Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I can see where the car springs would work but I think shocks will be a must with them. Longer springs, more flex. Where they will definitely smooth out the ride they will also be very bouncy. Not the trailer spring bounce but more of a long smooth bounce if you get what I am trying to say, so you'll want shocks to stop that. Take the shocks off the back of a car and drive it once, you'll understand (been there, done that, weird ride).You are probably right about them being better for offroad as they'll be a lot easier on the trailer (smoother). You will most likely have to make your own U-bolt plates because trailer springs are narrower than most car springs. A good choice might be from an 80's Caravan.
As far as ordering an axle, your best bet is to surf around and check prices AND shipping cost and go with whichever total cost is the best.

I went to purchase an axle from a friend of a friend who is a fabricater and does a lot of trailers. I told him I would be going off road in my tear and I thought a regular axle maybe even a 3500 would be apropriate. In his opinion he thought the 3500 lb. torsion was the better way to go and he thoght it would ride better than a 2000 lb. regular axle even on a under 1000 lb. trailer. Now I'm trying to decide which way to go so I can get it ordered. Any thoughts on his opinion?

In my experience, the price was pretty much the same. When you buy locally or online, you still have to pay for shipping. I was charged shipping because it was a special order, even though they get regular shipments from Dexter. The only difference is tax, if it's out of state you won't have to pay.

....I ordered my 2000# Flexiride from etrailerparts.com a division of Southwest wheel for $215 with $45 shipping, a week later I found that my local welding supplier could have gotten me a Dexter Torqflex for $156 + 10% tax thru Redneck Trailer Supply , so check carefully on prices and shipping
madjack

If you are going off road with it I would use springs and an axle, TF axles really aren't designed for that, you get a much better range of motion with a spring and axle setup. A spring and axle setup is also much easier to do emergency repairs on.
A lot of guys will swear by torque flex axles, personally I've seen too many problems with the 2k ones to use one myself. But thart is just my experience.

See this http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=2556

powderburn wrote:Is there a place I can order an axle on line and have it shipped to me that will be competative with purchasing localy?

Powderburn,

What part of Wyoming are you in? If you are near Cheyenne, Redneck trailer http://www.redneck-trailer.com/ has a shop north of Denver that has great prices, not sure if they ship. Our local Runnings Farm Supply store (not sure if they have them out your way) also carries axels, but I don't know what they have availible to them.

powderburn,

Take a look at NorthernTool.com. They have lots of axels and trailer parts and you can order on line. Again, the only thing is the shipping.

I just got the 2005 spring/summer catalog; printed on the cover it says "free shipping on orders over $200". This does not include truck shipments. About half of the axles are not truck ship. Or you could buy the stubs, springs and hubs and weld your own tube in place.

Or you could buy the stubs, springs and hubs and weld your own tube in place.

That would DEFINATELY be the most cost effective.

After my 2000# northern tool axle bent I bought my axle from ABC Trailers in Moulton, Alabama and now I buy all my axles from ABC. It is cheaper to buy from them than my local supplier here in Phoenix. I buy the 3500# 4" drop axles with hangers springs and spindles for $135.00 plus shipping about $70.00 and its still better than locally.

Something I didn't think about when buying my axle 4"drop, was the spacing on the spring saddles. I didn't ask what they were. I had to doctor up the sub deck for the trailer so that it would hold a 4' wide body. My saddles were about 40". Since I wanted the shackles to be mounted to the longsills of the trailer and didn't want to add any extra iron, I built the frame to the width of the saddles, I just got creative on the sub deck for the trailer. I thought about cutting them off and remounting them, but found what I thought was a solution. Time will tell. doug hodder