Newbie here w/his first off road trailer

[Jason Magee]

Hi gang,

My name is Jason, I’m new to forums and off road trailers. Happy to have found this wonderful site as it seems to be a wealth of info.

I recently purchased a trailer and wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on it. It’s very basic and was smaller than most I looked at which is what I needed. The trailer has 3500lb axle with a leaf spring suspension, 35” tires(which seem a bit big as I only run 33” on my truck) and a 2 person tent. I was told it weighs roughly 500lbs.

So far I like the trailer and am looking forward to making some mods. My only real complaint is the hard bouncing over any and all bumps.


I’ve read a few posts abt getting these rigs to ride smoother. I can’t figure out what my springs are rated for and was wondering if y’all could help with that. There are no info markings or stamps on them. I’d love to be able to get the terrible bounce out. My first step is to get the tongue closer to level and it sits roughly 5 inches lower than my truck receiver.

What’s everyone’s opinions on adding shocks and the proper leaf spring set up?

 

[mudraider]

Thoughts on shocks? Needed. Otherwise, what will happen? The trailer is just sitting on the spring, waiting to bounce when it hits something. Wondering why it's so light. I'd get shocks on it, see how it rides, then mess with springs.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ottsville]

Are you reading from a plate on the axle that says it's 3500lb axle? Most axles rated that weight, even idler axles, have brake mounts on them and I don't see them on that axle.

Thoughts on shocks? Needed. Otherwise, what will happen? The trailer is just sitting on the spring, waiting to bounce when it hits something. Wondering why it's so light. I'd get shocks on it, see how it rides, then mess with springs.

IF your springs are too stiff, shocks aren't going to make the ride better.

 

[mudraider]

Totally agree. But without some sort of shock on there, changing the springs around would be useless. He'll end up with too light of springs if he tries to get a decent ride with just springs.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[4runnerteq]

That's a pretty slick looking set up

 

[Jason Magee]

Thoughts on shocks? Needed. Otherwise, what will happen? The trailer is just sitting on the spring, waiting to bounce when it hits something. Wondering why it's so light. I'd get shocks on it, see how it rides, then mess with springs.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Is there a certain shock you’d recommend? Also, what’s the best options for mounting the shocks? I’ve seen guys mount that side to side diagonally, front to back etc..

Thx for the reply!

 

[Jason Magee]

Are you reading from a plate on the axle that says it's 3500lb axle? Most axles rated that weight, even idler axles, have brake mounts on them and I don't see them on that axle.



IF your springs are too stiff, shocks aren't going to make the ride better.

I couldn’t find anything on the actual axle that says 3500lb but I’m just going off the gentleman’s word who I bought it from.

The springs also don’t have any info on lbs rating so I’m unsure of how to get proper specs on them. They don’t seem all that stiff to be honest but again I’m a newbie and just trying to learn the ropes here with these types of trailers.

I appreciate your response!

 

[Jason Magee]

So I had a chance to mess around with the trailer a bit last night.
When I bought the trailer the guy included the water jug on the front full of water. I decided to pull it off and see how it trailered without it on the tongue and it was far worse. It has the tendency to teetering from side to quite a bit.

I thn put a 40lb weight on the same tab the water jug was on and it seemed to be better.

Any thoughts on why it wants to teeter so badly from side to side?

Is the tongue weight too light?

 

[ottsville]

Any thoughts on why it wants to teeter so badly from side to side?

Is the tongue weight too light?

Most likely. How light is the tongue? Easy to pick up?

Those boxes look like they could be slid forward some(as long as you still have your clearance to the truck).

 

[Jason Magee]

Most likely. How light is the tongue? Easy to pick up?

Those boxes look like they could be slid forward some(as long as you still have your clearance to the truck).

Yes the tongue is very easy to pick up. Is there a general rule of thumb on weight ratio tongue vs trailer etc?

Thx for the reply!

 

[ottsville]

The approx general rule is 10-15% of trailer weight should be on the tongue. At the weight of that trailer it will still be easy to pick up and with that tundra, you could go heavier on the tongue.

 

[ex m38a1er]

Most likely. How light is the tongue? Easy to pick up?

Those boxes look like they could be slid forward some(as long as you still have your clearance to the truck).

What he said.
Theory calls for the weight to be distributed in a 60/40 ratio front/back of the axle.
Yours looks the opposite.

 

[Jason Magee]

The approx general rule is 10-15% of trailer weight should be on the tongue. At the weight of that trailer it will still be easy to pick up and with that tundra, you could go heavier on the tongue.

So I ran to my local commercial scale and the trailer actually weighed in at 1000lbs. I also weighed just my truck with the trailer tongue attached and without the tongue attached. There was a 40lb difference so I’m assuming the tongue weight is roughly 40lbs?

 

[ottsville]

Sounds about right. You can make the percentage by loading, but I'd consider figuring out your springs and look at moving the axle back a little. Maybe look at ranger springs and keep the front mounts where they are but move the back. Might get your axle back enough to make the difference.

 

[Jason Magee]

Sounds about right. You can make the percentage by loading, but I'd consider figuring out your springs and look at moving the axle back a little. Maybe look at ranger springs and keep the front mounts where they are but move the back. Might get your axle back enough to make the difference.

I’ll start looking into springs this wknd. When you say ranger, is it Ford Ranger springs?