Camper Trailer Suspension

I'll get rubbished, but here goes ....... most are way oversprung!

If you feel the contents are buncing around too much, it may be too stiff.
I am going through the same thing with my CT at the moment.
It has the ALKO offroad 7 leaf spring set up rated at 1500kg axle load.
The trailer is only rated to 750kg gross.
Some obvious answers I know, but here goes.
First, have you played with tyre pressures? If a 750kg trailer, they can be less than what you run on the car, axle load is less. That is the easiest way to add more give. Use the 4 psi rule and check temperatures. You do air down your trailer tyres when you air down your 4wd tyres for off road use?
2nd is also obvious, drive a little slower and try and pick a better line!
(Sorry about that one, but there are some slow thinkers out there :-))
3rd, Load it up to see what it looks like.
The ALKO site says that the springs will flex 50mmm on full load, but I have at least double that in suspension travel.
If it is not bottoming out when going over rough tracks, you may be able to reomove one spring (the shortest one), or go for softer coil springs.

If you have shock absorbers, are they rebound only? That would help too.

When setting up springs on our race cars, we try and get just under full suspension travel for each track/course to maximise travel and traction. As you have found, too stiff a suspension is almost as bad (but not quite) as a too soft suspension which bottoms out all of the time.

Interested to see what others may come up with.

You might also try "rebound Springs" which are basically small sections of spring that are attached to the main spring but with the spring reversed.

O'Briens use them, or at least did when my trailer was built. IT has 7 leaf springs and never seemed to bounce around all that much. 275kpa tyre pressure.

I have a Redback camper with 7 leaf rebound springs towed by our Disco, it weighs in at around 1.3t and have had no probs with it bouning and i don't hang around when touring or going on weekend trips.

Any decent trailer mob should be able to help you with the right springs.

Baz.

Hi, DiscoCamper,
Have a look at any Malcome Douglas Video I think you will see that he has trailer springs that are significantly longer in length than most standard trailer springs.
You will notice that his trailer sort of "floats" along without bouncing around.

I know of a couple of people who have made off road trailers and have used springs from wrecking yards that have come off vehicles like Ford Trader vans etc. that are rated at one tonne or about,and they are longer than most, and then fitted shockers, turned out excellent riding trailers.

If I was buying a c/t the suspension would be one of the first things I would check. It would have to be either independant or long leaf springs.

I know this is not an answer to your question, I just thought it might be helpful.
Cheers.

Another thought, you could pull the spring pack apart and lubricate the springs with some graphite of lanolin or similar. May help to get more travel out of the springs by reducing the binding.
When were the springs last serviced?
Some springs have nylon packers to assist in this.

Our old Bushwacker has 6 leaf rebounds with shocks and even empty doesn't bounce around.
Most trailer springs are way to short. Longer springs soak up the bumps

Thanks for all your comments, I will have a phone around Brisbane this week and see if I can find someone who can do the work. One place I called yesterday manufactured trailers including camper trailers they were happy to do the work but had no experience to offer me any suggestions. I don’t understand this if they build Camper Trailers surely they would understand the issues and problems camper trailers users have.

I've had my CT now for about 7 years, leaf sprung. First set of springs were too stiff, and it bounced a fair bit, even on the black top. I can't remember now what tyre pressures I was running then. Then I went for a soft set, but they were bottoming out on a trip to the Cape. Back in went the stiff set at Archer River, but of course they were (no surprise) too stiff, and ended up ripping off a spring hanger. To cut a long story short, at Chili Beach put back in the softer springs, slowed down a fair bit (duh, but some of us are slow learners) and have had no problems since, and this has included some serious travelling out around Chambers Pillar, as well as local off road trips. Still running the same soft springs.

Fitted shock absorbers a couple of years ago , and the trailer now travels very calmly. The shocks are made by AL KO, and I bought from and had them fitted by local caravan place, so should be easy to find. They bolt onto the bottom of the spring pack, with a welded mount for the top point. Angles aren't ideal, but overall a big improvement. Other changes included greasable shackle pins (the plastic ones kept flogging out). In my opinion, leaf sprung CTs need shocks. Oh, and tyre pressures - I basically match the ones on the truck, eg 40 psi or so for blacktop, under 30 for off road, 20 for sand etc.

Well I finally found someone yesterday and I have just dropped the trailer of to them this morning. At least the bloke I spoke to has a Camper Trailer and is well aware what it is like when you go off the black stuff. He also loves to talk, he told me that he spent his early days in NT and WA working for a mining exploration company. He said that they had to fit solid rubber tires on the 4WDs when working in the Tanami desert because of all the old petrified wood apparently without them they got flats all the time. He has also done a few trips around Oz and some desert crossings.

He is the sort of bloke that would keep the campfire stories coming all night

I will update after I get it back next week

Thanks again for you’re your comments and help.

Well I collected the Camper Trailer yesterday and I am very happy, they have changed the springs to closer match my load, according to the bloke that did the work the old springs were rated for about double what I will ever carry some where around 1.5T when I only need 600 to 750kg.

The new springs have a W or rebound leaf so it should help it from bouncing around. The guy that did the work wants be to get back to after my next trip so we can decide if it worth fitting a pair of shock absorbers.

I also got him to move the gas bottle holder to closer to where I use my stove and add 6 tie-down points in side the trailer.

I will be making a list of all the other small things I would like to be made and welded onto the trailer on my next trip.

Thanks for all your help and I will update after my next trip.