Spring Over Axle (SOA) trailer conversion

[radioman]

wow - thats alot of space in fenders. Have you taken it down the road with a load to see how it feels yet ? if so , how does it feel ?

[RobertN]

My 5th wheel is the same way. One of these days I need to make up some kind of fender skirt or something. Unfortunately, without the spring over, the trailer would be way out of balance, and really low in the back. And, probably making contact at the area around the top of the tailgate. It was probably fine behind a 2WD, but even my stock Dodge is too tall if the trailer was not SOA.

We bought this used; the conversion was done before I bought it.

Even with the "lift", it hauls/handles really nice.

[RobertN]

Wonder how hard it would be to lower the fenders?

I am sure it is set up the way you want it now but to me it just looks funny with all that room in the wheel wells. Looks like some of the 3/4 ton trucks that certain brands make and put tiny little tires on.

Chris

[joshuabardwell]

Wonder how hard it would be to lower the fenders?

From what I can see, it would require more than just cutting the fenders off and welding them back on lower. They are the exact height of the trailer rail, so lowering them would require cutting out their back-plate to make clearance for the axles and to allow access to the suspension parts. As high as it rides, there wouldn't be much holding the fender onto the frame if they were lowered to be proportional to the wheels.

Well, I say that, but now that I think about it, I know exactly how much the fenders would have to be lowered, and that is exactly as much as the trailer was raised, and that is 5". Obviously, the fenders could afford to have 5" of metal cut out of them, should it come to that.

I have heard of some folks buying bigger wheels and/or tires after doing an SOA conversion, both for aesthetic reasons, and to allow for the wheels to have slower turning at speed (less heat buildup, less wear on bearings/hubs). Realistically, I am likely to just leave it as it is, even though it does look a little funny. The trailer is for working, not looking at! And no matter how funny it looks, it is much better than scraping my torsion bars on the road all the dang time.

[joshuabardwell]

wow - thats alot of space in fenders. Have you taken it down the road with a load to see how it feels yet ? if so , how does it feel ?

I have not. It may be a bit before I have a chance to use the trailer really loaded. I am currently stocked to the gills with both firewood and hay, which are the two main things I use it for. I plan to take it for a short ride empty, just to shake it out a bit, but I don't expect that to really tell me anything useful about the ride. That being said, many folks have done this conversion, and from their experience, I don't expect any trouble. 5" of extra height isn't going to make enough difference in the center of gravity to make it more tippy or anything. And I don't expect that the geometry has changed at all, since the axles went right back onto the springs, exactly where they were (except on the other side).

[Diamondpilot]

I am guessing you have just 205/75/15 tires. Just going to 225/75/15 tires will make it look a little better and add some load hauling capability even though its not really needed with 3.5K axles. They are usually only $4 more for 225 C range tires over 205 C range tires around here.

Chris