Replace worn Trailer Leaf Springs
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- I replace and UPGRADE the tired leaf springs on my deck over trailer. I make custom copper leaf spring bushings to replace worn plastic ones.
Stock axle is a 3500lb with 3500lb spindles and 3500lb bearings. They put 2500lb springs and 13" tires from the factory to save money and keep a low deck height. I upgrade to 3500lb springs and tires. The trailer frame is strong enough to easily handle the extra weight.
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My rule is to learn at least 1 new thing a day! Thank you for teaching me all about trailer springs and what a axle is supposed to look like! I actually was a aircraft mechanic for 10 years in the AF and love learning random things usually just guys know :))))
Melody Capehart Medina Awesome, I'm glad. I love the learn something new everyday attitude.
Melody Capehart Medina My thoughts exactly, only I'm a guy. I was a crew chief on T-38s at Holloman.
A friend called me while he was on the road and asked for some help. Your video is awesome. I was able to share the info with him. I think, except for strenght, I could actually do this myself. Great video, short and detailed! Thanks.
Glad it helped!
Looks like you put on a five leaf 5200 pound spring to my eye. Older vid but still instructive. Like the use of split copper. Currently welding on new hangers for my 3500 axle, which is how I stumbled onto this.
Different spring rates can have the same leaf count. The spring thickness and width vary though.
My 2000 lb axel trailer has the same 3 leaf pack springs. They are good for small trailers that will carry only 1600lb loads + trailer weight 400lb. The 4 leaf springs are way better if you carry soil gravel and sand or heavy equipment.
You can also add 1 extra leaf to your old pack and make them 4 thick.
Watch me swap in new springs on the trailer and at the very end I FORD a creek with my Honda Trail 70 motorcycle.
Love the high lift jack and love the tip on the trailer axle. It makes sense when you think about it, I just never did. I learned the hard way about trailer manufactures installing cheap tires. I went though hell on a trip from Florida to Colorado hauling 5 Harleys. Two tires blew before the first 500 miles. $700 later I had 5 correctly rated tires (1 was a spare) Thank you for posting videos, I look forward to each one.
***** Can't live without a Hi-Lift jack. Yeah, the Chinese tires they put on from the factory are pretty bad.
Nice upgrade! That looks much more beefier. I like the little Honda at the end.
***** Hey Thanks.. Not much power in those but a lot of fun to ride.
nice bushing makin,
mustie1 I need a lathe then I could make really nice ones. :-) I figured it would outlast the cheap plastic ones they put in.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I picked up some screaming deals last summer and a few more from the EZ Loader Co. in Spokane, WA. Discontinued trailer frames. $15 bucks a piece and axels included bearing buddies and hubs for $30 a piece. I didn't know how to include the leaf springs. With your teaching I'm on my way.
That is a screaming deal!
We make steel shooting trees out of our old leaf springs. They work great. Nice job.
Emt Scythe That's a good idea. I've made shooting trees but the mild steel targets get beat up really fast.
I didn't know about the copper pipe trick. I'll have to do that on my harbor freight boat trailer. Thanks for the tip!!!!!
Love2boat92 The plastic bushings were just worn out, so I figured copper was a ton better. It's not something you would ever worry about unless you were in there for another reason like I was.
sixtyfiveford Yeah I dont think my boat trailer came with plastic inserts at all. Lol. Its harbor freight so I can't complain because I didn't pay that much in the beginning.
Love your tutorials and envy all the tools you have to get the job done.
Thank you.
DizzzyKipper Hey Thanks. It's taken a good long while to acquire the tools I have but there is so much more out there.
sixtyfiveford I hear ya,That's coming from a big time tool lover and tinker.
Again,I enjoy your videos and occasionally learn a new trick.Thanx.
Now I'm going to check the bushings in my leaf springs . I have a rattle under my truck driving me crazy while I drive and I haven't looked there yet
airkraft1 Those rubber bushings on trucks get eaten up once they get a little older.
It drives me CRAZY !!!!
.. fast .detail ,simple done. Thank you Sir.
Negative camber is what the axle gives the tire assembly when unloaded,...I've been searching all around this area for an old Honda mini trail bike like those..I remember back in the 60,and early 70s that everyone around had one back in the day except me,or so it seemed back then,and now that I am physically grown up I want one...I remember the that they had the mini trail 50s,70s,and 90s...
FJ80Coop The Honda's are still very sought after and fetch a pretty penny. The ct90's are more like the mopeds and probably the cheapest and easiest to find. The ct70s demand a premium and the ct50's require your first born.
Finally the correctly installed spring on the top of the axle instead the other way, good job, thanks
Thanks. The trailer has worked out great since I did this.
Why are some springs on the bottom of the axle?
I have new springs for my old trailer and the spring are on top of the axle but I see a lot with the springs below the axle. Anyone know why?
Great video!
Great video….. I wanted to see how it’s done. You were right to the point…..greatly appreciated for the knowledge!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Moe, Nice tip making copper bushing. Also good info on axle bend.
JOE Z Hey Thanks. I figure the copper bushing will last a lot longer than the plastic.
Have you thought about adding shock absorbers to your trailer. Improved ride, less bottoming and better tire wear. It wont raise your load capacity. Only better brakes and tires with corresponding springs can increase load capacity.
Amazing how you could do all that and explain it in just 7 minutes!
joebonsaipoland Thanks..
The opening to the video proves that you really do know "Jack"....... cool stuff, watch and learn people.
RUHDD4HVN Thanks Man.
I did this same type of procedure for the front bushings on a snapper riding mower , thanks
Awesome
As usual I learned a good deal watching this vid. Gonna check my springs tomorrow.
Thought you lost your voice at first; glad you're okay.
Randy Guidry Hey Thanks.. Just playing around with camera work.
Nice job, your trailer is now heavy duty ready. Never knew about the bent axle deal, good info, thanks
Ozzstar Thanks good buddy... :-)
Awesome video man - thanks!
Curious if you have a rule of thumb for how far the tongue should go underneath the trailer?
Not really. The further the better but generally is just back far enough to tie into a crossmember 18-24" back
@@sixtyfiveford Thanks for the reply man! Much appreciated.
Jaws of life? Send me your address! Lol! I will be right over with my bent, overloaded axle! Thank you for the video! I like how you dropped it down with that floor jack!
nice feature is that your rear spring hangers have bushings :-)
I like it better than the slipper pad style. It's smoother and quieter.
I just recently built a trailer to haul my small backhoe and was able to get a 3500# axle kit new with everything except tires and wheels for $169 free shipping! gotta love ebay
KydexByParlusk Yeah, gotta love Ebay for stuff like this. Was that for your dump trailer?
Neat work. Everyone should have a trailer or 4 even if they have a truck.
57WillysCJ It's amazing how much even a small trailer can haul.
always good to see the master at work.
59chevt Thanks for watching.
So a 5 leaf spring is a 3500lb and a 3 leaf is a 2000lb axel. Can you just add one leaf or 2 to make the springs 3500lb?
Technically yes, but finding 2 leafs isn't going to be easy. I my case this was already a 3500lb axle, verified by the axle tube and both wheel beings. They had just put smaller tires to give a lower deck height and along with those smaller tires only needed 2000lb(1k per side) springs. They do make 2000lb axles, spindles/bearings and upgrading the springs doesn't make it 3500lb. I hope that makes sense.
Nice, no BS update, wish all vids could be like this 1.
Thanks, I'm glad you like it.
I learned something new today about trailer
Awesome, I'm glad you liked it.
great job and great work, get rid of the tailgate, and use wood planks, 2x12's
but, thats just me
CT 70 . Is it 3 speed or 4 with clutch. mine was a blue one with 4 speed , but fire and plastic gas tank did not work out well together.
wtbm123 It's the auto 3 speed. Yours would have been a ct70H and I believe they only made it one year in 1972+- Those are sought after a little more than the standard 3 speed ct70. Fire never plays well with plastic. I did have a 4 speed that I pulled out of the trash, but it was so far gone I sold it to a collector as parts.
sixtyfiveford It was around a 72 ,I got it used in mid seventy something , not sure exactly as i was young then . Once the tank melted it burned very hot . It would be nice to have it now.
When people install a helper leaf spring, if its a truck or normal vehicle they say to put it more towards the back. But where that's a trailer I wondered if that's still the same, because with a trailer you put most of the weight on the front or front middle-ish of the trailer. So is it the same or different?
Helper leaf springs are kind of a joke for trucks and are more cosmetic than anything. You will install them in different positions to help with axle wrap from the torque of the wheels/ differential during hard acceleration. A lot of times they're positioned in odd positions simply because there's no room under vehicles and they're just an oddball clamp-on thing. If you were going to actually insert a leaf spring into a truck rear end you would do it centered just like the factory leafs.
@@sixtyfiveford Thanks for the reply.
Thanks very much.
Cool, great homemade bushings!
Salmoneggs85 Hey Thanks. I figure they'll last a lot longer than the plastic ones.
I am replacing an axle and springs on a boat trailer that had WAY underrated springs for the boat it was hauling, which caused the springs to break. The springs on it have a bolt hole in the front, but the back mounts through a slip hinge that allowed the spring to move when it flexes. The new springs have a bolt hole in the front and back. I have the hardware to weld to the trailer. Question is, do I mount the springs and the new bolt channel location on the frame with the trailer loaded or not? Any thoughts on that?
Matt Cline It really shouldn't matter as the rear shackle has enough movement to accommodate either. I would probably mount the shackle vertical without a load though.
Thank you!
If only rotary tools were that quiet
uh Yeah.
I want to put a lift on my trailer just to get away from the 13" tires, the added capacity would be nice to though
You always be limited by you weakest part. So you might only have 2,000 lb spindles with the 13-in tires. So heavier duty springs will just give you lift.
can a trailer that came with little 13in tires be upgraded to 15in tires and stronger leaf springs without replacing the axel, or would a new axel have to be used to match up with the bigger tires/leaf springs?
You can put 15-in tires and leaf springs but if your axle is only rated it 1500 lb or so that's all you'll ever be able to carry
Best video ever!!!
Sir...I have a 1965 Trotwood RV trailer. Concern with rusty and age of trailer with the flat leaf springs and the set up of axle in this old trailer that I use for disaster relief work with my dog. Took pics of all underneath. Is it not worth new leaf springs etc?? Thanks ! B
Surface rust is not harmful but rust holes or excessively thin metal framework would concern me. The Axles themselves are easily rebuildable with new bearings. Sagging leaf springs are replaceable though not the easiest job with rusty bolts.
Did you repack the bearings while you were down there? Great video!!!!!
Love2boat92 Yeah, I do that every once in a while.
Did I make the wrong purchase? We were told we needed springs 3500 lb. We have a one axle covered trailer so I bought 2 - 1750 lb 4 leaf springs. Was this incorrect?
That sounds right. Each side needs to hold 1750lbs to add up to the 3500lbs.
@@sixtyfiveford Thank you! We had quite an adventure. Being an amateur mechanic our experience was humourous. It would take too long for the story. Lesson learned: An axle isn't attached to the trailer so dropping the axle and installing the spring first is effortless. You wouldn't believe how we went about installing the spring before we learned this.
nice upgrade brother, cheers
udizzy1969 Thanks Man.
Just curious. What do you think your trailer weighs? I have roughly the same size trailer but wondering if I need a 5K axle. This video was a great help to me.Thank you
I would say 500-700lbs. This can pretty easily be offset by the 500lbs of tongue weight I can carry so the trailer can still hold approx 3300-3500lbs.
Thank you. Your sharing is much appreciated .
Some good info. Liked what you were talking about! Very cool man😎
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
good info man, good stuff to know. I rode a Honda 90 as a teen for a while :)
tblbaby The Honda 90's are fun.
Awesome video... Thanks for the extra info...
How tight should the 3 spring bolts be?
How do you keep the trailer from dog tracking after you do all this type of work without any type of alignment equipment?
Trailers only dog track if they are improperly loaded. 60%-70% weight in front of axles and 30%-40%. No exceptions.
I misread your question. I didn't change any of the front mounting points so they are square with the trailer and it will not dog track(I know it as crab walking). There are no adjustable alignment points on a standard trailer. Everything is welded solid and I don't think I've ever seen a dog tracking trailer that wasn't severely overused/abused/damaged.
Love the honda. Identical to bike I learned to ride motorbike on.
Jord A. They're a lot of fun.
Wonderful video ! many thanks for this moment....have a nice day
Sebastian Vestae Thanks..
Excellent as always... thank you.
Hey Thanks.
Just curious ..how can I Figure out what an axle is rated for?
There are a few ways. Sometimes there is a stamped tag or decal on the axle with it's weight rating. You can also look at the spindle bearing sizes; that's what I did. A 3500# axle will have 1.38 inches at the inner bearing and 1.06 inches at the outer bearing on the spindles. A 3500# is the most common axle made and is used on 95% of trailers. Generally small trailers (4x8) have 1800-2200# axles but larger trailers even with duals will most often have 3500# or a pair of 3500# (7000#) axles. Another way is if your trailer has 14"-15" 5 lug wheels it is almost guaranteed to be a 3500# axle. 6 lug 16" is going to be a 5200# or 6000# axle. An 8 lug 16" is going to be a 7000# axle. If you trailer has 4 lug 12-13" rims it is going to be in the 1500-2000# range.
Trail 70! I have not seen one of those in forever. LOL! Good info today bro thanks for sharing. How do you tell the weight capacity on a tire? I have a enclosed trailer that I use with my business and I have always just bought car tires for it and I have a lot of tools in the trailer, it's not light for sure. Great video.
Tim datoolman The Trail 70 is a lot of fun. It'll say right on the sidewall ie:rated load at 50psi cold....1360lbs . The trailer tires have stiffer sidewalls and more of a rounded tread pattern to accommodate the different camber angles a trailer tire rides at. I've ran car tires as well and they are great beside the edge wear and some aren't high enough psi to handle the load. Some enclosed trailers have the torsion axles(no lead springs) that don't have camber issues like a solid axle so they wear tires better. But you'll notice less top trailer sway/rock with stiffer higher psi trailer tires.
sixtyfiveford Got ya, I see what I have on my trailer now but I have not noticed any issues toeing it, although most of the time the trailer sits on the job site until I get through with the job and then I pull it to the next job and it sits there. Thanks for the info Brother, have a great weekend.
Price matters. I would/do run car tires as well.
nice fix
RobsPackanShine Thanks
Great job
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Great video. I'm thinking about doing the same thing with my 6x12 tilt trailer that has 3500# axle. Was gonna replace with 3000# springs on each side. Will it ride like crap if I do? Was also gonna upgrade to bigger 225 75 15 E rated tires. More confidence for hauling stone.
For that much load if you want to carry 3000lb x 2 you would have to reinforce the trailer frame and have as you say E rated tires that can support 3000 lbs. I am thinking of upgrading my 2000 lb axel on my 7ft x 4.5ft trailer which has 2 yard capacity and i would like to have a 5000 lb axel and reinforce the tongue of the trailer and frame also. I doubled up the frame so my 1/16 inch box frame is instead of 2x3 it is 2x6 inch. But the tunge is weak only 3 inch think C channel.
Where do I get replacement springs?
Online etrailer.com or amazon.com or even ebay.com. or locally see if you have a RV / trailer supply store.
Smashing upgrade :-)
The original leaf springs did look rather weedy, the replacements look a hell of an improvement.
Have you ever tryed grey plastic water pipe for bushings, does it wear too quick?
zx8401ztv yes. brass or copper way better..
zx8401ztv I was actually thinking of replacing them with plastic but saw how badly they had worn. My thought process was a Bronze bushing is the go to for long lasting bushings. Bronze is primarily copper though bronze is harder with the added tin but it will definitely outlast plastic.
sixtyfiveford I thought so, i just wondered as i know how inventive you are with materials :D, yep bronze does sound better, on a moped i used to own the little end bearing was phospher bronze, the only pain was if you replaced it you would have to hone the inside diameter to get the gudgeon pin to go in.
Hey 65, was that a Honda 70? They were the coolest dirt minibikes back in the 70`s. Great vid on trailer axles.
1fanger They're definitely fun. Mine is a 1980.
Very interesting. Great info, thanks.
paulsjunkcars Hey Thanks...
Good job nice video Moe
Alan Mulry Thanks Alan.
Real great vid Moe ! and that is what I need to do ..LOL..
ShawnMrFixit Lee Hey Thanks.
Great video! How did you know the axle rating?
Generally there is a tag on the axle that will say. You can also tell by the spindle bearing size.
How do you know the rating on the axle?
Matthew Guilbault Most axles have a tag, either metal or a sticker attached to them. If not you can measure the diameter of the round tube. Another way is to pull one bearing and look up the model number. As a basic rule a 5 lug axle with 14" or 15" rims will have a 3500lb rating. It is the most common axle.
Typical Axle Diameters Based on Axle Capacity
- 1,000-lb - 2,000-lb Axles: 1-1/2 inch - 1-3/4 inch diameter
- 3,500-lb Axles: 2-3/8 inch diameter
- 6,000-lb - 7,200-lb Axles: 3 inch diameter
- 8,000-lb Axles: 3-1/2 inch diameter
- 9,000-lb Axles: 4 inch diameter
- 10,000-lb Or more axles: 5 inch diameter
2500# springs X 2 = 5000# ==> over your 4500# axle. perfectly fine
2500# springs (spring set) means 1250# per side.
Great video...good info.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
What size copper pipe did you use?
3/4" I believe.
Great vid man !
john hightower Hey Thanks Man.
Nice job. Do you ever rebuild those leaf springs?
George W Thanks. They loose their arch with age and use.
Can you actually legally haul 3500# w/o brakes? No brakes means max is 2000# around here.
MrFakit Yes. 3500# actually is not bad at all and most all utility trailers are set up to haul with a 3500# axle. New pickup trucks get close to this just in bed payload and you don't have additional brakes. On the west coast/mountain states it's very uncommon to see a single axle trailer with brakes and it's not until you jump into the tandem axle trailers with 2x3500# axles that you will see brakes on 1 axle. I Googled it and the only place I see with a law is Alberta and it is 2000# if the trailer exceeds more than 50% of the tow vehicle weight. Where are you?
I'm in BC. I just googled it too, apparently the rule changed, it used to be what I said and I still have that card somewhere (Federal) saying that. AAA shows a lot of states must have brakes over 3000#
drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-brakes/
MrFakitI think it's a good rule for people with cars or small suvs that don't weigh very much. I've towed around 1200 and 1700lbs with a 2600lb car and it handled good at the 1200 but I definitely felt it at around 1700lbs. Braking was reduced but not what I would deem dangerous. Still I would think brakes are a good idea for this if I approached 2000lbs with a 2600lb car especially with the insane speeds people drive with trailers these days.
I've had a 12,000# GVW dumping trailer since 2000 and I've overloaded that a few times, scary if you hit a dip in the road and your trailer does the shimmy.
cool video!
Thanks.
Great tip as always Moe.
The Shade Tree Fix-it Man Hey Thanks.
I like the Beefy replacment springs ..The originals are too wimpy looking
not2fast4u2c Yeah for sure. I'm excited about the extra weight carrying ability now.
Awesome!
Custom Southern Arms Thanks Brother.
👍
Well done ! I removed my first comment. Has it didn't apply.
Thank you for sharing.
***** Hey Thanks...
A little bit of advice put a little coat of grease on all your bolts and you will never have a problem taking it apart
Too bad they skimp out on parts like that, but a few cents here and there adds up I guess. You're set to go.
***** Yeah, I think they did it so they could up sale other trailers.
new knowledge !! oh i get smarter by the vid ha ha ha!
transdetendal Awesome... Thanks man.
sixtyfiveford no i thank you , i only make stupid as vlogs and ride around on my bike , maybe informative but this makes me smarter!! your the coolest , a BOSS!!
Hard copper is the wrong thing! copper will fail... did you see how they fell apart! why reinvent the wheel? nylon bushings are the best!
nylon is crap, mine wore all the way thru
Second video, nobody explaining what they’re doing
your axle is as good as straight - no camber, thet likely did that since the axle was overstrong
I got the answer in the comment section, anyways.
are you from Illinois?
I'm not.
Longorshortleafspingforoverlandtrailer
Copper work hardens and makes terrible load bushings......
XLNT
Torsion axles are the ONLY way to go........Springs are stone age crap.
I'm sorry a salesman sold you on this. Torsion axles are put on for one reason, to save money. Over the past 10 years between my brother and I, we have owned over 100 trailers(buy, fix, resale) and I would never own a torsion axle for my personal use. Single axles are notorious for breaking the trailer frame in two as they put a rotational load on the frame. They pull the front mount downward and this is generally where the frame will break. I've passed on buying quit a few and given owners the sad news that their trailer is junk. On a tandem axle it's far worse as there is no weight equalizer like on spring models. So if the trailer tongue is even an inch off level the load isn't equal on the axles unlike tandem spring models that can run nearly a foot out of level and put the same load on both axles. On torsion going through dips or bumps will put the full load on one axle which far exceeds the safe limits. So a typical 7k (2x 3500lbs) trailer at full capacity will put a full 7000lbs on a single 3500lb rated axle/ 3500lb rated tires going over a bump; not good.
that trailer is way too low
Deck overs are great for space.
looks like you have over loaded it many times..
ebay for new tires and rims.
Dusty G. Yeah, not by me. It spent most of it's life hauling 4 atvs which come in right at maxing it out at 2500lbs. I think just years of doing so wore out the springs.
A axle doesn't come new bent, it's cambered.Which is a slight curve, or radius of the axle. If you have a bent axle, you have problems that ascend replacing leaf springs. And there are straight vs camber 3500lbs. axles out there, so camber isn't a given in a axle. Just saying...
Great job