Shocks on a trailer

rch701 wrote: Just posting this because of the trailer. Have you ever seen anything like that?

Interesting, never seen it. Looks like some kind of X crossmembers attached to the springs with a shock in between.

Did that with my utility trailer. Works pretty good to keep the trailer from bouncing, but they certainly aren't "great" shocks. Get them in a kit from a trailer supply. For our boats, I'm more interested in throwing air bags on my trailer. He, he... roll up, psssshhhh and it's sitting on the ground on top of the beach wheels I just put under there.

Only, there's a TON of things in the way.... But, with air bags, the boat would ride a LOT smoother. Plus, I have a set sitting in my garage.

Holy cow! That trailer is made with some kind of articulating set of axles. Intriguing! I ran my shocks from the axle to a brace I welded on the wheel well. This is much slicker.

p.s. - good looking boat for a '79, and probably a good price for several seasons of fun.

Edited by charlescarlis on Dec 14, 2020 - 04:29 PM.

I think having the right springs on the trailer is more important than having shocks. Many cat trailers are based off of monohull/powerboat trailers designed for much heavier boats and fitted with springs that are way too stiff. If your trailer slams and bangs around on the bumps, probably look into getting a softer set of springs as the first step to correcting. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

sm

Our typical straight axle, leaf spring trailers w/o shocks do indeed give our boats a very rough ride particularly with when using 8, 10 or 12" tires. This is one of the reasons modern thin hull boats must have cradles for transport. I like the thinking as this setup is an attempt to dampen the bounce with poor man's independent suspension. Coil springs (or torsion hubs) would help too. I have removed one leaf from the springs on my trailer to soften the suspension. From the factory (a Dilly from 1978) my springs were so stiff they may have well not even been their.

I'm with SM on this one. The right spring rate for the load is huge. Also, the free end of the spring sliding acts as a friction damper.
I have an ancient and rather small little-dude trailer with a big sailbox for my F18. I think the trailer might have originally been design for an H16. Was initially a bit concerned about overloading it, but in reality its about perfect and its the smoothest pulling trailer I've ever owned. I attribute this to the springs being "just right" for the load. I did upgrade from 8" to 12" wheels which helped at highway speeds.