Trailer leaf springs

[david]

Hi all,
             A question for you. How long do your leaf springs, on your trailer, last before you replace them? Mine look rusty and have given six years of good service for me. (Actually, all of the nuts and bolts attaching everything else to the trailer look rusty also).

[Andy Dingle]

David..

I've got to say I'm almost green with envy over your leaf springs - despite their apparent poor condition.
Here in the UK it is virtually unheard of to have any kind of suspension on a boat trailer. It's very disconcerting to tow your pride and joy down a bumpy road hearing and feeling it smash and bang about on the trailer rollers.
I've no idea why this is the case - on mainland Europe it is also quite normal to have suspension - so why the UK trailer makers feel they can get away with this - which they do - is beyond me. I suppose it's because we just keep on buying an inferior product at top prices.

Your leaf springs are probably still fine - a good wire brushing off and a good soak in an old oil/diesel or paraffin gunk mixture (so the mixture penetrates) should bring them back good as new - and treat them to this a couple of times a year, brushing the mixture in with an old paintbrush.
Certainly it is wise to inspect the nuts and bolts and renew as necessary.

[Graham W]

Comrades! The Trailer Party's time has come.  See its manifesto at http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1151.msg8086.html#msg8086

On the current subject, here is what it proposes:
"Suspension: will be good quality and well able to cope with the bumps and potholes of the UK’s deteriorating roads without sounding like the boat is being pummelled to bits.  If one side goes wrong, it will not require the replacement of the entire axle"

My trailer has a Knott-Avonride full beam axle assembly, the suspension on which is described as rubber compression.  I think that this is as rudimentary as it gets and certainly helps bang the boat about.

Compare that with David's leaf springs or the ones on the Australian trailer in the attached photo, held up by the Trailer Party as an example of how it should be in the UK but never is.  UK manufacturers seem to specialise mainly in livestock transport and trailers for boats are an afterthought. If it's good enough for a few terrified sheep, the thinking goes, stick some rollers on it and call it a boat trailer.

[Ged]

I had a dinghy trailer with a single chunky leaf spring that ran crosswise, with the wheels attached at each end.  It looked terrible without any weight on it as the wheels were severely canted outwards but it gave a very smooth ride for my boat... until after 30 years of use, neglect and metal fatigue one side snapped clean off!
Fortunately I was not too far from home and on a small country road. Had I been on the motorway it could've been horrendous.

I rebuilt the trailer using indespension units and my boat now bangs about horribly

[Rob Johnstone]

The original Mini's had rubber suspension.......