[quote=rehmbo]On the damping subject, leaf spring design has some damping built-in. One end is fixed and the other slides as the spring flexes. The sliding causes friction which damps the motion. In my experience, this is enough. No need for the complexity, cost, and weight of the additional shocks.
Torsion design might give you just a bit less unsprung mass, but not sure the cost/complexity of the change would be worth it. Haven't studied the implementations well enough to know if there is intrinsic damping or not.
Key to me is keeping the spring-rate matched to the load. Two stiff and things will bounce all over the place. Too soft and it will be smoother but you can bottom out and risk permanent deformation of the spring (a friend ran into this issue after converting his single-stack to a double-stack with out changing the springs for the additional load)
I've pulled my cheap and simple '80's vintage "Little Dude" trailer with my F18 on it all over Michigan and down to the FL keys twice with zero issues. I did move up from 8" to 12" tires. Mostly to make life easier on the bearings. I think the larger diameter tire has less vibration since its spinning at a lower rpm.[/quote]
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