Homebuilt flatbed trailer

[Whatswrong]

I have collected a lot of scrap iron to build a 8x16 bed I haven't decided on tilt or not. It will be a tandem . What I need to know is if I put 4 coils from a 3/4 ton camper special in the suspension instead of leaf springs would it be too soft and floppy when loaded.I think I have thought out the ability to anchor fore and aft and sideway shift that the springs would allow.I am trying not to spend much money .Hope to carry 40hp utility tractors or possibly car or truck if required.Anyone with experience or thoughts will be appreciated

 

[glh]

I have collected a lot of scrap iron to build a 8x16 bed I haven't decided on tilt or not. It will be a tandem . What I need to know is if I put 4 coils from a 3/4 ton camper special in the suspension instead of leaf springs would it be too soft and floppy when loaded.I think I have thought out the ability to anchor fore and aft and sideway shift that the springs would allow.I am trying not to spend much money .Hope to carry 40hp utility tractors or possibly car or truck if required.Anyone with experience or thoughts will be appreciated

"8x16 bed" ? trust me when i say this ....
16 feet is not long enough i made one 8x17 and ended up offing it to buy enough steel to make one that was 8x20
when i was using the 8x17 i could not put my ford f-250 extended cab on it safely.
the back tires were to close the the edge (half on half off)
but if 8x16 is what you want.
thats ok by me .
i would not put coils for the suspension.
i like the leaf springs
here is a page that talks about different options for trailers
Page 4, Trailer Options for Versatility
hope this helps
gary...

 

[CWL]

I would shy away from the coil springs. They are tall, tend to bounce a lot unless you use shocks and as you already stated they need a lot of extra fabrication to make the axles track true. I have a trailer that is 16 foot long and it will haul a medium size car fine, but anything larger is a no-go.

 

[BruceWard]

I also would vote for longer if your material allows.

If you are looking for an inexpensive option mobile home axles come with strong leaf springs attached. The axles and springs are rated for 6000 pounds. In my area an axle and leaf springs set sells for $50 and tires are $25 each. The axles are too wide so they need to be cut and welded together in the center.

 

[RPW]

Longer and wider (20'x 96" or 102") and go with leaf springs. Much simpler, IMO can withstand abuse better and not very expensive. I replaced all 4 on my horse trailer as they were broken and I think I paid about 20 bucks a spring.

good luck.

 

[Wis Bang]

There is a reason the big rigs don't use coil springs. They are not as stable as leaf springs. I have seen pictures of a small sailboat trailer w/ a coil sprung axle. In addition to fore/aft bracing it used a 'panhard' style rod between a point on the axle sideways to a similar location on the frame to stop the springs from shakling like a bowl of jello.

I think it would not distribute the load very well when driving on/off the trailer causing the bed to lean at weird angles and posibly over torque the axle retention components unless they were grossly oversized.

Look at an air suspended tractor trailer, the mounting components are massive to keep everything in line and some airbags have soild blocks inside to prevent 'dockwalk' where the trailer scoots ahead on the suspension components when the forklift weight shifts from the dockplate to the trailer floor after the air pressure has bled off the bag when the trailer is dropped.

We had a silimar problem w/ air bags on tankers. Parking the empty unit w/ the bags full would result on them pushing the landing gear forward as the suspension angles changed unless you dumpped the bags b/4 cranking the landing legs down. We had to install auto dump valves.

Leaf springs would require less fabrication, weigh less and be more stable when loading.

 

[Renze]

coil springs require shock absorbers to dampen the oscillation. Leafs dont, the friction between the leafs dampens itself.

A leaf spring manufacturer used anti friction pads betweent their springs in the 1900's for a customer, an automobile manufacturer (the original Spyker company) to stop the squeeking. When the friction that caused the squeeking, was gone, they needed shock absorbers.

 

[tommu56]

I also would vote for longer if your material allows.

If you are looking for an inexpensive option mobile home axles come with strong leaf springs attached. The axles and springs are rated for 6000 pounds. In my area an axle and leaf springs set sells for $50 and tires are $25 each. The axles are too wide so they need to be cut and welded together in the center.

Ive built 5 or 6 trailers over the years and 2 had mobile home axles (And I don't want to hear from the safety police Its not against the law here)

I did change the bearings before I out it on the road and they were some of the stoutest trailers I built I still have one in use. after 30 years its not one I use regularly but I wouldn't hesitate to tow it 500 miles after checking bearings and tires.

I did have a problem finding drop center rims had split ring 14.5's on it originally but finally found them in a place in Texas with the right lug and center hole size in 15" then I found out that international travelalls had the same size I needed.


tom

 

[Ordite]

More than thirty years ago, I put a lot of work into building a 16 ft. flatbed trailer from a house trailer that was destroyed in a tornado. The frame springs, and dual axles worked out fine but tires were a constant problem for me. Although tires were cheap they never lasted for many miles. With the 14.5" tires on detachable rims, I was not able to convert to a quality tire and rim as there were no conventional hubs available for these axles. Tire balance was also a problem when towing the trailer empty. I finally sold the trailer and purchased a factory built trailer after being "fed-up" with the tire problems. Perhaps tires are better now but I doubt it as I think they are only intended to get the mobile home from the factory to the dealer's lot or to the new homeowner.

 

[ovrszd]

I've got two 16' utility trailers. They haul my Jeeps or ATV/UTVs fine. I haul my L4400 w/FEL frequently. I wish my trailers were longer for that job. I can't haul the tractor w/FEL and brush cutter. I'll go at least 18' next time and hopefully 20'.

Avoid coils. Too much fabrication work to get the trailer to stay on top of them. If you think about it, a loaded coil spring does everything it can to buck the load off it. In ddition to everything else mentioned you would need sway bars to get it anywhere near safe to tow at speed with a load.