Trailer tires on torsion axle?

[Katie&Craig]

We made the first purchase today - Yippee! It looks like we might actually get this thing built. We got the 1740lb HF trailer. It was on sale and we had the 20% off coupons so couldn't pass it up ($261 with tax). Hopefuly this will work out financially even though we plan to replace the tongue and buy a torsion axle (if not, I still have 30 days to change my mind, which I do frequently).

My question is this:
Does it make sense to buy a torsion axle if you are going to use 12" trailer tires wth it? Will the trailer tires somehow negate the benefits of the torsion axle??

I have read so many things about how much smoother the ride is with the torsion axle that I have decided that this is what I want (anyone have a bridge they want to sell??). But we are building so that the tires will be inside the Teardrop, so need to go with small tires.

As a side note, to get the trailer height I want with the HF frame it looks like I would have to buy a drop axle anyways if I stuck with the leaf and spring that came with it, so I would be spending extra $ on an axle either way.

Thanks,
Katie

[Chris C]

Yes, the torsion axle will give your trailer a smoother ride...............not for you, of course, but for all your dishes, oven, stove, coffee maker, etc., etc., etc. But someone correct me if I'm wrong...............the auto tire will give you a better ride, but I don't think it will hurt to be using the trailer tire instead of an auto tire.

[asianflava]

Sounds like there are 2 things you are concerned about:

1 Ride height
2 Ride quality

If you are going to use the same 12in tires, I wouldn't bother with a torsion axle. Your 2 concerns are easily resolved without having to buy a new torsion axle.

Ride height. The common practice is to do an axle flip. The axle is normally mounted underneath the spring pack. In a flip, you mount the axle on top of the spring pack, this will give you a couple inches of drop. You may have to C-notch the frame so that the axle will have full travel without bottoming out on the frame. Cost involved, none, you are just rearragning parts. However if you desire to go even lower, a drop axle costs less than a full-on torsion axle.

Ride quality. The reason a torsion axle rides better than a leaf spring axle is because the rubber has a damping quality. You can add shocks to a leaf spring setup to achieve the same thing. You will have to fab up some brackets but shocks are pretty cheap. A shock/spring setup will actually have better ride quality than a torsion axle because it has more travel and the shocks have more damping capacity.

Clear as mud?

[Micro469]

Katie, I started with 12" over the spring axle and found it didn't suit my plans. I wanted bigger tires and a lower trailer. The trailer was sitting at about 20" high and I wanted a 16" height, so I went with a drop axle. You can see my pics in my album or go here
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=8665

[Katie&Craig]

Thanks for the replies.

Chris - I had thought I had my mind made up, and then saw a post on the trailer tire vs. car tire and started waffling again.

Asianflava - Thanks for the cost comparison reminder- I should price shocks and a drop axle before committing to a torsion. I will also recheck calculations on where it would put the top of the frame if we mounted the springs under the axle. We figured it would put the top of the frame at 17" at the very best, which is about 2 inches higher then I can live with.

The TD was designed around having enough room in the bed area for Craig to be happy with and a functional galley for me (Craig does most of the cooking but I do all the packing and organizing so need the galley to work for me) and ride height really affects the functionality of the galley for me.

John - thanks for the pictures - they really help! I am going to have to see who carries drop axles in my area.

Katie

[asianflava]

We figured it would put the top of the frame at 17" at the very best, which is about 2 inches higher then I can live with.

Keep in mind that the weight of the body will drop the ride height a little bit also.