belmont or Cam Superline Deckover??? Opinions?

[wny770]

I'm kicking around the idea of a new trailer. Bumper pull only. A deck-over, because one of my tractors won't fit between the fenders on mine now. I have a 16' with 2-6,000 lb tor-flex axles. I've been looking at the 10,000 Belmont or the 11,000 Cam. both are 96" wide. I would hope tor-flex would be available. Any opinions? Thanks to all

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would not own torsion axles on a trailer. I have had them and liked the idea until I had it. Problem is you can not balance the load between the two or three axles like you can with a conventional setup. Torsion axles were all the rage 10 years ago in the marine industry, boat trailers, but just did not work. They are great on a single axle unit but not tandem or tri axles. You would think a boat would be a good candidate for torsion axles but we were seeing higher rates of bearing and tire failures. We started weigh them and finding in some case nearly 70% of the weight being carried by one axle and only 30% by the other. This was a extreme case but never seen one close axle to axle. I am guessing you did not have issues because you A-never loaded the trailer anywhere near its max or B-were lucky and able to balance the load within reason.

Stick with what works, especially on any trailer that is going to be loaded to 75% of the trailers capacity or you are just asking for trouble unless you can get the load just right each and every time.

Both brands are good so either one is a good trailer. As for width just know that there are 2 standard size between the fender trailers. Many I have sold are 76" but most I sold were what is called "WIDE" and were 82". That extra width makes all the difference in the world when loading anything bigger than a car.

Chris

 

[wny770]

Wow, I'm surprised you do not like the tor-flex? I have to admit, you are not the first person to say this. I suppose it does make sense as the tandem springs hug the road better? How long does a slipper spring set-up stay in good shape? Bushings...etc... This is my 2nd one with them (tor-flex) , I've never touched them. It is 12 years old. The most I haul is 6500lbs, but the 84" between the axles is not enough. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yea, you only hauling 6,500# on a 12,000# trailer is what is your savings grace. One axle would easily support the load you have been moving. Get it up to the max load and you would be having issues.

Only trailers I see with slipper springs is single axle units. On the tandem and tri axle trailers I have delt with they all have load equalizers and standard leaf springs with eyes on each end. I have only ever needed to replace the bushings on one trailer that we used hard for years. Even if it needs done its a cheap easy job in the long run.

Chris

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I had a similar situation a few months back. I ended up with a Belmont and have been quite happy with it. I was looking at tilts and the Cam's were just too low to the ground. I had bought a winch and wanted to talk to Belmont's engineering about placement. I sent a email and about 2 hrs later there lead engineer talked with me about placement for almost and HR. Pretty good customer service if you ask me.

Matt

 

[slowzuki]

Friend had torsion axles on his mini ex float, many torsion boxes later he changed to leafs. They just didn't hold up in rolling terrain of jobsites and bumping up on curbs.

RE the width, what are you loading that is wider? You can have drive over fenders built on lowboy trailers.