Controling the bounce....

[Seattle G60]

Hello all,
I managed to get my tear home despite an incredible amount of bouncing down the roads here in Washington.
On asphalt it is smooth as silk, but once it hits concrete it is a bouncin'.

Question: How do I control the bounce? I tried letting air out of the tires..helped a little but still bounced.

Granted the tear was pretty much empty so I am going to load it up and take it out again to see if that helps. But I can't imagine that my camp gear can weigh more than about a 150# which doesn't seem to me like enough to make a difference.

Would adding a set of leaf springs to the axle help the bounce?
What about changing tire size or composition? Right now they are 16" tubes with fiber tires. Maybe switch them to a 15" radial?

As it sits right now, I would not want to put my cooler back there for a trip. I'd have scrambled eggs and beer frothies...

Otherwise the tow was pretty good and my Subaru didn't even sweat it.

Jay (Tear Newbie)

[Chip]

Question on ya set up,, Do you have springs or tortion axle?? and also what is the spring rating for the setup,,, if You are running a heavy axle and springs say 2000 lb springs then ya might want to take out one spring to soften up the ride a bit

had a similar problem and have a tortion axle,,so no way to adjust spring weight, the tires were inflated for a heavy trailer so my fix was to let some air out,, (went from 50 lbs down to 30lbs) its still bounces on big bumps but smaller ones have now smoothed out without too much sidewall flex on the tires

chip

[Seattle G60]

I think it is a torsion axle, but I am going to climb under it tonight and take a closer look see.

I'll get the specs and post them tonight.

[madjack]

...as Chip said, if there are springs under it, then removing a leaf would defintely help, if it is a torsion axel, then going to a radial tire, running about 25# of air would be about your only solution
madjack

[Nitetimes]

First, get rid of those tires/wheels, much too heavy/hard for a small trailer. Go to a 14 or 15" radial tire then do as these guys said and lower your air pressure. If you use a lower profile tire like a 65 you can safely get down around 18-20lbs without the tires heating up or rolling off the rims. I usually run 14-16 in my quad trailer tires with no suspension and it bounces a little empty but not at all with a 600# quad on it. Never had any trouble with it and I put a lot of miles on it with a heavy foot!

[Gage]

You could also do as I did and add some shocks. They work.


Have a good day,
Gage[/img]

[Seattle G60]

Hey all,
Ok I took the tire off and checked out the axle and it looks like it is/was a torsion axle.
But, they don't really flex at all that I can see.




So what do you all think?

[Nitetimes]

It's possible that it was a torque flex and it is just no longer functioning. It's a little hard to tell from the pics but it "looks" awful heavy for a light trailer. It doesn't look like anything I have ever seen so it is entirely possible that it was just built as a drop axle and doesn't actually flex at all. That axle was adapted to the trailer from what I can see. I would definately get rid of those tires and wheels and put 14" radials on it, you will notice a big difference in the way it pulls and handles and you'll be able to play with the tire pressure quite a bit to get the best ride.

[steve wolverton]

But, they don't really flex at all that I can see.

Can you press down on your tear and make the trailer squat? If you can't, then it's probably too stiff, or worn out. I tried mine out by opening the door and pressing down hard, or even standing on the door frame and bouncing to check.

Steve

[emiller]

I have a 3500# 4" drop axle. My teardrop is a 5 x 10 and with the trailer tires it had little bounce and now that I put car tires on it it bounces alot more. The tire dealer said it's because the trailer tires are designed with thicker side walls to prevent trailer sway and the car tires get there bounce from side wall flex, so don't let out air out of your tires to fix a bounce problem it only adds friction to your tires and makes the side wall even more soft. I think adding shocks like Gage and Larry's outback is the safe way to control bounce.

[Arne]

If I see that pic correctly, you have no suspension left. That arm, being in the up position, seems to indicate a catastrophic problem....

That arm should be down, or level, not up... it has no where to go.... It has to be able to swing...... and it can't....

[David Grason]

If I see that pic correctly, you have no suspension left. That arm, being in the up position, seems to indicate a catastrophic problem....

That arm should be down, or level, not up... it has no where to go.... It has to be able to swing...... and it can't....

I agree 100%. That axle is OLD. It's not a Dexter either.

[dguff]

I am assuming that is an early Kit, 1946 or 1947. It is very common for those axles to "freeze" or bind up without regular use. When I restored my Kit I had to loosen the axle with multiple applications of penetrating oil and a sledge hammer and now it works fine. The torsion axles of that age are steel within the tube and have self dampening so no shocks are necessary. The other problem may be old tires. Those 16" 6 ply tires are pretty stiff when new and can lose flexibility over time. I run mine with about 25 lbs. of air pressure and with a working torsion axle have no bounce problems at all.

Jerome

[Seattle G60]

yep, it is a 46 KIT.

I am going to get under it this weekend and take a closer look to really get a hold on what has failed/froze up.

Right after I get my lawn mower blade replaced...hit a big rock on Sunday and bent the piss out of it!

I'll let you all know what I find out this weekend.

Honestly I am thinking for $200-300 I can get a new axle with leafs and install it easier than trying to repair the old torsion axle.

Thank you all again!
Jay

[doug hodder]

In 1982 I had a 49 kit and had good suspension on the torsion axles. It did however run innertubes with low pressure in them also. This helped. A lot of the tire guys now will say to run them up to the required pressure, but how are you using the trailer? If you are just towing it at normal speed and not really stressing the sidewalls with crazy cornering or overweight, put some tubes in them and run lower pressures. That will help a lot. I've got 15's on mine and plan on running them with a lower pressure. don't know what it is going to be yet as the trailer isn't done yet, but I'm not too worried about it. I think that it is a problem with smaller tires but it appears that you have some fairly tall tires on this one, I could be wrong, but I wouldn't sweat the lower pressure, if your tires are in good shape. Yeah... you may have to buy tires more often, so what if you only get 25K out of them, smaller ones will not go that far however, but it looks like you have at least 15's. how much to do you tow your trailer? Just my opinion. doug hodder