower axle more than it would be on a leaf-spring trailer.
Bill
What's best. Leaf springs or the independand torsion suspension? 
How do you get your boat on? 
There is just so much more wheel travel it seems with the leaf springs... 
