Trailer Ideas Needed

[nuffer460]

Greg,
Look under a Road Tractor. If the rear axels are sprung, instead of air ride. You have either a sprung or a hendrics suspended walking beam system. They connect both rear axels front to back. These two walking beams are conected to a pivot pin. This pivot pin is secured by two bushed up right arms or mounts. These two arms then can be mounted to springs and frame connectors, ( sprung ) or have rubber blocks between the pivot mount and the frame. ( Hendrics ) If a walking beam system is involved, there called "bogies" At least they have been called that since I could only see myself in the baby moon Axel covers.

 

[Nuno]

maybe a picture will be helpful to show how a Boogie Axle looks like

 

[Boeing]

Hey guys,
I have a "factory" 16' wood decked tandum equipment trailer. It has (2) 2500# axles (I think) When I put my 3800# Kubota w/ loader on it it flattens the springs and rides 5" off the ground at the rear. HOW can I raise this trailer? More springs, air bags? I have dropped the tow hitch which helped some, now BOTH ends are about 7" off the ground. Thanks

 

[Bob Rooks]

Hey guys,
I have a "factory" 16' wood decked tandum equipment trailer. It has (2) 2500# axles (I think) When I put my 3800# Kubota w/ loader on it it flattens the springs and rides 5" off the ground at the rear. HOW can I raise this trailer? More springs, air bags? I have dropped the tow hitch which helped some, now BOTH ends are about 7" off the ground. Thanks

2 x 2,500 lbs. = 5,000 lbs. Deduct 2,000 lbs. for sprung trailer weight (assuming it is stout factory built), and you have a load capacity of 3,000 lbs. with no reserve, and you are already 800 lbs. over capacity. You have two options so you don't put yourself, your friends, and every one else in your proximity at risk of serious injury or death.

1) Get a "real" trailer with certified adequate capacity (In your case, 7,000 lb. GVWR.

2) Get a smaller tractor.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I agree with Bob Rooks. You do not have enough trailer plain and simple. I doubt it weighs as much as he thinks it does but more like 1500# but either way its not enough. Something is going to fail sooner or later. A axle will bend, bearing will fail, tire will fail, spring will fail, ect.

Chris

 

[Bob Rooks]

"factory"

I wonder what THAT means?
I'm thinking home made with lightweight travel trailer axles. Not even sure if Dexter makes a tandem setup that light.:drool:

 

[Boeing]

Thanks for the info...I misunderstood that weight rating. I thought that it was load weight above the trailer itself. "Factory" means not-home-made. There is a metal TAG attached to the tongue with serial numbers and weights. When I first picked this tractor up it was already loaded on this trailer. Now I'll double check the axle rating when I go back to the storage. Hopefully they're 3,500 which is what I read often in ads. That would give me 7,000 minus the 1,500 but I still have my orig question. HOW can I raise this trailer bed some? and thanks for your time, I really appreciate it.

 

[greg_g]

HOW can I raise this trailer bed some?

What size rims/tires are on it? If they stuck 13s or 14s on it - and/or cheap wide oval tires - you can gain some height simply by going to 15" and 75 profile. Which brings up another point. The axle load ratings don't mean sqat, if you don't have the right tires to support that much. 7500# gross means each of your four tires needs to be rated no less than 1875# each.

FWIW, I too have one of those 16' Sikeston tandems. It came with crap tires (215/70R15 load range C (1609# each). It's now wearing four ST225/75R-15s load range D (2575# each)

//greg//

 

[Bob Rooks]

In your OP you said that "it flattens the springs". That is what led me to believe you have a very light trailer. Typically, trailer springs do not have overload leaves below a Class 8 trailer rating. Anytime an elliptic leaf spring is loaded "flat", it is at the threshold of it's not being able to recover from it's bending moment, and may fail. Your tires, wheels, axles, and suspension are supposed to be matched to give you the trailer GAWR or GVWR.
I recommend taking the springs to a spring shop to have them checked, and maybe add a leaf or two if possible, and maybe get re-arched. You also may need new springs. You can also do as Greg suggested - get bigger tires and wheels, or just get a bigger trailer. Just because the tractor came on that trailer doesn't mean it's right for it in the first place.
Also; what is the hitch height on your towing vehicle? Does the trailer sit level when hitched and loaded?

You also placed the word factory between quotation marks indicating that someone else made the unsubstantiated statement.

 

[Rich Waugh]

On some trailers you can just switch the spring perches from the bottom of the axle to the top of the axle and gain between 3 and 5" deck height. The axles, springs and attachment geometry have to be appropriate in order for this to be done safely, however. Best bet is to take it to a proper trailer/suspension shop and ask their advice. It isn't rocket science, but lives can be at stake and that's enough to dictate expert advice.

Rich