Trailer Leaf Springs Upside Down?

Updated 04/07/2021 | Published 04/06/2021

Products Featured in This Question

4-Leaf Double-Eye Spring for 3,500-lb Trailer Axles - 27" Long

(3596)

$75.81

Spring Seat for Typical 3,500-lb, Round Trailer Axles with 2-3/8" Diameter

(634)

$16.33

Question:

I recently bought a 24, tandem-axle trailer cobbled together from the chassis of a camper trailer. It came with 3500lb axels with brakes, but the brakes had not been wired. The odd part is that the springs and axels are installed upside down! In other words, the springs curve upwards with the axles on top of the springs. It appears the idea was to lower the trailer by doing this, but I have some questions/problems with the current setup. A preferred option would be to leave things the way they are and simply extend the hangers to allow more clearance between the frame and axles. This way, I can easily get the axle to frame clearance exactly where I want it. The axles hit the frame now, so obviously something must be done. In order to solve the problem, the builder turned the shackle links the wrong way to add clearance but that didnt work because the axles are still hitting the frame. Question #1: Is it OK to make longer taller spring hangers? Question #2: Is it OK to use shackle links to raise an axle by turning them around? See pictures Question #3: Will leaf springs work the same when upside down? If I turn the springs back over, the trailer will sit too high for my application. So I plan to flip the axles and install them on top of the springs as shown in one of your QandAs. This means the brakes will be upside downinch from their original position. Question #4: Is this OK, or will it affect the brake operation?

asked by: Confused I

Expert Reply:

Merely going with longer shackle links won't provide enough room for the suspension to articulate, you'll want to flip the springs back right side up. The way things are, you have zero articulation in the suspension which isn't safe. Simply flipping the springs the other way around will significantly raise the height of the trailer, if you'd like to have the ride height as low as possible, you can turn the springs right side up, but mount them to the underside of the axles. To do this, you'll need new spring seats like # TRSS238 tacked to the underside of the axle. The # TRSS238 spring seats are compatible with a 3500 lbs axle with a 2-3/8 inch diameter beam.

Merely going with longer shackle links won't provide enough room for the suspension to articulate.

expert reply by: Mike L