Trailer Build Started.....

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Degnol

Degnol

Joined
Jan 22, 2003
Threads
284
Messages
8,118
Location
Kansastitty
I have a question for Drew. How did you determine where to put the axle, like fore and aft? I remember you did quite a bit of mocking, but where did it end up. Sorry if it has been covered in your thread:frown:
Currently I have the spring pins 40" from the rear and 35" from the front. I figure by the time I add the tongue, it will have a little tongue weight and not be perfectly balanced. As far as tongue weight when done, I can adjust that by loading.

Ed
Trailerbuild 001.webp
Trailerbuild 002.webp
Trailerbuild 003.webp
 
ED-

Seriously, I had to guess based on what i know... which isn't much. You're right you want tongue weight up front, in theory you want 60% of the weight in front of the axle and 40% behind it. So, I put the axle in the middle of my main chassis and like you, I will load it accordingly. You will want 10% of the gross trailer weight as tongue weight in a perfect world.

Having the weight too far rearward would be worse than too far forward. So I baised mine a bit to the rear. Basically, I copied a m416 measurement... but I (and you) can always cut and remount it if you get WAY off, but I bet you are fine. FWIW, the m416 and others used the box as a reference, 60% of the box is in front of the axle.

Hope it helps, I see you figured out the springs, they look awesome man!

Keep it up-

Drew
 
BTW, those are FJ40 springs I had from a spring swap. I had sent the shortest leaf and the third leaf to HayStax, IIRC. I am just using 4 leafs. From shortest to longest #2, 4, 5 and 6. Sanded/ground them down to clean metal, metal-prepped them and gave them 2 coats of POR 15.

Ed
 
Here is the problem with cruiser springs.....................:doh: They are quite a bit offset with reference to the spring pin. Most trailer springs are centered in the spring pack. If I strictly follow the 60/40, the shackle hangers would be at the very rear of my frame...almost. I'm going to end up about 55/45 and that is pushing them back....way back.
I hate to reverse the springs because the military wrap should be on the spring hanger, not the shackle. And I'm not particularly wild about redrilling the spring pin hole, either. I think I will try it this way and if I have problems, I'll regroup, rethink, regrind and reweld.

Ed
 
i'll bet you can score some centered pin front springs for almost nothing if you look or ask, i know you'd like to use what ya got but maybe it'll be a better route?
and for the record i put my axle right in the middle of the trailers box, assuming i will put at least a loaded cooler on the 4ft tongue. i have loaded it with all manner of things and it tracks right behind me all the time, so, for once it looks like i did something right.
 
Well, I have decided to run what I brung and make any mods from there. Like you said, loading is the key. Here are some pics of my "day off" progress;)

I think I'll gusset the spring hangers................do you think it is necessary?

Ed
Trailerbuild 005.webp
Trailerbuild 006.webp
Trailerbuild 008.webp
 
It looks like you have .25" material, I think the loads that this thing will see won't justify gussets, but then again, there is a "peace of mind" factor to consider.


Looking good bud!
 
I would gusset it simply because the contact area is only 1" wide which doesn't have much leverage over the spring hangers. A few simple triangles tieing the spring hanger to the inside of the C-channel would be more than enough to transfer the loads properly IMO.
 
Arya Ebrahimi said:
I would gusset it simply because the contact area is only 1" wide which doesn't have much leverage over the spring hangers. A few simple triangles tieing the spring hanger to the inside of the C-channel would be more than enough to transfer the loads properly IMO.
Click to expand...

x2 since you boxed the frame around the hangers it only makes since to run a couple of gussets.

"If anything is worth doing. It's worth over doing!"
 
Yeah, a few triangles would help, and I do think now is the time to do it if it going to happen. I just think you have to always be thinking light too, but these guys are right, that place will see high loads of stress.

Looking great man!
 
If you want to center the axles on the springs, you could always weld in longer spring perches, then drill the centering bolt hole far off center to line it up better. Could probably move the axle an inch or two over, I know I have an inch on my cruiser with no problems.
Cheers,
Deny
 
REZARF said:
Yeah, a few triangles would help, and I do think now is the time to do it if it going to happen. I just think you have to always be thinking light too, but these guys are right, that place will see high loads of stress.

Looking great man!
Click to expand...



I had on hand some 3/16 flat stock and my trusty Chinamaneese band saw so here are my gussets. Easy to do for a little piece of mind.

Ed
Trailerbuild 009.webp
Trailerbuild 010.webp
 
J-man said:
degnol, where did you find those rear spring hangers/shakle combo. I think its just what i need for the rear of my trailer.

Also, how wide is the spring / bushing outside to outside? Wondering if it'll work for my tacoma leafs?
Click to expand...

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com....html?osCsid=4bf71a343a9549a632902d563537a36e

Those are FJ40 springs, 2.75" wide plus bushings. I got the spring hangers and the shackle hangers from Dan. The shackle hangers came with bushings.
Great guy to deal with. I also like the taper on both. He makes the right width for Tacos and minis, too.


Ed:beer:
 
Last edited:
Degnol said:
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com....html?osCsid=4bf71a343a9549a632902d563537a36e

Those are FJ40 springs, 2.75" wide plus bushings. I got the spring hangers and the shackle hangers from Dan. The shackle hangers came with bushings.
Great guy to deal with. I also like the taper on both. He makes the right width for Tacos and minis, too.


Ed:beer:
Click to expand...
ahh, cool. I ordered mine from there just before you replied. Glad they worked out. Are those the 2.5" shakles, or the 4" ones? I asked for the 2.5" - should be sufficient.
 
I dunno, they are OEM length, but with only 4 leafs, it seems to flex a lot. I have longer shackles if I need them.

Ruff Stuff is a great place to do business with.
:beer:

Ed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom