have a tandem with a stuffed spring, you're the resident trailer expert so thought I might pick your brain a bit 'bout 4 mths ago a mate borrowed it for the weekend, about a month ago he returned it (after some prompting) I parked it in the rack with all the other vehicles and today decided to give it a once over as I intend to get a few loads of pine and marco rings in this week on one side I have near 100mm between the wheels, on the other I have barely 20mm so ducked down to have a look and find the top leaf is bent upwards at a right angle this thing has a spring per axle, slippers front and rear and an oscillating pivot center that the spring eyes are captive to my questions do you have springs ( I will measure and advise if you have springs) or can I heat and straighten the top leaf - it is on the forward axle ( slipper front, eye rear). the second leaf does not wrap the eye - it actually stops about 80mm short of the eye At a guess I'd say they were trogan originally but this was home built - while it is strong it has not been put together by trogan ( 1/2 inch bolts welded to the axle are not quite the trogan way of U bolts to anchor the springs and axles to each other
40wav,
Apr 11, 7:32pm
Dontcha just love 'mates' like that.
johnf_456,
Apr 11, 7:34pm
+1 now you know why your mate did not want to return it.
skin1235,
Apr 11, 7:42pm
woundncha know it, I need him - and he's taken the day off theres no justice in this world
it may be a common setup but I thought springs are supposed to be trailing even if it had a shackle on the trailing end of the oscilator and a slipper on the front, having that front spring unsupported for curb climbing etc would seem a little odd
h.e,
Apr 12, 6:50am
dont heat the spring,its heat treated from the manufacturer spot heating it will affect it integrity.have seen this system before with the slipper on the front its not that common.take it off try to match it at TWL failing that look up spring manufacturers in the yellow pages they can make up just the top leaf
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 6:53am
Pitty you're not down this way, I could probably sort that for you easily
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 6:54am
That system is used to keep the deck as low as possible but still a flexible suspension plus simplicity of build
skin1235,
Apr 12, 6:58am
I am down this way, last time I looked waverley was down from hams, lol will be up that way in a couple of weeks though, what do you suggest ( swap the springs so the now weakened one is a trailing and take real care when leaning the tandem into the edges of the road so it doesn't occur again!) or chuck another spring in there and go with the fact it took 20 yrs to stuff up so should be good for the next 20 too
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 7:25am
It's lasted THAT long ok, so unless theres a very good reason for changing it now, then I would simply deal to the damaged leaf. If wanting to protect that leading edge, then the only thing I can think of (without seeing it) would be to weld an inclosed "slipper box" over the end with a plate on the front to act as a ramp . But it should already be like that anyway
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 7:40am
By the sound of it, you only need to replace the single bent leaf. To measure it all up, you will need .
Total length (end to end) Thickness of leaf Width of leaf Center of ring eye to start of the slipper BEFORE the end of the slipper pad Length of slipper pad Size of eye (Inside Diameter) Do the leaves have nylon pads between the ends.
With the above, a reliable replacement can be made via a ph call or email. About the only thing you MAY need after that would be a new center bolt (IF the original is buggered) & maybe a new eye bush, but if needing a new bush in that spring, then maybe the rest need doing.
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 7:41am
LOL are you originally an aussie, 6hrs is nothing to them to pop over to the dairy for milk/ beer/ smokes
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 8:30am
I know someone (rather more then just a friend) in Patea who would be happy to do that job,
unideck,
Apr 12, 9:21am
Hey, Im here haha, working through the night, just too busy. Take a measure of the spring width, if it is 45mm its Trojan - 50mm Trailequip. Springs are approx $150 per pair inc freight gst etc. Post a picture or email me, should be able to help you no worries :)
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 9:56am
LOL. AND about blimin time you showed up ;-) If he's up to it, then he probably only needs the main leaf & swap it over.
unideck,
Apr 12, 10:59am
Haha, recon this work this is so overrated mrfxit, need to take a day off now & then ;) Trailequip have an 0800 number (OP) give them a shout, ask for Rhys hes a great guy to deal with :)
skin1235,
Apr 12, 5:05pm
now its my turn to be late, been ripping paddocks, tomorrow they get power harrowed then sown autumn grass checked the size, now if 45mm is trogan and 50mm is trailequip, who made these ones cos they're only 40mm top leaf has eye one end(1/2" bolt fitted with grease nipple) second leaf stops short of the eye so no wrap around, both top and second same length other end so two leaves in slipper ( I suppose you now want me to go measure the length from eye to slipper flat - these are currently loaded with empty weight of trailer so measure may not be much use anyway, unless you want me to measure on the leaf not direct eye to slipper) Am one of those fix it meself if possible types - considering as dave suggested pop the top leaf off and heat until she can be pushed back into shape - but - memories of getting truck springs reset years ago, the secret is not the heating but the cooling, recall something like quench in oil then reheat, repeat, then reheat again and place whole in a bed of lime dust until tomorrow type cooling methods last thing I want is a brittle leaf letting go cos you can bet it'll be 1, loaded to the max, and 2, in the middle of a one-way bridge when it tries to climb over the axle and locks the whole thing immobile would seriously consider putting that front spring on the back axle for that reason alone - and if it breaks I can drive out from in front of it
do you fit springs with slippers at the front of any of yours - it seems a contrary way to hope to contain an axle
unideck,
Apr 12, 7:13pm
Hey, post a photo up here OK. Sounds like you have the old Trojan springs. Spring should be bolted at the front then slipper/rocker unit, rear spring is bolted to the same block the slipper at the end. Some lets say home made types in early trailers had slipper at the very front & rear and relied on the 40x40mm box section in the middle to bolt both springs to with a center bolt to create a rocker (not good) but hey, lets see a pic ;)
mrfxit,
Apr 12, 8:07pm
That front slipper needs a sloping top "slipper box" to protect it from kerb bashers
skin1235,
Apr 13, 5:05am
that is exactly what I've got, wish I could have described it so clearly will post a pic when I get home tonight
skin1235,
Apr 13, 5:10am
the slipper cage is well protected, it's tucked up beside the drawbar, which is 4x2 box any curb bash comes direct onto the tyre, and here where we have full 6" curbs (150mm) climbing a curb slowly is hard enough, clipping one at speed tends to break things
skin1235,
Apr 13, 6:58pm
whatcha reckon dave, slip the leaf, bit of heat, bit of care cooling, and she'll be fine! or heatetc but change it for the spring behind it to at least give me an out should it part company later
mrfxit,
Apr 13, 7:06pm
LOL. thats fine, seen a lot worse then that. Strip it off Heat it a pale red (the whole area thats bent) Belt it straight again & cool it slowly with a bit of waste oil. Bang it all back together again.
That design will always be a temptation to get bent so just go with the flow.
mrfxit,
Apr 13, 7:09pm
I could suggest a mod for later that would sort that problem with a minimal effort but of course would need both sides doing. Altho the same damage could simply be shifted to a different area.
On 2nd thought . no, would make it to rigid . *thinking on that*
h.e,
Apr 13, 7:35pm
heating and cooling in oil is how you harden steel.hard =brittle.brittle spring!a slight case of a little bit of knowledge in the wrong hands.i would suggest normalising it after straightening,if you dont no what this is dont heat it at all.im a boilermaker with 24 yrs experience and there is no way in hell i'd heat a spring
mrfxit,
Apr 13, 7:45pm
Depends on how it's done. Let it cool off most of the way 1st & it's more of a case of pouring oil over it rather then a full dip which is what you would be thinking of. It's to seal the surface from rust more then anything else. Been doing that for many years & never had a problem.
Experience knowledge in the right hands rather then book smarts or PRESUMPTION
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