Will Changing Leaf Springs Help Unloaded Ride Quality of a Trailer

Updated 04/02/2013 | Published 03/30/2013

Question:

My grandfather built a dual axle trailer using axles that came from under a mobile home and he cut them down and re welded them and then had the trailer inspected by the state of WA. and all passed, My question is he used the original single leaf springs and so when the trailer has a good heavy load all is fine and it tows great but when it is empty it bounces around and beats you to death, I realize the springs must be too stiff for the trailer so my question is would the e46SR be a good replacement or would it also be to stiff and I also see you have other designs with multi leafs would they work better? The trailer measures 7 ft wide X 141/2 ft long counting the tung. The spring has the same measurement as the e46SR. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

asked by: Lane S

Expert Reply:

The problem is that in order for the trailer to have the overall capacity it needs to carry what the trailer is rated for it needs to have a very stiff spring. The trade-off is that when the trailer is loaded the springs are working fine, but when the trailer is unloaded it can be pretty annoying.

If you were to go with a spring that is light enough so that the trailer would not bounce around as much the trailer would also no longer have the capacity it once did.

So basically you have to ask yourself if having a nicer unloaded ride quality would be worth not being able to carry as much weight with the trailer.

If the Springs # e46SR will fit dimensionally then they should install easy, but you will be limited to 12,000 lbs on the trailer. Which if this rating is near what the current springs are then the unloaded ride quality might not change at all.

I attached an FAQ article on double-eye springs for you to check out also.

expert reply by: Jameson C