Thursday, Sep 14, 2017 at 19:18
"I have often noted that so many people towing camper trailers are usually going like the clappers. In such cases this sort of damage is to be expected."
I have noticed the same thing but rear leaf spring tow cars are travelling at the same speed and they don't break. It all comes down to design and I have yet to see any type of trailer that looks like the same engineers who designed the car also designed the trailer.
Car spring mounting brackets are usually stamped with curves and rolled edges on them. Trailers are usually flat with no stiffening..
Then there is the type of steel they are made out of. I once did some extensive cutting and welding on a Hilux chassis. The steel was noticeably stiffer than what you buy off the shelf at Metaland. I carried out destructive tests on small pieces butt welded together by bending them at 180 degrees right along the weld. The weld did not let go and the steel did not crack.
There is also the design of the
suspension. Many trailers don't have shocks and those that do often have them mounted on such an angle to get them under the floor that they could not be all that affective . Car manufacturers mount them in towers extending up into the boot space or the rear of station wagons. If they could lay them down on a steep angle like trailers, they would do it.
Next you have unsprung weight matched to
the springs and so the list goes on.
It is not surprising the trailers break but the cars don't
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